My 13 year old son recently expressed that he wants to set up a myspace account. However, I've heard so many bad things about it (at least for younger children). I understand for adults it's a great place to catch up with old friends etc... but I've seen some of these kid's profiles...the little girls are dressed provocatively and they look like they are 18 or 19 when they are little girls!!! I was just wanting other parent's views on the subject.
2006-07-07 02:42:05 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Parenting
i have mixed feelings about it. my children are now 18 & 21. they have been using my space for a couple of years .
my daughter asked me to come in her room and she showed me every single person she talks to. i really enjoyed it, she showed me different profiles of people and told me about what they talk about. and trust me she didn't hide anyhting. my son on the other hand is a little more private about his. we have to make him show us his stuff.
it has good parts like they can express theirself and find others like them. i have read their my space portfolios and it is really funny and interesting. they talk about us being their hero's and influences.
the part i don't like is that they meet people that you don't know if they are really who they say they are. anyone can make a page there.
i also feel like it has ruined the way kids meet and date. they think because they know them on my space that they really know them.
my son will tell us he is going on a date, we ask if it is someone from school, everytime the answer is no, i met her on my space.
as far as your son goes, if he does open a my space account, make sure that your rule is that you going to monitor it every evening. you can see who he has talked to and read about them.
good luck in your decesion, i am sure your son will make good choices while using it. it's not all bad
also you can block certain people if you don't like they way they come across.
2006-07-07 03:05:19 · answer #1 · answered by KAREN A 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
First of all, I'm not a parent but I'm 23 and have younger siblings. I think that it's GREAT that your son ASKED you if he could have a myspace account...
There are other websites where kids can connect to eachother. I don't necessarily know what they are but I would search online. I know that Nick Lachey started some website for younger kids to connect.
Myspace can be sketchy, I have an account and haven't really run into problems with people stalking me...but I don't have a lot of information up there. However, you CAN come across some members with provocative pictures, but your son could find those through the internet if he wanted to anyway.
I would search for similar, safer websites first.
2006-07-07 02:49:21 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Its ok if you monitor it. You can't really have an account unless your 14 by the way but 13 and 14 they're not to way off. By putting 14 not just everyone can be his friend. They have to ask first. Make him really look at the pictures and make him understand that girls are sometimes on there pretending to be boys and boys are pretending to be girls. Usually its best if they only add their own real life friends that way they can talk to each other about a certain person that they've been talking to. Ask what the conversation is about. Get your own myspace and add yourself on there as well and check up on the comments. The emails are the ones that are kind of hard to get at. But, if you have a good open relationship, I'm pretty sure he'll share. Don't interrogate. Tell him the reasons why its best not to just trsut anyone. A good movie I watched the other day was Me, You and everyone you know. Alot happens in the movie but it shows how easily little children are talked into meeting strangers. Let him know that if someone out there is to eager to meet you then that person they should look out for not unless you know them in real life. Oh, if he really wants to meet this person, tell him to let that person know that ok, it's fine but I'm bringing my mom along, I've told her about you and she thinks your cool too, and most likely if they're intentions weren't good at all they'll hopefully back off with that one.
2006-07-07 02:54:34 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Hmmm that's a hard one. I have a baby due in 3 weeks, so I am getting really paranoid about the internet and sites like that. I know that there are a lot of people that are comfortable with it, because they have the time and the knowledge to really monitor what their kids are doing on the web....personally, I don't have that kind of time, so I probably won;t allow my son to be on it unless I can be there with him. But I know that there are tools out there that can block sites and pages that contain certain words, pictures, etc.....just whatever you decide to do, it's the parent's responsibility to monitor what their children are doing! Good Luck :) And, if you feel uncomfortable with it, I say follow your gut instinct! Mothers have awesome built in intuition!!
2006-07-07 02:48:38 · answer #4 · answered by kendalandsam 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My son is 13. I set ground rules to let him set up his myspace account. First, he had to give me his sign in name and password, so I could check up on it if I felt like it. (I'll check up on his page, but haven't signed in yet. This was enough to scare him though.) Second, he was only allowed to have friends that he knew personally from school, or in our town.
I also checked up on his friends. A few of the girls' parents got a call from me, as they were waaay too provacative for a 13 yr old girl (showing cleave, etc). I know some of the parents pretty well, so my & my son's names were never mentioned. And, I'll tell you one thing - those girls cleaned up their sites really quick!
As long as he keeps it clean, and safe - there's really nothing wrong with myspace. It's when you add people that you don't know, who have bulletins that are unsuitable for young teens - is where I draw the line. I think myspace is a great way for him to express himself.
2006-07-07 04:55:59 · answer #5 · answered by ? 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
HMM.. tough one . I know there are a lot of bad things going around about myspace and a lot fo the peopel are a little too much, however my little brother has page there and he uses it mostly for communication with everyone else in his hischool. I would have to say it would depend not on the actual age of the child but on there knowledge of the internet as a whole. Do they understand rthe importance of only allowing his profile viewed by friends and not talkin g ot strangers etc.. and also do you trust him..........and are you preparred to have to monitor him. to open up your own account and be added as his friend?
2006-07-07 02:49:01 · answer #6 · answered by Scorpio in sincity 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is just like anything else.
If you are involved with it, then it won't be a problem.
You can easily check his site and information to see if he is following the rules you two have agreed on. With the right set of rules, Myspace is safer than letting him go to the mall (which if he isn't doing yet, he probably will in a few years).
The internet, TV, video games, books, overnights at friend's house and lots of other things are potentially dangerous for kids. Parental involvement is the key to helping the kids stay safe and to teaching them so that when, in a very few years, they don't have you around as much, they will make good decisions on their own.
good luck
2006-07-07 02:57:21 · answer #7 · answered by enginerd 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I'm not a parent. If you worry about myspace.com then try tagged.com. Tag is sorta like myspace but not really. I'm sure he will like it! I have it too. There isn't any sicko's on that sight or anything it's mostly just teens and kids. But Myspace isn't all that bad but u just shouldn't post information on there like you address,phone # and things like that.
2006-07-07 03:44:31 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
My daughter who is 14 has a myspace account. However I know her password and check her space once every couple of days, she also is not allowed to put any picture of herself on my space. same with her friends, they do not put pictures of her on their myspace. I think the key is to really monitor your childrens computer time and sites. I have 4 teens, and our computers are in the living room where I can see everything going on.
2006-07-07 02:49:55 · answer #9 · answered by ncnbja37 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
i dont have kids, but i worry about what our society will be like when i do, and this myspace stuff is a concern. im an adult, i can be on it responsably (sp?)...but i do not think id let my kid be on it, or at least not until they hit high school or something. there is no oversite to the webpage and even if your kid does just want to use it to talk to his friends, its too easy to start looking through profiles and finding ones you dont want your son to see. so, id either not let htem on, or explain the rules and monitor who he is talking to and what not. parents used to, and probably still do, snoop through their kids room. think of the internet as another room that needs to be snooped through.
2006-07-07 02:49:15 · answer #10 · answered by aaronne07 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋