Can Your Kids Use MySpace Safely?

Children are characterized by naivete, it is part of what defines a child.

The Internet has not created a new threat for children; there have always been risks for children from nefarious persons.

However, the Internet has made it easier for those with ill intent to prey on children and sometimes even adults.

Often kids will say things online and share information such as phone numbers and addresses that are best left undisclosed. Social networking websites like MySpace.com are doing all they can to protect minor children who use their sites but parents must stay aware of what their children are doing online and be alert to any suspicious activity.



We have all heard or read reports about teens being assaulted, stalked or harassed by someone they met on MySpace. Most kids have the attitude that it will never happen to them;  parents need to get across to their children that it can happen to them if they act unwisely and give out too much information to someone they meet online.

For parents it is a hard position; to impress their child enough to be careful without scaring them so badly that they become afraid of everything. Many parents are so afraid of MySpace that they refuse their children access to the site at home. This approach generally backfires by making the kids so curious about what they are being denied that they jump on the nearest computer at school and head for MySpace to check it out. The wisest suggestion is for parents to prepare their children with safe Internet practices and guidelines to lower their risk of harm.

A few tips for preparing your children to safely use MySpace:

Never have any sort of contact with persons you do not know. If you teach your children nothing else about safe MySpace use, this rule is the one to teach. Teach your children to never engage in long exchanges with someone they do not know and to never accept a friend request from someone unknown to them.

On MySpace anyone can say they are someone else and your children need to understand that everyone may not be as they seem. Make a simple rule and enforce it; your children simply are never to have interaction with persons not known to them.

Set profile to "private". By setting your child's profile to "private" access to their profile is limited to those your child accepts as friends (see rule above---your child should ONLY accept as friends those persons they know). With the profile set to private, visitors can only see the headline, the default picture and the general area of residence.

Do not use a real photo for the Default picture. Your child should never use their picture or that of another person as the Default. Use a piece of Clip-Art or a favorite photo of the family pet, but a real photo of your child should NEVER be used. This will help protect their identity.

Teach your child to NEVER give out any personal information. Teach your children to never under any circumstance give out the address of home nor a phone number. Potentially your children can have a lot of safe fun on MySpace. Parents need to set the rules and check to make sure that the children are adhering to them by checking their MySpace profile regularly.