MySpace Forum Keeps Kids and Parents on Same Page
'MySpace' forum keeps kids and parents on same page Oct 23, 2006 06:40 AM CDT To many, "MySpace" is like outer space... a place they'll never go. But kids today spend a lot of time on "MySpace..." and parents say they need to know what the teens are doing. A forum was held on Sunday in Tucson to teach parents how to keep their kids safer. "MySpace" is considered one of the coolest hang-outs for teens. To say the "Myspace..." social networking site has simply "grown" in popularity since it began three years ago...would be an understatement. But in many cases, it has also become the focus of intense parental concern. The idea of the forum was to educate both teens and parents about the site and put everyone on the same...page. How can parents "Predator proof" what their kids do online...? The experts say, understand "MySpace" and the other sites like it. Many say in today's world...trying to keep kids off... is a mute point. "Parents say to me a lot 'How can I just keep my kids off 'MySpace?' and my advice is 'that's going to be a losing battle,' " says Dr. Stephen Russell. Russell teaches family studies and human development at the University of Arizona... and says it's important to talk to your kids about the potential risks... but also potential benefits of having a "MySpace" account. "Kids need to know about the internet- they need to become internet literate in this world and better that we help kids develop the skills and the critical thinking to know what's safe, to know what's healthy," he says. He also says parents need to set the ground rules early, so that their teenagers are only socializing with the friends they already have...not making new ones online. Parents, like Jerri Oldham attended the forum to learn more about the "MySpace" website and educate herself about what her 13-year-old daughter, Lenaie is doing online, "These kids are naive and they really don't who they're talking to." Lenaie is the oldest of Oldham's two young girls. She says she's very active on her "MySpace" account... but its set to private, meaning it can only be only accessed if Lenaie approves it... "I think that some of them can just be way too over protective over this and the kid's just want to communicate with each other," Lenaie told us. While the internet can be an unsafe place... experts remind parents that they are the ones in control... as long as they know what their child is up to. "You wouldn't invite a stranger into your home... that's kind of what's happening online- so how do we know these people? Are these people we can trust?" says Doctor Russell. There are more than 63,000,000 members on "MySpace..." with 230,000 new members signing up, everyday. http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=5574623