Teens share too much e-information
By Alexa Aguilar
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
04/01/2006
One of the most popular Web sites for teenagers - MySpace.com - announced last week that it had purged 200,000 profiles from its site for objectionable content.
Sound like a lot? Consider that 250,000 new users - many of them teens - sign up on the site every day.
And although thousands of offensive profiles were removed, parents and teachers still might find plenty to object to among the site's 66 million profiles.
A site search of some ZIP codes in the St. Louis area found hundreds of profiles of area teens. Profiles usually consist of some pictures (many awkward self-portraits), audio clips of favorite songs, blogs and postings from other MySpace users.
"Students are treating these sites like a diary," said Jason Leahy, principal at Highland High School. "I'm concerned about how that can be used against them."
As sites such as MySpace and others such as Xanga and Facebook explode in popularity, school leaders and police are catching on. When teens post pictures and write with abandon about the weekend's exploits, they may not consider who could be looking - college admissions officers, potential employers, school principals and predators. All it takes is an e-mail address and a password to browse through any of the profiles.
The profiles often reveal more than how much the teen loves Chicken McNuggets, why she wants to meet Jessica Simpson and whether he prefers country or rap music.
Some profiles contain references to drugs or drinking and include pictures of the teens surrounded by bottles of alcohol or posed suggestively. One Ellisville teen posted pictures of a birthday party in a hotel room that her boyfriend had paid for and included pictures of the boyfriend grabbing her between her legs. The profile of a 20-year-old man from Troy is filled with racial epithets. Many profiles include students' names, ages, where they go to school, their school activities and class schedules, even their cell phone numbers.
Mike Bazzell, an Alton detective who also serves as director of the Regional Computer Crimes Enforcement Group in the Metro East area, said he could count on a weekly call related to sites such as MySpace.com from parents worried about harassing messages posted on their child's profile by classmates or a man who won't stop calling their daughter after seeing her name and picture online.
"Anyone can browse the pictures," Bazzell said. "It's wide open to the public."
Beyond the obvious safety factor, teens can also find their reputations - or future prospects - damaged by what they post. News accounts in recent months report that students have been turned down by colleges or for jobs after an admissions counselor or potential boss checked the site. A teen in Colorado was arrested after posting pictures showing him holding handguns. In California, 20 students were suspended from school for threatening to kill one another and using anti-Semitic slurs on a MySpace group.
Many schools have blocked the sites on school computers. But knowing that many parents aren't as computer-savvy or wouldn't imagine what their child is sharing online, some school leaders are considering hosting seminars about the dangers.
Principal Phil Trapani at Alton High knows firsthand about the site - some students at the school created a fake profile for him and put it online, complete with picture. At first, he thought it was funny, but when more offensive material showed up he asked that the profile be removed. The school had to punish some athletes after they posted pictures of themselves drinking on a weekend.
"Most of the kids are using it to have a good time," Trapani said. "But the ones who aren't as mature can't handle it."
Bruce Umbaugh, an assistant dean at Webster University who researches cyber ethics, said that although today's adolescents had a vast amount of computer knowledge, that didn't mean they had a sophisticated understanding of the potential implications of what they're posting.
"Adolescents are famously blind about the long-term consequences of their behavior," Umbaugh said.
Umbaugh said the sites could feel very private to most people. With so many millions of users, teens may think they won't be noticed. And because the visitors who post on someone's site are people that person has approved, it's easy to think of it as a private online world.
Adults shouldn't be naive enough to think that the profiles are necessarily representative of a teen's life, Umbaugh said.
Teens like to show off about the things that make them look older, so they'll play up the drinking and the suggestive poses, he said.
Many profiles, though, include nothing worse than a little swearing and a few surveys that include questions on whether a teen prefers summer to winter, or chocolate to vanilla ice cream.
Bryan Ryan, an Edwardsville senior, likes to use MySpace.com to check out information on bands and music. He has added audio from music he and his friends have written to his profile. His parents have seen it, he said.
Most teens at the school have a profile; some check and post daily, others less frequently, Ryan and his friends said Friday.
"It is a little addicting," said junior Andrew Josselyn, who posted pictures of himself at track meets. "You can see a lot about someone's personality by looking at (their profile)."
aaguilar@post-dispatch.com 618-659-3636
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
04/01/2006
One of the most popular Web sites for teenagers - MySpace.com - announced last week that it had purged 200,000 profiles from its site for objectionable content.
Sound like a lot? Consider that 250,000 new users - many of them teens - sign up on the site every day.
And although thousands of offensive profiles were removed, parents and teachers still might find plenty to object to among the site's 66 million profiles.
A site search of some ZIP codes in the St. Louis area found hundreds of profiles of area teens. Profiles usually consist of some pictures (many awkward self-portraits), audio clips of favorite songs, blogs and postings from other MySpace users.
"Students are treating these sites like a diary," said Jason Leahy, principal at Highland High School. "I'm concerned about how that can be used against them."
As sites such as MySpace and others such as Xanga and Facebook explode in popularity, school leaders and police are catching on. When teens post pictures and write with abandon about the weekend's exploits, they may not consider who could be looking - college admissions officers, potential employers, school principals and predators. All it takes is an e-mail address and a password to browse through any of the profiles.
The profiles often reveal more than how much the teen loves Chicken McNuggets, why she wants to meet Jessica Simpson and whether he prefers country or rap music.
Some profiles contain references to drugs or drinking and include pictures of the teens surrounded by bottles of alcohol or posed suggestively. One Ellisville teen posted pictures of a birthday party in a hotel room that her boyfriend had paid for and included pictures of the boyfriend grabbing her between her legs. The profile of a 20-year-old man from Troy is filled with racial epithets. Many profiles include students' names, ages, where they go to school, their school activities and class schedules, even their cell phone numbers.
Mike Bazzell, an Alton detective who also serves as director of the Regional Computer Crimes Enforcement Group in the Metro East area, said he could count on a weekly call related to sites such as MySpace.com from parents worried about harassing messages posted on their child's profile by classmates or a man who won't stop calling their daughter after seeing her name and picture online.
"Anyone can browse the pictures," Bazzell said. "It's wide open to the public."
Beyond the obvious safety factor, teens can also find their reputations - or future prospects - damaged by what they post. News accounts in recent months report that students have been turned down by colleges or for jobs after an admissions counselor or potential boss checked the site. A teen in Colorado was arrested after posting pictures showing him holding handguns. In California, 20 students were suspended from school for threatening to kill one another and using anti-Semitic slurs on a MySpace group.
Many schools have blocked the sites on school computers. But knowing that many parents aren't as computer-savvy or wouldn't imagine what their child is sharing online, some school leaders are considering hosting seminars about the dangers.
Principal Phil Trapani at Alton High knows firsthand about the site - some students at the school created a fake profile for him and put it online, complete with picture. At first, he thought it was funny, but when more offensive material showed up he asked that the profile be removed. The school had to punish some athletes after they posted pictures of themselves drinking on a weekend.
"Most of the kids are using it to have a good time," Trapani said. "But the ones who aren't as mature can't handle it."
Bruce Umbaugh, an assistant dean at Webster University who researches cyber ethics, said that although today's adolescents had a vast amount of computer knowledge, that didn't mean they had a sophisticated understanding of the potential implications of what they're posting.
"Adolescents are famously blind about the long-term consequences of their behavior," Umbaugh said.
Umbaugh said the sites could feel very private to most people. With so many millions of users, teens may think they won't be noticed. And because the visitors who post on someone's site are people that person has approved, it's easy to think of it as a private online world.
Adults shouldn't be naive enough to think that the profiles are necessarily representative of a teen's life, Umbaugh said.
Teens like to show off about the things that make them look older, so they'll play up the drinking and the suggestive poses, he said.
Many profiles, though, include nothing worse than a little swearing and a few surveys that include questions on whether a teen prefers summer to winter, or chocolate to vanilla ice cream.
Bryan Ryan, an Edwardsville senior, likes to use MySpace.com to check out information on bands and music. He has added audio from music he and his friends have written to his profile. His parents have seen it, he said.
Most teens at the school have a profile; some check and post daily, others less frequently, Ryan and his friends said Friday.
"It is a little addicting," said junior Andrew Josselyn, who posted pictures of himself at track meets. "You can see a lot about someone's personality by looking at (their profile)."
aaguilar@post-dispatch.com 618-659-3636
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