Before you let your children loose on the internet there are some hard facts you need to know.
Today’s online environment has become a place of individual expression, social interaction, education and much more.
The internet and its social networks have indeed opened up a world of possibilities for children and teens. As a result, your child has a space that they can say and do pretty much anything they want – and they do.
The global phenomenon of MySpace.com is an expansive “social network” that puts teens in touch with other teens at a click of a button; and owes it’s success to the basic concept of allowing people to build a community of people who they believe are like themselves.
The problem with this social network and others like it, is it provides predators with all the information they need to find, track and contact your child in person.
Pedophiles and predators adopt a pattern of behavior known as grooming. This is where they gain the trust of the child, gain information about them and work there way into a position of power.
This “grooming” process would usually take time however with the teen’s information readily available at the click of a mouse and simple and free tools online, online predators have access to all the tools they need to speed up the process.
MySpace makes it even easier because it allows users to search for specifics when it comes to their other users. You can do an age, area, school or community specific search.
Predators can specifically target teens simply by searching for them in a specified area or age group.
For example, a search for 15-year-old boys in a specified area could turn up literally hundreds of listings with locating, identifying and personal information.
Many teens also post photos of themselves and friends making it easy for them to be identified and targeted.
A typical MySpace.com profile provides valuable information to a online predator because in MANY instances, kids just are not cognizant about the dangers of the information that they provide on their profiles.
For example, a teen’s online profile is more then likely going to list the area the teen lives in, what school they go to, where they hang out, the names of their friends and their interests as well.
This is exactly the type of information a predator will use to gain the location and confidence of your child.
Of course, the MySpace.Com guidelines are clear about internet safety and encourage their users to adopt safety principals, and they do their best to monitor and police the site but the fact is many teens do not heed the warning.
MySpace and others like it can provide a positive social space for your teen to express communicate and socialize.
Blogs can help build self-esteem, communication, and language skills. They provide a unique opportunity to voice an individual opinion and receive feedback for it. These are all great ways for your teen to interact but only if you can ensure their safety.
Key things you can do as a parent to minimize the risk to your teen includes education and monitoring.
First things first just like stranger danger, road safety, drug and alcohol awareness you need to make internet safety a priority.
Educating your children in strategies for internet safety is essential. You cannot watch them all the time and often they will be using a public computer at school or at a café.
Be clear about the rules and guidelines for internet use in the home. Be absolutely clear about the rule of not giving out personal information online.
Ideally, if your child is using MySpace or blogs or online communities, then you should ask for the web address so that you can monitor the content.
Of course, this is often easier said than done as teens use the space to express things they may not want their parents to read. If you find this to be the case, remind your child that ANYTHING they post online is available to anyone.
If you are unsure of what you child is doing online you can use parental control software that offers internet monitoring. These sorts of Parental control tools should allow you to monitor your child’s internet use 24/7.
You may just be curious and concerned but it is better to know so that you can prevent any dangerous liaison.
For more information on how you can learn more about MySpace, and how you can protect your child when they use MySpace you should visit: "MySpace for parents"
