Myspace not to blame for society’s problems

Published 10:01 pm Saturday, October 14, 2006

Over the years, the Internet has evolved into more than just a virtual database of unlimited information.

The Internet is now a one stop public fantasy land that has transformed daily life into a perpetual electronic fantasy land. With the click of a button, “surfers” can live daily life from the comfort of the computer screen. Today, people can access bank accounts, wire transactions, apply for loans, and pay bills without leaving home. Stamps can be purchased and printed out and students can earn a degree without ever stepping foot in a classroom. The Internet has redefined the way people communicate due to Web cam conversations and Internet telephone conferences. Businesses are bought, owned, and operated from computers and some have directly grown and matured due to the continuing success of an online stock market. Entertainment has redefined itself due to the large collection of online games offered by Sony and Microsoft via the Playstation and XBOX. The Internet is now a community with the primary rule of anything goes and is evolving more and more with every passing day.

The latest Internet fad that seems to be at the peek of public interest is the ongoing popularity of online networking sites, such as the well known — and successful — Myspace.com. Myspace is a virtual community where an e-mail address and general information allows users to join a community of bloggers and online friends. The site offers users the choice to post pictures, videos, and a favorite song along with a wide array of information and a variety of add-ons, polls, and interactive games. Myspace also offers an instant messenger, a comprehensive friend list, a comment section, and a collection of blogs for users to post and make available for others to read.

As of late, the site has come under heavy fire that includes harsh critics labeling the Web page as a portal for online predators that includes a Dateline exclusive of possible sexual offenders being arrested for misusing the pages services. Schools have banned the page (and like pages such as Facebook) to keep students from accessing them on campus and most public computers filter access. The nation has entered an era of “Myspace Mania” and it is a little over rated.

Myspace is nothing more than an online community of people conversing and sharing thoughts about their life. As with any other online service, it can be used in an improper way and, in some cases, violate the laws of the land. However, the site is only dangerous in the hands of the ignorant. Keep in mind that a gun is dangerous in the hands of the ignorant. A car is dangerous in the hands of the ignorant and, in all reality, a computer is dangerous in the hands of the ignorant.

The ignorant proved on 9/11 that the common box blade is dangerous in the wrong hands. Anything in the wrong hands can be dangerous; however, that does not make a Web site the alma mater of all evil.

In my opinion, the only thing wrong with Myspace is the way it is depicted, the way it is censored, and the way it is abused by authorities. Dateline has no right to entrap any person using Myspace as a key to lock away sexual predators. The whole show is a joke. The children are no more in the right than the lawbreakers and Dateline makes a mockery of sexual crimes by thinking that their show will deter the online predators. Online predators were born long before the rise of Myspace and will outlast the mania it has unleashed. If predators do not prey upon Myspace, they will find another site to target. Myspace is not the problem and Dateline is not the answer.

Critics focus their concern on a networking Web site designed to help people meet and greet. Is it any worse than a standard chat room? Why don’t these critics focus their concern on pornography sites and people that illegally enter them? Why a Web site that bans nudity and has rules against harassment? Why a Web site that allows users to block unwanted guests and edit what is displayed on their own personal pages? It sounds to me that the problem is misinterpreted.

It is clear that ignorance is the problem. However, the ignorance goes both ways. Users that do not wish to engage in “foul play” should take precautions and actions that are available to them. The choice is simple and, in most cases, disregarded. It is not a parents job to observe a child’s Web page. The child should know better. It is the parents job to teach a child right and wrong. It is not a school’s responsibility to block a page for its content; students need to learn to be responsible and held accountable for their actions.

Myspace does not need to be moderated. Most chat rooms are not moderated. People need to learn to be sensible and logical. People need to learn to use common sense. People need to stop blaming the Myspace mania and start searching for the real problem. Here’s a hint: it’s not the Internet!



Andy Anderson is the editor of the Tom Tom newspaper at East Central Community College and can be reached for comment at andy39117@yahoo.com.