MySpace: A Pedophile’s Hunting Grounds?
Before I begin talking about the dangers that MySpace can possess, I want to clear up that this is not a MySpace bashing article, nor do I believe that MySpace is bad or has done anything wrong.
This article is to alert parents to the dangers their children may be unknowingly putting themselves in.
What is MySpace?
MySpace.com has become one of the most popular websites (#5 ranked by Alexa). MySpace is a social networking website which is targeted for people to stay in touch with friends, find old friends, find a potential relationship partner and so on.
One needs to be 14 years or older and once you signed up, you can invite friends into your “network”. You are able to create a profile page, blog (online diary), upload photos and videos, and chat with friends.
So, That Doesn’t Sound Bad
I would agree. The idea or goal of MySpace isn’t bad and I don’t believe they have bad motives. However, what parents fail to realize is that their children could be on MySpace.
Children are very innocent. They will sometimes give out there full address, full name, where they go to school and so on. This is personal information that can be used to track them down. Children also don’t understand that anyone can view their pages. Parents usually are not aware of their child has put this type of information up on the net.
MySpace has disallowed users from giving most of this information but children are still vulnerable.
The pedophile can then add their victim as a friend, pretending to be a 14 year old boy or girl, and chat with them gaining trust and further information. A meeting place can be arranged and of course the victim is put into a very dangerous situation.
You can read about the case of a 15 year old Rochester girl who came into contact and had relations with a sexual offender because of MySpace.
Gazotto’s Test Run
So, we decided that we wanted to see how fast pedophiles could have information about these young children. I created an account on MySpace and then searched the high school that I used to attend (assume Pedophile lives near school).
Within minutes I found plenty of young children with their photos and images intact and was sure they attended my high school because I found them through a school search.
Luckily, no other crucial information was published, but placing the high school they attended would allow a pedophile to zero in on them and the picture would identify who they were. The pedophile has really all the information he needs.
What Could Parents Do?
Parents, therefore, need to have a talk with their children and emphasize the dangers of the Internet. Children don’t know that people have bad intentions and really give up this crucial information due to innocence.
Parents should also look at the material (profile, blogs, etc.) on their children’s MySpace account regularly and make sure they don’t have their full name, address, school, or any other details that would make it easy for someone to locate them. Images could stay if no other details are given about them, but “naughty” images should be removed as these are likely to attract the wrong attention.
They could also keep the computer in a public place, know where they children are and with whom. Of course, the above advice does not garuntee prevent a child from being in a dangerous position but does reduce the risk.
What Has MySpace Done?
MySpace has reportedly deleted many accounts of users who are under 14 years of age. They will terminate any account that:
- contains nudity, violence, or offensive subject matter
- solicits personal information from anyone under 18
- provides any telephone numbers, street addresses, last names, URLs or email addresses
In their defense has done a pretty good job of protecting their users, but it by no means is perfect.
Is MySpace the Only Social Networking Site?
No, MySpace is by far the most popular social networking site. While MySpace doesn’t allow last names, addresses and the like other sites do. The following are some other social networking sites: Bebo, Friendster, Xanga, and so on.
Technorati Tags: Gazotto, MySpace, children, Internet, danger.
June 1st, 2006 at 6:24 am
There are many clearly visible options for adolescence to only allow their profile to be seen by people in their friends list. A 14 year old is not an idiot, this is 2006 and a 14 year old knows the dangers of the internet and knows how to work the simple mechanics behind myspace in keeping their information safe. Im 18 years old and I deal with many 14, 15, 16 year olds through myspace via a skate program I run, and I know for a fact that these ADOLESCENCE are knowledgable and mature enough to deal with situations. It is people like yourself who see your world like you are wearing “oprah-goggles” that really should be keeping away from myspace. Young adults are constantly and unhealthily bombarded with warning and threats from your kind that tells them anything they do that is not approved by an “Adult” is wrong. Banning myspace at school, at home, delivering punishment for what youth do on their private myspace only encourages the youth to do it more. Think back to when you were young, and think about what you’ve turned into. A grumpy old fart. Get over yourself buddy, the only people who care about what you think are your fellow Oprahbots!
June 1st, 2006 at 6:56 am
First of all I’d like to say that calling me an “old fart” isn’t exactly a smart
thing to do when you don’t know my age.
I’m in my late teens - hardly an old fart.
As for blocking the profile to your friends list that is an option. However, I was able to view public profiles at a whim. Are these children as tech savvy as you make them sound?
Also a pedophile befriends a child and will be added to their friends list. Now the profile is viewable.
Secondly, I agree that banning MySpace or making it private is wrong (I never mentioned this in the article) and I agree that there are kids that are web safe.
But if 15 year old Rochester girl is so knowledgable how did she get into a dangerous situation? How come she couldn’t handle it? Her’s is not the only example.
Anonytek while I respect your point of view, I don’t think you can deny that anyone can access that information and do harm to a child if a predator really wanted to.
There are literally hundreds of cases of children being molested because they were accessing chat sites and thought they were talking to another child.
Are you saying that this kids were prepared? How come they too couldn’t handle the situation?
MySpace is now THE site for teens to chat and it makes it real easy for a predator to do harm.
Anonytek, while the chance of harm is small, you live in a Utopian dream where adolescence are free from harm. The real world is not like that.
As for Oprah, I don’t watch her show. I saw this story on the news where I live and on several websites and decided to comment about it.
Lastly, if people actually took the time to read the article I never stated that MySpace in itself was bad or that banning it was a good idea. I’m just saying it may expose a child to a stronger level of danger.
MySpace does have it’s good uses such as your skate program. That’s how MySpace should truly be used.
June 1st, 2006 at 7:52 am
Anonytek, you need to grow up, youngster. However enlightened and wisened you may think you are, there are others your age and younger who are dumb as a sack of hammers, who could easily be manipulated to give up their sex to a determined pedo.
I would agree that banning MySpace access as you describe is not a realistic solution, but maybe suggesting to these “mature” adolescents that they not post provocative pics online, giving people the perhaps incorrect impression that their sexual assets are up for grabs, would be a better course of action.
June 1st, 2006 at 8:09 am
@Anonytek - A large number of 14 year olds ARE idiots, just go and look around Myspace. You will be astounded at the severe lack of intelligence and knowledge. Sure, on other sites like the one you run, you encounter many teens with common sense and a bit of brain power, but that is not always the case.
Myspace attracts the sort of 14-15 year olds who ARE vulnerable to pedophiles. I created an account on Myspace to advertise my website but I’ve been shocked at some of the stuff I’ve seen.
It’s mostly the hip hop culture in the UK and US which sweeps across these sorts of sites and some of the people are just incredibly stupid and dull. They have zero understanding of the real world and live in this imaginary bubble of gangsters, hoes and music videos which doesn’t really exist outside their circle of friends and the TV screen. I’ve seen young girls posting pictures of themselves in suspenders and such, spread across beds for millions to see, all I can say is it’s disgusting and it makes me wonder how on earth they manage to do all of this under their parents noses, or why they would even want to. I can’t believe they expose so much of themselves to such a large audience. It’s this reality tv/hip hop culture, it just makes people want to be exposed and exploited, and when they do so, especially kids they becoming sitting ducks for perverts and pedophiles.
June 1st, 2006 at 8:25 am
So, what you’re saying is that you searched your old school on myspace, and surprisingly enough found some schoolkids on it. I don’t get how that is ‘all a paedophile needs’. All that tells you is that some kids from that school have myspace accounts. You would know that you’d find young kids if you went to a school regardless of myspace. It’s easy for a paedophile to find a school and hang around outside, you don’t need the internet for that.
Yes, there have been some cases of kids getting into unfortunate circumstances involving myspace and so on, but it’s like plane crashes, you only hear about them in the news because they’re very rare. Most kids are sensible enough not to give someone they’ve never met their home address, or not to meet up with someone without telling people about where they’re going and so on. Perhaps myspace and such sites could do more to remind children not to give out personal info (perhaps accounts owned by under-18s could be configured to bring this message home a little more, but who knows if kids would listen), but I think really it’s down to parents and teachers to make sure kids know how to be sensible about the whole thing.
June 1st, 2006 at 8:30 am
I read your article with interest. Then read Anonytek response to you. I have to actually say, that out of the two of you, you come across a lot more mature and intellectual than her rant. Then I read you where only in your late teens. Very impressive.
If one is going to ‘discuss’ a difference of opinion, then at least do it without sounding like you are ten years old and trying to win a school yard fight. Why not reread the article, calm down and get off your high horse and write a rebuttal piece that is actually intelligent and insightful instead of sounding so pompous.
I believe that you can never have enough opinions, articles, advice on any subject when it comes to the safety of our children. Because, you know what, until a child is 18 years old, that is what they are, a child. And they will always be a child in their parents eyes, even when they are 30. You truly think that any parent would not do anything in their power to protect their children? Reading such articles just gives us parents a little extra edge and insight into the ever growing, ever changing world of the internet.
Most kids think that they are invincible, and you know what, I wish they where. But they are not. That is why their are so many molesters, perverts, abused, neglected and very dead children. If an article like this just informs one parent and helps saves one child, then it is worth writing about.
June 1st, 2006 at 8:38 am
Anonytek= Idiot
A bunch of 14-16 year olds who you work with may be “knowledgable” but it doesnt mean s*** to the rest of the teenage population. Being 17 myself, I have accounts on Bebo, Zorpia and in the past, “Hi5″. On each of those accounts, people from outside my networks have added me, people my age, and after talking for a while, they offer phone numbers, names, and other personal information. This does offer a worrying insight into the mind of some teenagers.
Precautions and warnings are valid in this case, and hopefully this article will open the eyes of some parents who will in turn look into what their kids do online.
June 1st, 2006 at 8:55 am
Old news friend, here in the U.A.E - only a very good proxy will get you through to any of these sites; Especially “MySpace”, any hint of the term in the adress bar blocks the site.
June 1st, 2006 at 12:18 pm
I’ve been “online” for over 20 years now, and I’ve always maintained that cyberspace is clearly not for the masses (I am under 30, btw). This is an example of a web site that started out as one thing, and has been abused by the unwitting masses, and morphed into something completely different.
I agree that parents need to be educated in the etiquette, and perils of the internet, but many are disinterested, and apathetic. Many (dare I say _most_) most of the children these days have been weened on overly sexualized mass media. This sort of indoctrination leads them to behave in a sexual manner, whether on-line, or in other, real situations. I’m not trying to be a prude here, but I do not feel it appropriate for kids as young as 13 to be flaunting their ’sex’, with little to no understanding of what sexuality is.
As the article states, MySpace.com is the 5th largest draw on the internet. Having said that, it’s the obvious choice to stalk ANYONE, not just children. I remember a few years ago that the favored place of stalkers was AOL chatrooms. It’s a simple fact that any place where masses of people gather, you are going to have that small percentage of undesireables.
You bring up a good point about protecting privacy as well. In these modern times, you are your data. Most people, especially kids, have no concept of that. It’s much deeper than just simply your name or address that someone may lift off of MySpace. Once they have that information, they can begin to construct a false identity around that information. It really is quite a bit easier than one might think, and when you are a kid, that thought never even crosses your mind.
Should MySpace.com be banned/blocked? That is up to the parents of the children involved. If I was a teen, and a regular user of MySpace, and had noticed the number incidents where schools have gotten involved in the personal lives of kids, then I would stop using myspace… but that’s just me. If my kids were old enough to participate in myspace, and I found out that the schools were penalizing them for having a party on the weekend, that involved some alcohol, I’d be more upset with the school than with my kids. (I dont approve of underage drinking, but teenage years are a time for experimenting, and discovery.)
Finally, I dont think MySpace should be as popular as it is. If you spend 15 minutes looking around on MySpace, you will see all sorts of personal information about people. It is willing submittal to the sort of giant corporate databases that invade every one’s privacy, and that many people like my self fight very hard to keep everyone’s data out of. It’s submitting your self to the never-ending battle against “Big Brother” in an information age. Since Ruppert Murdoch purchased MySpace, I am sure a corporation could purchase whatever information from MySpace that is available. That corporation could then look-up , and a cross reference publically available information, and can find out all sorts of interesting information about you. Everything from how much your home is worth, to your income, to how much you spend on groceries. This may sound paranoid, but why do you think spyware is so prevalent? Where does all that junk-mail come from? You are your data. You are the product. MySpace is a giant marketing research location. Think about it.
June 1st, 2006 at 3:44 pm
I agree, let dress our teens in burkas and pretend that they dont have a sex drive, a mind, needs and wants let alone think that we can somehow bypass the A young person having sex with someone older is not the end of the world, the norm outside of USA is that you are at age of consent between 13 and 18, in most areas 15-16. As for so called pedophiles, their rap has been the same through the ages, get the childs attention and befriend it by either being cool or caring. The push for more advanced thing, more often than not, make the child take the first steps. So, when we shut down myspace, lock up our young lets make laws that no adult can ever be in contact with anyone young, because then bad thing happen. *shakes head* I just love moral panic. Let the teens have fun and lets instead concentrate on grabbing the predators.
June 1st, 2006 at 4:52 pm
basically u are reading way to much into internet sequrity parents/guardians should be aware of wat they r doing but controling what they shouldnt go on best advice ypu could give would be “be vigilant” also myspace doesnt let u search for any1 under the age of 16 your alwoed to be 14 but u do not come up on the search list early teenagers are more mature these days when i was 14 i was on chat rooms i knew not to give out that kind of info this was in 2003 open your eyes man and reliase every1 isnt stupid
peace out
June 2nd, 2006 at 12:50 am
Its about time they go after the mostly the real source. The kids! They show half naked pictures of themselfs, and post all kinds of things like they like this and that sex wise. Lets face it, the fourteen year olds of today are not the same fourteen year old of say 10 years ago. I have a idea, lets go runnng to their house with a national tv crew, and video tape them coming out of their houses for all the world to see and interview them why they show and write the things they do on their “myspace”.
June 7th, 2006 at 9:16 am
Actually, paedophiles are attracted to pre-pubescent children, meaning that anybody seeking 14+ year olds would be an ephebophile
June 9th, 2006 at 9:56 am
I know some people thought I was being paranoid in my response to the original article. I posted it a week ago, and found this in the news today. I know posting to a blog post that is a week old is like talking to your self, but I think it’s important to speak the truth. So here is a link to an article that came out today, that backs my point of view. I hope everyone is paying attention.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19025556.200?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=mg19025556.200
June 9th, 2006 at 10:04 am
Hey technoelitist,
I think people are too naive when they are on the Internet. I think people do need to take precautions when online.
And this macho attitude people who are online is what makes them more susceptible. I read the post and liked the content there.
I agreed with your original comments wholeheartedly.
May 20th, 2007 at 2:11 am
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