by Max Lehmann

Created on: May 27, 2007

Did you ever hear the old adage, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people"?

It's a bit of a trite saying - many people who kill others with guns could find an alternate method, but equally, without that dangerous weapon a number of deaths might be prevented. The internet is the same. It's not dangerous. How could it be dangerous? It's not a physical object and any interaction with it is a step removed from direct interaction with the physical world.

The problem is that danger isn't necessarily physical. MySpace is an incredibly popular internet forum and it is one that is policed very carefully. There are many, many staff at the company whose job entails checking pictures and banning unsuitable images and other such tedious tasks, all aimed at making the venue safe.

All the same, what MySpace and the rest of the internet offer are connections. MySpace is a phenomenal success and millions of user accounts are active. The internet has broken down geographical barriers and a teenager in todays world is in a very different environment from that which their parents encountered. On the internet most people can find a connection with somebody, no matter how excluded they might feel amongst their peers at the likes of school.

For this reason, MySpace and other sites of its ilk (Facebook, LiveJournal, Friendster) should be applauded and welcomed into family life. A teenager should be encouraged to make real connections with people who care about the same things that they do.

However, a teenager is still legally a child. A parent should NEVER abandon responsibility for their child and it is important to monitor the interaction a child engages in online. MySpace may police their forums regularly but that doesn't mean they will catch everything that is unsuitable. Perhaps a pornographic image will appear for a short while before it is pulled. Perhaps some of the conversations a teen might be drawn into could be damaging - pro-anorexic conversation, for example, or racial slurs.

Just as you might police who you allow your child to hang out with in person, as a parent you should consider who your child mixes with online. Engage with your child, stay up to date with what kind of forums they are visiting online, be encouraging and be friendly. There are far more positive aspects to MySpace than there are negative and it should not be villianised. Some examples include:

- Continued interaction with friends who move away
- A way to find out more about a favourite band
- New connections with friends in remote locations
- Healthy debate on modern issues
- A chance to view others' art
- A chance to show off ones own art
- A discovery forum for new music

A teenager should not be cut off from these fantastic benefits simply because there might be unsavoury characters and unpleasant content lurking amidst the good.

All the same, this means it is inevitable that any thorough examination of MySpace will result in the conclusion that it cannot be deemed entirely safe. Nothing is entirely safe, of course, and it pays to educate yourself as a parent as to the risks involved with anything your children might want to engage in. As dangers go, MySpace is one of the less frightening, but remember that supervision is important and an open understanding and ongoing interaction with your child is paramount in allowing them access to the internet.

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