MySpace safety?

Question

I have heard a lot of horror stories about MySpace and internet dating programs. How safe is this from child sex offenders and
nut cases from stalking or pursuing someone for the wrong reasons?

Answer 1

The best defense is a good offense; educate yourself on the dangers and saftey precautions you can take.

A good book to read to educate yourself and older teens is "To Catch A Predator" by Chris Hansen, especially the chaper on Kacie Woods. She was a 12 year old girl who befriended what she thought was a cool 17 year old boy (not as a boyfriend, just a friend) in California in a Christian chat room and she and her friends even talked to him on the phone. There was never any arrangements or even discussions for them to meet. He turned out to to be a middle-aged creep that tracked her down from several states away, abducted her from her home while her father, a cop, was at work, raped and murdered her.

Here is an excerpt from the webpage below on MSNBC's "To Catch A Predator" for all ages, but the link below has more specific tips depending on the child's age.

" Teach your children to:

Think before they click: With whom are they chatting or e-mailing, what are they saying and how are they saying it? Will the person on the other end know they are joking?
Walk away from the computer and “Take 5” before responding to something that upsets them online
Avoid spreading rumors, assisting in cyberbullying or sharing private communications online.
Follow the golden rule of cyberspace: Don’t do anything online that you wouldn’t do in real life!
Follow responsible safety practices yourself:

Install spyware and adware blocking software on your computer
Make sure you have a working firewall
Install anti-virus software and update it regularly
Take advantage of spam-blocking tools offered by your Internet provider or e-mail software "

For my son, I have told him never give out your last name, never indicate what school you go to, never give out our phone number, never give out your e-mail address outside of MySpace, be careful of what pictures you post to ensure that none will show what school you go to or where we live. Above all, never assume, even is someone posts a picture or pictures of themselves that that is who you are really talking to, it could be a predator.

Answer 2

Yes. Just don't give out any personal information. And if you give personal information to ppl you know in real life on myspace, don't do it in a comment because then other people can read it.

Answer 3

The only way it is safe is if you do not use it.