My Space is a danger zone
by Julia Sallo (letters@boulderweekly.com)

In the teenage world, Internet rules. From email to online games, to (gasp!) homework and research, teens spend an average of five to 10 hours per week online. MySpace, "a place for friends," is the latest craze among high school students. It is an online network in which you can sign up to have your own web page. With this page, you fill in lists of favorite books and movies and customize the page with colors and photos of yourself. Then you invite people to become your friend and create a personal network of people to interact with.

According to comScore Media Matrix, MySpace has grown to include 87 million users since its launch in January 2004 and has the second most page views in the United States, after Yahoo Inc. It has become extremely popular with teenagers as an outlet for the self-expression we so desperately crave. On MySpace, you can decorate your web page, and keep a blog, like an online journal, for your friends to read. MySpace offers teenagers their own web page for free, as well as the opportunity to network with friends.

How far is it permissible to go when you are just expressing yourself? When girls are displaying pictures of themselves in lingerie, and boys are responding with comments that are sexual and often intimidating, the MySpace administration has an obligation to recognize the dangerous social implications.

This month, two cases of MySpace-related sexual harassment have received national attention. A 14-year-old girl claimed to have been sexually harassed by a 19-year-old man and sued MySpace for $30 million in damages. In another case, a 16-year-old girl thought she was in love with a 20-year-old Palestinian man, who stressed the importance of her purity and virginity during their communication on MySpace. She tricked her parents into getting her a passport to fly to Jordan to be with him. U.S. officials in Jordan persuaded the teen to turn around and go home.

The first step in preventing incidents of this nature is to set up age barriers. MySpace allows minors to choose to only accept friends if they know their full name or e-mail address or to show only their partial profile to anyone who is not a friend. But most people don't think of barriers when they are excited for everyone to see their newest pictures and read their latest blogs. And until you have more than 100 friends, which many people do, you feel like you "know" everyone.

Online predators are also not always that easy to identify. Predators aren't honest about their intentions in their profiles. They don't write, "I want to take advantage of girls who are 20 years younger than me." Instead, they create profiles that are attractive and which feel safe to young girls.

Even when older people cannot make contact with kids, users under 18 can still initiate the contact. Also, MySpace has no mechanism for verifying the true age of users upon registration. That means adults can sign up as teens and request to be someone's friend. Obviously, age restrictions by no means solve all problems.

Some form of censorship is necessary to combat the problems that age restrictions attempt to address. If MySpace placed more restrictions on photos and content, less online predation would exist.

When you chose to upload a photo onto your MySpace, there is a message that says not to upload any nudity. But what does the MySpace administration consider nudity? A friend of mine chose to upload pictures of herself in a short skirt and strapless bra. While she didn't look suggestive, only cute if a little under-dressed, she received unwanted attention from boys she had already accepted as friends. And she isn't the only one. Many girls have pictures of themselves in bras, bathing suits or risqué clothing.

Aside from suggestive photos, many girls choose to put up provocative decorations on their page, such as Playboy bunnies and lips, as well as questions such as, "What sexual position are you?" and, "What cocktail would you be?" Without any picture of herself, a girl can project an image of an attractive and daring woman.

MySpace has also created a sense of promiscuity among teenagers who would be considered more conservative. When a girl has an attractive picture of herself, boys can comment about how "hot and sexy" she is. How does her boyfriend feel about this? MySpace is a natural hot spot for the inappropriate aspects of the Internet, especially as a place when teens can be anyone they want—and their parents can't find out.

With the opportunity for teenagers to express themselves however they want, MySpace has created social confusion and potential disaster. The administration of MySpace has an obligation to address these issues beyond ineffectual age limits and minimal image restrictions. Unless some action is taken, promiscuity will run amok, and the sexual harassment and assault will continue.

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