I’m the technology guru of the family and I am expected to know all and see all. So last Saturday night when my niece asked me if her son, age 12, should be allowed to go onto MySpace and how dangerous it was, I didn’t have an answer for her. Since I only knew what I had read in the online forums, or vague news articles, I wasn’t sure exactly what to say. OK. I admit it. I didn’t have a clue.

So I ventured over to MySpace to see what appears to be Web sites, blogs, networking, and in general a place for people to meet. That’s nice. So the first picture I click on takes me to this young lady’s Web site I’ll call Red, who starts her blog by stating she has a recurring dream each night. She goes on to explain that this dream involves you, I, me, whoever, that attacks her and she goes into explicit details about what happens.

Now I am sure there are some beneficial qualities to MySpace and that some people may think that it is a great place to socialize and meet new friends. And I am sure that most people who go to MySpace are good people and are well intentioned. But I am also sure that there are some people on the site that most of us would not meet nor would we care to socialize with. And I am also sure that MySpace is not the only Web site on the Internet that offers these same features.

As a parent and also an uncle of a 12 year old, I would have to say that MySpace, from what I have seen, may have some attributes that we would rather not expose our loved ones to. And then there is always the concern about predators lurking about as well as identity theft.

That is just my take. I’m sure other readers may have a difference of opinion. If you have any experience regarding MySpace, be it bad or good, please leave a comment.

[tags]myspace, blog, networking, google, socialize, meet, friends, social network[/tags]