Understanding MySpace

Learn How to Surf… MySpace

Admit it: The Internet is here to stay. Anyone who wants to be involved in young people’s lives must learn how to use it and navigate it.

Everyone these days has heard about MySpace. Only two years ago, this online community website had two million members. Since then, MySpace has exploded into the cultural phenomenon it is today. Currently, more than 90 million members from different walks of life populate this online world. Many of its most avid fans are none other than teenagers.

With millions of teens flocking to create their own MySpace page, it is time to find out what all the fuss is about. Once you get a first hand look at what teens see on MySpace, you will have a better understanding of why you need to get involved and how you can protect them as they surf it.

Finding a Profile

When users join MySpace, they each create a personal profile. This is the heart of the online social community and their identity in the world of MySpace.

Finding a young person’s profile is easier than it looks. You can go to Google.com and type in keywords such as your teen’s name, school name, MySpace name, email address, or other words of interests that would help identify your teen online. Think inside and outside the box when it comes to those keywords, such as variations in the spelling of their name. If nothing turns up, try finding your teen’s site by searching for one of their friend’s profiles and seeing if their friend is connected with your teen.

You can also search for a person through MySpace using keywords and even more specific search criteria. To do so, go to MySpace.com and click on “Search.”

For more information on how to find a profile, go to 5 Ways to View Your Child’s MySpace Profile. And if you want to learn how to setup your own profile, watch a step-by-step explanation by visiting Setting Up a MySpace Account.

The Basics of a MySpace Profile

Many young people learn how to create and use a MySpace page by tinkering around on their own. They go to MySpace.com, start an account, and begin to explore and try the different features offered on the site. If they need help, they often get it from friends. You can do the same thing.

If you are not familiar with how to use MySpace, do not be afraid to dive in and find out for yourself how it works. If you have to, ask a young person to show you.

Once on a MySpace profile, the first thing you see will be the user’s profile and picture on one side of the page and a customized design decorating the background. If you want to learn more about that person, take a look at their blurbs and interests section located just below the profile. The user displays as much or as little information as they want. They can even decide whether to set their site on a public setting for everyone to view or on a private setting for only pre-approved friends to see.

Near the top of the page on the opposite side of the profile is the blog feature which gives you another peak into that MySpace user’s life. Think of it as access to their journal or diary. This gives each user the opportunity to share the details of their lives or anything else they want to say.

Since MySpace is a social networking site, people also use it to keep in touch with old friends and make new ones. For some teens, it becomes a popularity contest: the more friends you have, the better. Making friends is as easy as visiting the MySpace site of a potential friend and adding them to your friend’s list. However, the invitation can be rejected or accepted by that person.

Right below the friend’s list is the comments feature which allows members to keep in touch with one another. Visitors to a particular MySpace page can leave a greeting, ask a question, or post random messages for their friends to see. An ongoing dialogue takes place as MySpace users go back and forth leaving comments on each other’s pages. This is where most of the “action” happens on MySpace.

These features are basic to the MySpace website, but they are not the only ones available. The world of MySpace is a big place, but not too big for adults to handle. Instant messaging, customizable backgrounds, personalized quizzes and surveys, photo slide shows, songs from new bands, and MySpace’s many other features can become familiar to all with a little experience.

To learn more basic information about MySpace, visit their FAQ and Safety Tips pages. A variety of other articles such as How Parents Can Use MySpace and Get Out of MySpace will help as well. For even more in-depth information, read MySpace 4 Parents: Learn How to Protect Your Child in MySpace.

A role-reversal often takes place with technology when parents and adults are the ones learning from teens. If young people can learn to use it, so can adults. Once you move past initial fear of too much information, you are well on your way to better protecting teens.

Take it from Amanda, a teen from Pennsylvania. “With the safety issue… I do think that parents should become more involved in what their children are doing. They like to complain and groan about what their children are doing, but they aren’t taking the action to protect them.” She has a point. Ultimately, it starts with you.

Additional Resources:
Teens and MySpace


Sources:
MySpace.com, mediafamily.org, zwire.com, wfmynews2.com, emediawire.com, seattletimes.nwsource.com, Cbsnews.com, wired.com, aftab.com, bebo.com, onguardonline.com, uclan.ac.uk/cru, blogsafety.com, latimes.com, wiredsafety.org, Abcnews.go.com, parentsmartz.com, herald-dispatch.com


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