Jan

5

Myspace Teaches Teens Something?

January 5, 2007 |

According to USA Today:

“Kids are using MySpace responsibly. They are getting the message,” said Justin Patchin, assistant professor of
criminal justice at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Patchin conducted the study with Sameer Hinduja, a criminology professor at Florida Atlantic University.

About 91% of those teens’ profiles reviewed did not list full names, which could be valuable information to online predators. About 40% of youngsters on MySpace keep their profiles private and are only viewable to fellow MySpacers on their friends’ list, the study showed.

However, not all youth are acting responsibly. The authors of the unpublished study did find that 5% posted pictures of themselves in bathing suits or underwear. Also, 15% of the profiles viewed showed friends in bathing suits or underwear.

Besides the fact that this is based on unpublished research, quite possibly only for the sake of getting some media attention, I take this with a grain of salt. Supposedly, Myspace teaches writing skills? Whoever thinks that needs to spend some time with college freshmen…

A commenter on Techdirt took the who article apart quite nicely:

From TFA

“Experts warn that sites like MySpace.com leave underage users prey to unwanted sexual advances..”

Experts eh? Well that settles it, who could argue with “experts”. Credentials anyone? Names? Sources?

“The authors of the unpublished study did find that 5% posted pictures of themselves in bathing suits or underwear. Also, 15% of the profiles viewed showed friends in bathing suits or underwear.”

Skipping quickly over the issue of the “study” (they looked at MySpace) being “unpublished” (and hence carrying no acedemic weight whatsoever since it obviously hasn’t been reviewed) we find that sexually active
teenagers like to show off their bodies. Perhaps if they were not repressed by the double standards of a puritanical home and school life and actually able to go outside their houses to meet other teenagers
socially they might not feel the urge to. Or maybe they would anyway, given that they are exposed to a shallow cult of narcissistic celebrity “supermodel” freaks that give them impossible standards of physical
stature and are then encouraged to emulate said celebrities while being berrated by their peers for not being what they will never be.

“MySpace has some safeguards in place, such as prohibiting youngsters 13 and under from setting up accounts ”

Good job the honour system works so well on the internet isn’t it.

“However, some underage users create false profiles and misrepresent their ages, Hinduja said.”

I think it’s a blessing that God created intellectuals of such acute wit as Hinduja, we would truly be lost without them. What has todays youth become? I never would have done that.

Read the rest here.

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