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Parents, are you familiar with MySpace.com and other social networking sites on the Internet?
If not, you ought to be!
It's not that everything about the enormously popular sites is bad, but it's because some of what goes on certainly isn't good. Far too much of it is lewd and crude, and borders on the pornographic, and in fact, in some instances, it can be emotionally, even physically dangerous.
Across the land, reports lately have surfaced about predators who surf the sites for potential victims since kids, mostly naively we'd like to think, post all kinds of personal information about themselves. According the Utah Attorney General's office, "A recent survey revealed that 1 in 5 teens has received an unwanted online request to engage in sexual activities or provide sexual information."
Although MySpace.com advertises for teens 14 and older, it is not uncommon for those who are younger to be drawn to the site, as a recent report on the Eyewitness News revealed.
In KSL's view, parents not familiar with MySpace.com and other similar sites need to learn about them, especially the extent to which their kids are involved. Now, as much as ever, astute parents should tune in to what their children are doing online.
