Parents get lesson on MySpace

By JIM LAWRENCE
For the Stafford County Sun
Published: August 27, 2008

STAFFORD —  The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office hosted two seminars concerning MySpace on Saturday, and again on Wednesday. Admission to the sessions was free of charge and open to the general public.

MySpace, a popular Web site for teenagers and adolescents, allows them to meet, communicate and easily stay in touch with people through the Internet through e-mail messaging, photo posting and other features all on one site.

Deputy Carol Burgess of the Brooke Point High School Resource Office, moderated the educational sessions. Designed by the sheriff’s office, the sessions were prompted when a parent from a neighborhood watch complained that one of her daughters was being “bullied” through MySpace.
Bullying usually includes a great deal of name calling, said Burgess.

“… Sometimes they send messages of a threatening nature or there may be false stories about the person,“ she said. 

And it’s not one-on-one. Friends of the “harasser” will pick up on it too and send negative messages.

On MySpace, the host of the page does not have to post the messages he or she receives, but they are still received, nonetheless. If the person’s site is open for public perusal, it can be an invitation for undesirable individuals.

Like all such sites, MySpace has the possibility of attracting sexual predators.

Young women often post “profiles” that contain false ages and other information. They may include suggestive pictures, and often scantily clad images of themselves.

If the person has chosen public viewing as an option, that information is available for anyone to access.

According to a 2007 report published by the San Francisco Chronicle, at least four families had sued MySpace “after their underage daughters were assaulted after meeting men they had first encountered online.“

“Schools do not allow students to access MySpace through their computers,“ said Burgess. However, she states that students can access it through their cell phones.

In other cases, pictures can be misconstrued by the general public viewing the photos. For instance, photos of people in apparel that look like gang clothing or colors invites trouble. In other cases, someone that may not be in a gang at all, but may be dressed similarly, may be representing themselves falsely but may be putting themselves in a bad position through My Space and the photos posted, by way of the site. 

Teenagers do not always see such consequences of their actions or mean any harm, Burgess added. Many are just relating to their peers and feel they have a mutual understanding of the content.

“We’re trying the educate parents” about the cultural phenomenon, Burgess said.

Jim Lawrence is a contributing writer at the Stafford County Sun. Reach him at .