• Safety Tips:
• Online Safety:Are Social Networking Sites Safe?

Online Safety:

There has been much written in recent weeks about teen-oriented websites such as www.myspace.com and www.livejournal.com. Although touted as a "place for friends", there is growing concern that the contacts taking place within these so-called "social networking" sites transcend those found in a typical friendship.

Among the concerns voiced by parents, educators and law enforcement officials is that the sites' young users are providing far too much private information. Each MySpace user is prompted to build their profiles with personal data such as full name, hometown and the school they attend making it far easier for predators to befriend a potential victim. Even worse is that the site encourages teens to post photographs of themselves. And if that weren't bad enough, users often also use the site's comments feature to make plans with friends, providing specific details about where they will be and when they will be there. Oh, and did we mention that pornography sites advertise on MySpace?

Yet despite these dangers, the site has over 50 million users, causing growing concern that the incidence of violent acts against teens will rise.

For their part, the folks at MySpace prohibit teens under the age of 14 from using the site and they have recently announced that they are considering restricting access to certain areas of the site to users over the age of 18. While this is a good and necessary step, we all know that setting age restrictions is relatively futile, particularly when a child's Internet activity isn't closely monitored by parents.

How dangerous is this site? Last month, a 26 year-old California man was arrested and charged with felony child molestation against a 14 year-old girl he met on MySpace. In Connecticut, as many as seven girls ages 12-16 recently claimed that they were molested by men they met through MySpace.

Fortunately, educators in several states have recognized the potential dangers found in sites such as MySpace and are taking steps to limit teensí access to these types of sites during school hours.

For example in Rhode Island, education officials estimate that 80% of their schools have filters in place which prohibit students from accessing these sites from school computers. Filters have also been installed in many Florida schools and legislation allowing them to be installed in schools throughout several other states is currently pending.

While measures such installing filters in schools is a terrific first step, there is still much more to be done in order to keep our kids safe. Given the fact that regardless of the obstacles placed before them teens will always find a way to get online and visit these social networking sites, the focus needs to shift from prevention to promoting safe usage.

In response to the increasing concern over the safety of these social networking sites, many have included information regarding safe usage; MySpace offers safety tips for both users and parents. Additionally, the site has plans to launch a series of safety tutorials that will help teens understand the importance of safe online communication.

Meanwhile, government authorities and child-safety advocacy groups all around the country are working hard to make social networking sites such as MySpace safer for our kids. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is one official who advocates stricter controls. In fact, according to this recent BusinessWeek article, he has been working in recent weeks with MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe to identify specific measures which can lead to ìgreater policing, stronger verification of age limits and measures to filter out pornography. While there is no set timetable for the identification and implementation of these changes, it certainly sounds as though positive progress is being made.

Meanwhile, if you suspect your teenage is using sites such as MySpace, you should take the time to read both the Safety Tips and Tips for Parents sections which are linked at the bottom of the home page. You should also make your teenager read this information as a condition for being able to use the site. Let your teenager know that you will periodically monitor their profile and that the discovery of any objectionable material will result in the loss of Internet privileges. Remember, while your teenager may think you are the worst parent in the world, chances are you wonít be alone.

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