Stay safe on Myspace
What parents and guardians need to know about social networking websites popular with youngsters
Social networking websites have become a virtual playground for children, and especially so for teenagers.
Sites such as Myspace and Bebo provide a place where people of all ages can meet and exchange messages and photos.
Young and old alike can mix and each user’s profile is available to all, although there are some restrictions for youngsters.
The majority of teens spend their time on such sites exchanging messages and photos or swapping gossip about their favourite bands.
A rash of recent reports has cast doubt on the safety of youngsters using social networking sites. In this feature, we will provide parents and guardians with a guide to how the sites work and the best ways to let teens continue to enjoy these fun websites in safety.
Myspace.com is currently one of the most popular online social networking services; according to internet research company Comscore, the site currently has 150 million registered users, of whom 21 million are under 18 years of age.
The secret of its popularity lies in the way Myspace works. It’s a social networking website that displays people’s profiles – a summary of information about that person, usually with a photograph and headline that users compose to encourage other members to view their profile. It will also contain information about and links to their personal blog, music choices, fashion likes and dislikes and other interests.
Above all the site encourages interaction with other members with similar interests through comments left on a guestbook or via emails sent through the site’s internal email system.
Myspace’s regulations do not allow children under the age of 13 to set up an account and will only show partial profiles (gender, age and city) of 14 and 15-year-olds, unless the viewer is already on their list of friends.
However, problems have arisen in the past when people create fake identities; for example, some children claim to be older when registering so they can bypass restrictions imposed by the website, while adult predators can adopt the identity of someone much younger.
An adult researcher at the consumer magazine Which? recently set up an account posing as a 14-year-old. They were not asked to provide proof of age or identity, showing there is no way of proving ‘teenagers’ are really who they say they are on Myspace.
To address parental fears over online safety, the Home Office set up the Child Exploitation Online Protection (CEOP) website, which has undertaken research into social networking websites and worked with both Myspace and Bebo. A representative said while the risk of adult predators contacting children was relatively small, children, parents and guardians should be vigilant.
There are various ways in which parents can help to keep teens safe on social networking sites. Some involve technology that can block, regulate or monitor access. This can be useful, but the first step should be to make sure youngsters understand the potential risks, and that means having an open discussion about the use of social networking sites.
Educate and stay safe
To address safety concerns, Myspace has launched a tool called Zephyr, which has
been created to keep parents informed about the activities of their children on
Myspace while allowing children privacy.
The content of profiles or email correspondence remains private and the software informs the child when data is shared with their parents.
Parents are also given the option to remove their child’s profile and the site supplies them with links to monitoring software that helps them see what their child is doing.
Crucially it enables parents to see the age the child has included on their profile. If they have lied about this and are open to contact from adults, alarm bells should ring.
However, the charity Childnet and CEOP believe that surveillance methods may cause conflict and could be counter-productive if done secretly. According to CEOP this is because many children see social networking as private activity, similar to speaking on the phone. Monitoring online activity may be seen by them in the same way as if a phone call of theirs had been tapped without their knowledge.
Both charities also advise that parents refrain from blocking their children’s access to such sites or forbid them to log on. This, they claim, will not only isolate the child from their friends, but also encourage them to go behind their parents’ backs.
The same also applies to filtering software; although it can help block inappropriate material, it is not 100 per cent effective. Internet use at school is filtered, supervised and safe, but many children also log on from friends’ homes, internet cafes, libraries and youth clubs where there may be no filters and little supervision.
Childnet and CEOP suggest that parents take an educational approach, and Childnet has created a range of tools that include Powerpoint presentations and seminars aimed at adults. The organisation has also published a safety leaflet on its site aimed specifically at parents.
The key, according to the charity, is to ensure that children understand the responsibility that comes with privacy. That means knowing not to share confidential information, such as passwords, telephone numbers and email addresses, with people they don’t know – clues that could enable predatory adults to track them down.
Despite the fact that inclusion of telephone numbers, street addresses and last names in a member’s profile is forbidden under Myspace’s regulations, age and location information is automatically displayed in a member’s profile, based on the birthday and postcode fields that members must fill in to gain membership.
A browse through the profiles on Myspace demonstrates that some youngsters give away information about their location quite accidentally, such as by appearing in pictures next to a road sign, or in their school uniform.
Myspace also provides a feature designed for members to rate each other, based on their photos and other profile content. While on the surface this may appear a harmless exercise, it can lead to harassment, with other members leaving unpleasant comments. This is called cyber-bullying. Therefore parents should help children think about the implications of posting photos and help them decide what is suitable.
Parents should also make children aware that photos can be copied, changed and used elsewhere. The same goes for written postings; parents are advised to urge their children to think about what they write on their own or someone else’s page.
Overcoming technical fears
One reason parents feel concerned about children’s internet use is that they
don’t have the technical knowledge to understand what’s going on online. In its
top 10 safety tips found online, CEOP recommends that parents ask their child
ren to teach them to use any applications they have never used. Also, setting up
your own Myspace profile could help you to make a decision about whether your
child should be allowed to use the site.
Childnet urges parents to make children aware that it’s never too late to tell someone if something makes them feel uncomfortable online.
Also tell them about CEOP’s Think U Know website where they can report anyone they feel is misusing a site.
These complaints are then dealt with by a police officer or special investigator. Most social networking sites also give young people the option to block someone they feel uncomfortable with online.
Parents should also ensure they let children know that they are there for them if an online friendship strays into inappropriate areas, as this will give them the confidence to speak up if problems arise.
What you can do
It’s difficult for parents to police youngsters’ online activities; there’s the
option to pull the plug entirely, but prohibition shuts the door on much that is
worthy, both in educational and social terms. There are risks online, and
predatory adults, but not as many as is commonly supposed.
It’s useful to have an open discussion with children about social networking sites and ensure that they understand what is appropriate online behaviour. If you plan to use monitoring tools or software that limits the use of specific sites, be explicit about why this is being done. Also familiarise yourself with the technology so that you make an informed decision about your child’s use of social networking sites.
How to monitor website activity
The simplest way to police internet activity is physically, by placing the PC in
a communal part of the house. If that’s not desirable, it’s possible to buy
software that restricts the kinds of sites children can visit and even logs
online activity. This means keeping a record not only of sites that have been
visited but also details of text entered in chat rooms.
Netintelligence, is one program that can be used to monitor a home PC over the internet. That means mum or dad could see what the kids are doing on the PC during holidays from their work. The software offers a 30-day free trial and is then priced at £50 a year. The US application K9 Web Protection has similar features and is free to download.
Keep your youngsters safe
The following is good advice for all sorts of online activity, but particularly
for Myspace. Given that it can be difficult to police children’s internet use
all the time, have a discussion about what they do online. Help children to
understand the dangers of giving out personal details to online friends – this
includes their instant messenger ID, email addresses, mobile numbers and any
pictures of themselves, their family or friends.
Tell children that it is not a good idea to open files that are from people they don’t know. They won’t know what the files contain – it could be a virus or worse, an inappropriate image or video.
Help children to understand that some people lie online and that therefore it’s better to keep online friends online. They should never meet up with strangers without an adult they trust. Always keep communication open so children know that it’s never too late to tell someone if something makes them feel uncomfortable.
Teach young people how to block someone online and report them if they feel uncomfortable. For more information, parents are advised to visit the following:
© Incisive Media Ltd. 2008
Incisive Media Limited, Haymarket House, 28-29 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4RX, is a company registered in the United Kingdom with company registration number 04038503
