MySpace Gets Another Bum Rap

Read It Here. People kill me. This 14 year old girl gave someone over the internet information on how to contact her. I have no idea how that's MySpace's problem. None! What if he had called her house out of the blue and then she invited him over after he said he was in High School. Would her family then be able to sue the phone company? What if she met him at the mall and he told her he was a senior and he took her out and assaulted her? Would her family be able to sue the mall? No! This guy lied to her and she trusted him. MySpace was merely the vehicle that facilitated the lie. MySpace is a virtual hangout. You can blame her, you can blame the parents...but don't blame MySpace. My wife went to a Home & School meeting where a technology teacher was oversimplifying the dangers of MySpace. If you never put out personal information or give it away to those you meet online - it's harmless. Your own actions dictate how dangerous it is. We have a directory that includes the name, address, phone number and age of every child in our church and school. Seems to me if that directory fell into the wrong hands, it could be used in the exact same manner as MySpace to someone looking to do harm to a minor. People only hear about MySpace in the news because so many kids are on it. Monitor your kids, don't try to police the net. MySpace is no different than chatrooms which have been around since the net began. I would bet a kazillion dollars that more information has been passed thru chatrooms than MySpace but the press can't put a single name on the chatrooms like they can to MySpace. I feel bad for them. They have great game links. I use them all the time. I hope they don't settle this case because the bottom line is - the info she told this guy is what got her in trouble. I feel really bad for her and her family - but it's not MySpace's fault she got assaulted.