Today's teenagers live in a world so vastly different than that of their parent's teenage years, that many parents find it extremely difficult to relate to their teen children's world. A generation ago teenagers hung out in malls or played video games at the local arcades.
Technology has changed all that and today's teen are no longer into being mall rats or video geeks.
Social networking for teens today involves such terms as Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, cell phones and texting. None of these things existed a generation ago and many parents still have no idea what some of these innovations are.
In the old days when teens interacted face-to-face, they worried over their appearance; they worried about pimples, extra pounds and hair that was unruly. Nowadays teenagers can edit themselves to perfection with a good digital editing program. In the anonymity of the online world you can become anyone you want to be.
There are no laws regulating honest representation by those who use MySpace so there are many users who drastically misrepresent themselves. Some go so far as to post photos of persons they have never met to represent themselves.
Maybe it is the attraction of the freedom to use imagination and create an alter-ego that drives teenagers to represent themselves less than honestly. MySpace is all about having a good time and interacting- who's to say it is really wrong to let your imagination run wild and take on the persona of someone other than yourself? Just don't get so creative that you forget to be safe and sensible.
MySpace is a platform for teenagers to keep in touch with what is going on with their friends 24/7. With MySpace teens can easily see what "everyone" is talking about, what "everyone" is doing as well as listen to the latest music. They can chat for hours on end without tying up the family phone line. MySpace is the largest "hang out" ever; kids from all over the world hang out at MySpace in addition to kids from school and from the neighborhood.
For those parents who desire their children to focus on academic pursuits, MySpace offers plenty of opportunity for teens to interact with teens from all over the globe. If you tell your teen to research Morocco at the library you probably get a pretty negative reaction. But tell your teenager to research Morocco on MySpace and you'll be greeted with enthusiasm. MySpace provides a great learning platform for those who enjoy chatting with people from half way around the world. MySpace offers kids a way to exchange information and keep in touch conveniently and simply.
The question on most parent's minds is this: "Is MySpace really safe for my teenager?". The fact is MySpace is safer than sending your teenager to most malls as long as you have taught them to use MySpace properly. As long as you have taught your teenager to NOT put personal information on MySpace, to avoid contact with strangers and to chat only with family and friends, MySpace is a great place for teens to get together and have a good time all without leaving home.
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