MySpace: Threats Unknown

Dear Parents and Guardians,
I am sure that some of you have seen the news concerning MySpace. I am also sure that you are quite well aware of your kids’ time on the internet and what they see on there. But some kids are getting on to MySpace and soon become beyond the help of their parents. They become targets of the Internet scum that wait and wait for an opening. And some get that opening.
If you don’t understand what I’m talking about, I’m referring to the 29,000 sexual predators on MySpace. That is a huge number of sex offenders who potentially have access to your child’s information. Many teens are unaware of this threat to their safety. Many teens believe that there are only other teens on MySpace, so they do the worst thing possible; they give out their personal information. A person on MySpace should NEVER give out personal information on social sites.
If your child gave out information, or was on MySpace and is younger than fourteen, would you know? Most of the time the parents don’t know about it. My god-sister was one of those kids who was too young and said she was older than what was the required age. Luckily, her friend’s mom found out about her site and told my god-sister’s parents. Some kids aren’t as lucky; they see things and read things beyond their years.
Now, as a parent, you must know of the dangers of MySpace, and if you don’t then I should tell you. Parents might not know what MySpace is, kids don’t think about what they put down, people on MySpace aren’t always what they seem to be, and parents aren’t always around to make sure kids aren’t putting themselves in danger. Some people look for pages with certain types of pictures (i.e. Pictures of minors in various poses or settings), some teens try to look for sex offenders just to hurt their parents, it is possible for kids younger than fourteen and have a MySpace account, people often send rude and lewd comments to people they don’t know, people have ended being stalked by people on MySpace. Parents should tell kids what they are and aren’t allowed to do. Some people are aware of these dangers and some aren’t. You the reader are informed.