Imagine a place where you could meet up with your college friends and family members who have spread across the country, where you could network with potential business colleagues, and where you could meet thousands of people of all different ages and backgrounds.  Sound like a great plan?  To many, the answer is yes.  Yet, even though you create a “personal” profile, many people forget that MySpace is a public forum.

Described as “a place for friends” as well as a place that leads you to consider whether you really are “six people away from Kevin Bacon,” MySpace is a virtual social club that is free and available to anyone who has access to the Internet.  It has taken the Internet by storm, outpacing eBay.com, Google, and aol.com as one of the most hit upon websites.  In fact, it has become the third most popular website in the United States. It welcomed its 106 millionth member this past September and continues to welcome upwards of 200,000 new members every day.  It’s hard to imagine anything more public than a website that is viewed by millions upon millions of people daily. When posting information about yourself, you should always remember these numbers and the fact that MySpace is a public forum.

One of the first things you should note when using MySpace is that the distance that the Internet affords its members often prompts many to share too much of themselves.  Because the MySpace website is meant for the sharing of personal information and the introduction of strangers to one another, it has become a perfect venue for sexual and violent predators in search of potential victims. Unfortunately, children are often targeted, although MySpace membership requires a minimum age of 14.   Minor children involvement, indecency, and privacy violations are all issues that have rankled the users and higher-ups at MySpace.  In fact, seven men have been recently arrested in conjunction with a rape and robbery that occurred when a woman planned to meet in person strangers she became friendly with on MySpace..  Although the company’s privacy policy and terms of service deal with all of these issues, the reality is that it is very difficult to enforce these rules virtually.  People can easily take on alternate personas when creating new memberships, making it nearly impossible for MySpace to regulate its users.

In response to the criticism that has been piling up against MySpace for its negative impact on teens, the networking service has begun cracking down.  It reports that it shut down over 200,000 profiles deemed too provocative or owned by users younger than the minimum age of fourteen.  The company now plans to launch an advertising campaign in conjunction with the Fox All Access radio network and the New York Post to educate Americans about the dangers of online sexual predators and of sharing too much personal information over the Internet.

According to the company’s privacy policy, MySpace also collects, logs, and monitors user-submitted information, including name, email address, ages, personal interests, gender, occupation, and IP address.  It is important that you understand that this information is being logged and may be passed on to MySpace advertisers.  MySpace also allows advertisers to put cookies on your computer, which allows them to when, where, and through what website you clicked on their advertisement.

While you are enjoying connecting with strangers around the country on MySpace, be aware of the vulnerability of your personal information.  Remember also that you have rights and that people may not threaten, harass, or steal your identity even though you posted personal information on the Internet.

Related posts:

1. Harassment Via MySpace … What You Can Do to Stop It
2. General Safety Tips Everyone Should Know When Using MySpace
3. MySpace – Beefing Up Security to Protect Teens
4. Parental Guidance to Keep your Kids Protected on MySpace
5. Everyone’s at home at MySpace.com

Tags: MySpace a Public Forum

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