|
|
 |
|
CNS Story:
|
TEENS-WEB Jan-31-2006 (600 words) xxxn
Teachers, youth ministers sound warnings about popular Web site
By Peggy Weber
Catholic News Service
WESTFIELD, Mass. (CNS) -- Most teenagers are more than familiar with the networking Web site MySpace.com and similar sites where teens post online journals, photos and thoughts and interests to share with others.
As youth ministers and teachers become more aware of the growing Web phenomenon, many of them do not like what they see.
Pat Sears, a youth minister in the Springfield Diocese, said that at the end of last summer he became acquainted with MySpace.com. An e-mail he received from a teen included a link to the site, which has a reported 32 million members and another 130,000 are being added each day.
"The more I looked, the heavier my heart became. There was so much negativity. There were so many pictures that were inappropriate. They were very revealing," he told The Catholic Observer, Springfield's diocesan newspaper.
Sears, a father of four young sons, wrote to the teens he knows through his youth ministry work and asked them to examine their own personal Web pages "through the eyes of faith."
"If there are things written (or pictures posted) that you would be embarrassed to look at with me (or a parent, grandparent, etc.) beside you, it's probably a good idea to make some changes," he wrote.
He stressed that the Web site was not "inherently evil." But he is concerned that those creating pages use good moral judgment and be aware of their personal safety.
Danger is a real aspect of MySpace.com. In September 2004 a 16-year-old Port Washington, N.Y., girl was abducted and molested after trading messages on the site with a 37-year-old man who tracked her down because she posted her job address on her page.
Last fall, the principal at Pope John XXIII High School in Sparta, N.J., banned students from posting on MySpace.com or similar sites, citing concerns that students were unwittingly revealing too much information about themselves to potential cyberpredators.
Many schools are also coping with the problem of cyberbullying where someone posts something negative or harmful or harasses another person through the Internet.
MySpace.com offers safety tips and privacy notices and urges bloggers not to post any personally identifiable information. That rule is rarely followed, though, as students often talk about their school, team or job. One college freshman listed her dorm and room. Many teens state where they are going on a particular night and invite others to meet them there.
Marty Gaudrault, a junior at St. Mary High School in Westfield, said a lot of his friends have a site on MySpace.com.
"To me it's just another way to talk to people you know and meet new people," he said.
He said knows the site includes inappropriate pages but thinks that is not the norm. "Some kids are doing it just to talk with friends or put pictures up," he said, "but not everyone is doing bad things there."
The Internet appeal for teens, according to Gaudrault, is that "you can say things without being embarrassed on the computer that you wouldn't say on the phone because you wouldn't be able to hear the person's initial reaction or see their reaction."
Debra Foley, computer teacher at Mount Carmel School in Springfield, suggests that parents keep their computer in a public part of their house so they can walk by and keep an eye on the sites their children are visiting.
"I think that kids are in their own home and feel safe," she said, "so they don't realize what's on the computer is out there for everyone to see."
END
Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
CNS · 3211 Fourth St NE · Washington DC 20017 · 202.541.3250
|
|
|
|
