Now behave your damn self.
Posted on 02/28/2006 4:34:08 PM PST by wagglebee
"Kiss me", "Touch me", "Feel me", "Rape me" – the invitations flashed across the photo of a scantily clad young woman on one of the most popular teen Web hangouts in the world – MySpace.com.
Techno-hussies and innocent children just enjoying the latest method to socialize with their friends are falling victim because they are sharing very personal, often provocative and trashy information on MySpace.com, which is quickly becoming a sexual predator's playground.
So rampant are the reports and allegations linking sex-crimes and even murder to activity on MySpace that producers at "America's Most Wanted" are looking into the connection. But parents shouldn't need any more evidence or excuses – you've got to talk with your kids about online safety, and take measures to protect them. A sampling of the current cases under investigation should be enough to take decisive action today:
Kids and adults alike have got to understand that their information on MySpace can viewed around the world by anyone at anytime, but the danger lies in the fact that although the Web is "world wide," it is also very local.
Here's what I mean: I typed in my zip code on MySpace, and in seconds up popped 75 pages, with 40 entries each, of 18 to 30-year-old single women who said they are seeking a relationship – and every one of them lives in my zip code. It's important to note that I only searched for entries with photographs – and boy, did I get photographs – one was just of a girl's breasts; most were provocative; and virtually everyone of them appeared to be between 12 to 25 years old. (MySpace claims only those 14 and older can use the site, but all a user has to do is lie about their age).
I wanted to get a taste of the potential immediate threats, so I clicked on the Justice Department's website, which provides detailed information on registered sex offenders (i.e., those who have already been caught, convicted and released back into the public – in other words, only those we know about) and entered local zip codes. The results were more than disturbing: Up popped the names and faces of 10 convicts who live in my neighborhood, and scores who live in my town. Now you realize how easy it is for perverts, convicted or not, to find your child.
It's high time we adults realize that although the world has changed, many of the tried and true methods of protecting our kids have not. Tips like: Don't talk to strangers (even if they are online) and don't ever give out personal information. But we've got to go much further. It's not enough to remind our kids to watch out for the guy in the dark trench coat lurking on the edge of the school playground, we've got to realize that the guy in trench coat is now in our sons' and daughters' bedrooms – live and personal – through the unfiltered Internet.
The good news is that the pervert and all his ugly friends and addictive pornographic perversions can easily be locked out of your home in just a few minutes by obtaining a reliable Internet filter. There are many great filters, but I use the one from BSafe.com because it's inexpensive (about $50 a year) and constantly updated to keep up with the ever-clever predators who cyber-stalk our kids. It also blocks out sites like MySpace so it doesn't have to become an issue in your home.
But beware: One of the dangers of a site like MySpace is that your kids' friends can post your child's personal photo and information without permission. For more great tips on how to protect your kids online, visit Web Wise Kids, an organization on whose board I'm proud to serve.
If you're familiar with my weekly column, my website – HomeInvasion.org – and my book, "Home Invasion: Protecting Your Family in a Culture That's Gone Stark-Raving Mad," then you know I frequently write about the connection between sloppy parenting, the moral breakdown of our society and how it all leads to shattering the innocence of our children, often placing them in physical danger, too.
These are heavy, difficult issues to talk about, but every time I give a speech about our modern toxic culture, I am inundated with questions from desperate parents who awake from their techno-stupor and realize that active parenting is more important today than perhaps any time in our nation's history.
DISCUSSION ABOUT:
'Kiss me, touch me, feel me, rape me' (Editorial about MySpace.com)
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Have these creeps always been around or is our society creating them?
The parents are too busy making money to monitor their kid's Internet use.
< bleep > freaks, BTTT
I don't really know, but society is certainly making it easier for them to pursue their criminal depravity.
Good point. The internet has a myriad of support groups for all types of perversion.
Myspace is interesting on account of the bands on it. You can find bands you wouldn't normally be exposed to. Other than that I don't like it nearly as much as Facebook for meeting people.
Good question. Did you happen to see the Dateline NBC reports on this stuff?
I caught part of two of them in reruns and it made my blood run cold. They caught everything from run of the mill perverts to doctors, rabbis and teachers.
We have a real problem. There is no question about that.
I think the late Senator Moynihan nailed it years ago when he called it "defining deviancy down". When anything goes, perverts feel empowered and even justified in acting on their "feelings".
Check out www.pervertedjustice.com
This story gives two examples of children who have been killed as a result of MySpace since December -- how many children have died in school bus accidents in that time?
With email and phones, the child has to seek out the predator, they aren't putting their personal information out there for the world to see.
Now behave your damn self.
I agree with you. If the kid goes lookin for it, they only get what they ask for...
Liberals and the narcissistic generation have already normalized perversions, there aren't that many left.
My college kid is on myspace. I know some other parents like myself that monitor some of the kid's sites (a specific high school organization that I'm affiliated with). I know it's uncool and a violation of their privacy but so what? If there is a big problem we give the teacher a heads up.
The operative word here is "knowingly." Even fairly knowledgeable parents can't keep track of everything a teenager does every waking moment of the day, unless they are going to follow her around 24-7. This does not mean that they are too busy, don't care, or are off making money. Even if they ban such sites from their own home, kids can access sites like that at their friends' houses, at the library, or any other place where one can connect to the Internet.
Why would any parents permit their kids to have cellphones, wireless text messaging devices, webcams, or a Yahoo/AOL Instant Messenger account? Or even cable tv in their bedrooms?
Really there is no difference.
There are over 50,000,000 Myspace accounts. Initially all users were over 18 and while some make use it as a pick up joint, the overwhelming majority of people I know DO NOT add people they don't already know socially (and I exclude friends of friends who I'd never want to be associated with). I know married couples, business owners, and countless others who use it for promotion, to share jokes, or network. They aren't swingers.
Do you use Facebook to meet up with people you already know (e.g. tell your friends you have a cookout and to bring beer/beef) or to meet people you think you would be interested in?
From what I hear, kids all over this country are on myspace.com.
How can you prevent it? My daughter is in college and uses it. Thankfully, it wasn't around when she was in high school. But even at her age, she knows that I check it and I've also asked her to change some things (she revealed where she worked, for example). I'd prefer she wasn't on there at all. But even the most careful parents of high school children can't prevent determined children from getting on. Parents need to find out what's there and surf.
How do you go on myspace and find your family members?
Myspace is not the problem. People are the problem.
Or should we ban guns, too?
There are a lot of normal, decent folks on MySpace. There are some creeps.
Just like ANYWHERE on the net.
I monitor my daughter's sites and she's 21. She's used to it and she told me once that it's always in the back of her mind that her mom could be reading (will be reading) what she writes. These days, I see nothing wrong with it. I've even suggested changes to keep her site safer. She seems to appreciate it.
Just what is that you're smoking?
So, your contention is that having children brutally raped and murdered is acceptable within certain limits?
I think that a lot of it is fake. I tried the zipcode thing and it pulled up about 30 'cute young chicks' that say they live in a neighboring town....
Yet the entire population of that town including the ranches out to about 10 miles away is only about seventy people total, and very few of them are "Teens to Twenties females".
They have always been around. They used to go to chat rooms and now also hit sites like MySpace.
I went on and entered my zip code. You can even put in a person's first name and specify whether you want sites with pictures or not. A LOT of sites came up, so it took me quite a while. After I finally found her, I marked the site. It's worth doing.
People could take pictures of young kids or whatever with their cell phone cameras and start some sicko pervert network that way.
I agree with you that blaming MySpace is really short-sighted.
45 million children have been killed by abortion but that is the elephant in the living room that no one wants to notice.
"It's all about the children"
"If it saves one life..."
John Douglas was a profiler with the FBI, and wrote some very good nonfiction books about serial killers and the like, thinks that the old tales of werewolves, vampires, and other supernatural monsters probably came about from people seeing the handiwork of medieval serial killers--and concluding that it had to be a demon or other monster, because they didn't want to believe that any man could be that evil.
Did you have to register on myspace in order to do the search?
No, having children die for any reason is unacceptable. Therefore we should ban everything even romotely dangerous. Including guns. Agreed?
It's actually well over 47 million infants who have been slaughtered.
http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/facts/abortionstats.html
I honestly don't remember. I think I did. I accidently started my own page and used my daughter's high school info. To this day, I have no idea how I did it. My daughter found it and that it was hilarious that her mom was such a cyberclutz. If you go to myspace.com, it will tell you. It really is designed to be easy for anyone to use.
No, I don't think guns should be banned. However, I think that everyone should be properly trained how to use them and I don't think that young children should have unsupervised access to them.
Mainly people I already know. I have severe friend envy though for people who have tons of friends. It makes me feel like I should get off FR and get out more.
Car accidents kill many children as well. They must be stopped. Did you know that the majority of accidents occur within 25 miles of the home? We should ban homes. Far more dangerous than myspace, those homes.
I remember when Myspace was 18+ and there was talk of lowering the age requirements. NO ONE I knew thought it was a good idea to permit minors.
"Tom" got greedy and wanted Hollywood music/movie/tv/videogame/dvd sponsorship money. And a younger demographic went hand in hand with that. Also it increased registrations before he sold it to Murdoch (I imagine that the sale price was based in part on the number of members).
How do you monitor them? Is there a history you look in? I have a 15 yr old boy.
Pray for W and Our Freedom Fighters
I'll have to look for his books, thanks for the info. I'm kinda a true crime geek and I realize these weirdos have been around forever, but they seem so much more prevelent now. Of course our information gathering tools are so much better too.
Have you ever checked out the site crimelibrary.com? Fascinating.
I know the secret to avoiding car accidents close to home. I registered my car in Alaska and shack up in Texas.
Beware--Douglas' books are not for the faint of heart.
I searched for a co-worker's niece and she was on there.....I printed out her listing stating she likes to get drunk and smoke, and that she is Bi.
(16 y.o.)
But, that is what they teach in schools these days. I wasnt really surprised.
Good for you for checking out myspace. Maybe I will too.
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