Why are so many kids getting on my space during school?

Question

I see this question so many times during the day. I don't even understand why these kids are on the computer. They really need to be monitored better. They should only be allowed to go to the 3 or 4 websites needed to do research. I have an 11 year old and when she gets a couple years older, If I ever hear of her being on myspace while at school then there is going to be trouble. This is something that should be done at home or after school hours.
Please give me input especially if you have kids.

Answer 1

For starters, even if it's school hours where you live, it may not be for the person who's posting. Remember that the Interent is a global thing, and Answers is a global site (unless you chose to filter questions by their country of origin, but by default you see questions from all over the world). So they may well be at home. Also, many schools block access from school computers to wesbites like MySpace.

Apart from that, I used to go on various websites during lunch, recess, and free periods in high school, and I fail to see why that should be problematic. I have to assume that the kids you're speaking of aren't on MySpace while they're sitting in class as it's unlikely they'd have access to a computer during class. Why is going on MySpace during their lunch breaks any worse than going on it from their room at home?

There are actually kids out there who can use the Interent responsibly without external restrictions, and restricted access tend to block out helpful sites as well as potentially dangerous ones. I've had my own computer in my room, without any restrictions on Internet access, since I was 11 and never got into any trouble (I'm nearly 20 now). My high school didn't block access to any websites, and only problems we ever ran into with that were students annoying the tech people by playing flash games from the school computers (and this was only forbidden because it consumes bandwidth). And blocking certain types of sites is not always harmless, either. For example, I recently learned that the software that many schools use to block MySpace and the like also blocks a site called RecoverYourLife, which is a support site for people who are trying to recover from various forms of self harm, and is a place that kids go for help (and many of the kids who frequent that site can't access it from home for various reasons). The point is I don't think it's as simple as just saying that kids shouldn't be allowed on the Internet without extreme restrictions.

Answer 2

Kids really arent monitored very well at school. I remember when I was a kid and we always found ways to do things that were bad and could possibly get us in trouble but we never did get in trouble. I dont know if much has changed. There's too many kids to watch them all. I agree that getting on myspace should be done after hours and once other priorities are done. But kids dont understand responsibility so they will do whatever they want.

Answer 3

I work at the High Schools in my area and have for sometime. The reason students get on myspace is because they know how to get around all the firewalls....etc. They learn every year how to do a search that will allow you to access any site they want. It isn't hard to do. Actually, what I have learned is that usually the students have more knowledge and abilities to use computers than the teachers. I usually am very active in a computer class and walk around and look at what is on their task bar. It is easy to flip in and out of a page. You have to be knowledgeable. With my own children, they are not allowed to go on myspace because of the nature of the material on that site. i feel it is inappropriate and that allot of children post things about themselves including pictures, that if their parents saw and knew about they would be horrified. You have to know computers...checking temp. Internet files and cookies to know what sites have been gone to on any computer!!!

Answer 4

The answer is simple: they're doing it because they can.

The school obviously sees no need to block the site, so of course students are going to use it when the opportunity arises. And teachers probably feel that they can't monitor the online activity of every student every single minute, so they probably don't even bother enforcing it.

I completely agree that this is totally unacceptable. If I had kids, I would be pushing to get the site banned at their school. What do they need it for?

Not to mention, it's a waste of our tax dollars.

Answer 5

Maybe they are using myspace to find out answers to homework. I agree with you though....because even if they are they should be taught how to find the answers for themselves. A lot of kids are probably doing it from home though. They may have not gone to school that day or something.

Answer 6

I agree with you. I am actually at high school right now. My school's IT actually knows about proxies and blocks them, but they can not get them all.. kids are just too addicted and some parents do not enforce the fact that they need to stay off of these sites at school. good luck to all parents trying to block these. I recommend checking their history. if it is deleted, then they are hiding something.. if not, then you can see what sites they go too.. also check their cookies..

Answer 7

These kids are obsessed. My sister is always on the dang site. They find it fun because they can find their friends on there and can talk to them I guess. If your a school teacher, the school can get a program called Novell BorderManager and you can block sites on there. My school has all the game sites, and chatting sites blocked. Its a good thing.

Answer 8

I totally agree. I don't know what the problem is these days. School is becoming a joke - they don't do anything while they are there. You could always contact your daughters school district and have them block the website.

Answer 9

kids will go around you. they will go online and wont tell you threats dont work so dont even think about usin threats on children. children will not talk to you and hate there parents if you do threat i know my parents did and i dont have any relationship with them which was bad cuz i did stupid things that i wish my parents would have sat down and talked to me resonably

Answer 10

myspace is addicting..I would have probably been on it all day too