Our
View: MySpace reveals old Internet problems
Imagine the impossible: Sen. Hillary Clinton and Fox News talk show host Bill
O’Reilly fighting side by side for the same crusade. Imagine that despite
obvious differences of ideology, they both collectively bash MySpace.com, a Web
site many
Cal State Long Beach students and Americans are addicted to for all the right
and wrong reasons. They proclaim the Internet destination is hurting the youth
of America and must be controlled, regulated
or stopped.
Given the background of recent Associated Press stories, their proclamations
seem valid — at first glance. According to recent AP reports, MySpace is
now a new medium by which sexual predators are meeting potential victims, usually
teenage girls. AP reported that many teenage girls from New England and California
have been assaulted or, even worse, found dead as result of meeting men found
on MySpace.
This recent news is tragic, but careful consideration must be made before potentially
misguided actions against the Web site by the New York senator, talk show host
or anyone else appear.
Most people are generally disturbed by the idea of meeting complete strangers
online, especially through sites not exclusively for dating purposes. Many people
are reluctant to try even the most popular Web sites like eHarmony.com and Match.com,
both of which strongly suggest meeting Internet strangers in very public places
to prevent potential assault problems.
The meeting details of the assaulted girls and sexual predators on MySpace have
not been released yet, which causes one to wonder if the girls initially met
in a public place but were coaxed into going elsewhere or if the girls first
met in potentially dangerous private areas. Either way, the horrific actions
of the MySpace assaulters are not justified.
Unfortunately, this trend is neither new nor unique. Back when Yahoo! and America
Online chat rooms were popular, sexual predators used those outlets to meet and
abuse victims, lying about both age and intentions. MySpace is the newest and
most popular medium for these deviants to exploit.
Fortunately, their twisted efforts are not difficult to prevent. Underage teenagers
need to grasp their emotions and realize online personalities, whether in chat
rooms or online profiles, may not be who they say. It’s common sense.
Most people of all ages appear to have common sense and routinely peruse the
Internet with caution. But when the actions of a few foolish individuals collide
with the sick minds of sexual predators, tragedy is bound to happen.
Is such disaster preventable? Probably not on a large scale. Trouble teens, either
male or female, who meet strangers online probably have some other issues, especially
if he or she was convinced to leave a public place with a complete stranger.
This does not defend the actions of the sexual predator, however, who exploits
the naivety of youth.
Instead of attacking the Web site, perhaps more time and effort should be spent
trying to help these troubled teens. Teens need to be taught the importance of
real interpersonal relationships. It’s too easy for people to create false
profiles and personalities online that can lead to dangerous situations. Although
the media industry’s number of outlets grow exponentially from day to day,
the need for this type of relationship seems to be more of the problem than condemning
a few teens who make bad decisions.
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