Fear and Loathing on MySpace - Annotated Bibliography Example

 Fear and Loathing on MySpace.com The world of the Internet has forever altered the social habits of our population and especially our children. They no longer dress up and attend social events. They don't go down the street to gather with the neighborhood kids or play in a nearby park. Today, they create a digital profile, hook-up with a network, and just hang-out in cyberspace. Parents that are afraid to let their children go without a chaperone to the mall to see a movie are secure in the fact that their children are upstairs in their room. When dad asks his 12 year-old daughter what she is doing on the computer, her likely reply will be, "Just hanging out". But who is she hanging out with? And who is lurking online in the shadows of MySpace leering at the profiles of these vulnerable tweens? While some have hailed MySpace as the greatest social experiment of the century, others have called it a Sears and Roebuck catalogue for pedophiles. Are these children age 8-13 years old safe on MySpace? Or are websites like MySpace potentially dangerous for the pre-teen crowd? The rising popularity of MySpace has made this a timely and important question. Parents struggle to keep up with their Internet savvy kids who are always one step ahead. Security blocks and parental controls may be subverted when parents can't maintain a 24/7 vigil on their 10-year-old. Reports have begun to proliferate as predators find ways into the MySpace domain and use it as their personal hunting ground. Still, MySpace contends that it has taken steps to curtail the dangers and has committed to making it a safe meeting place for all ages. The public and parents need to be certain that the realm of online social networking is indeed safe for children. This paper will attempt to answer three main questions. First, the paper will try to determine if a 13-year-old girl can sign up on MySpace and create the profile of an 18-year-old girl. This will determine if an unsupervised 13-year-old girl is safe in this environment. Second, it will try to establish whether a 35 year old male can register and create a profile of a 15 year old girl. This will determine whether any underage girl on MySpace is out of reach of predators. Third, the paper will consider whether the amount of information contained in the typical underage profile is useful to predators. This will examine the ways in which a pedophile might exploit what appears to be innocent information. The research will be conducted by gathering information from credible experts on the topic of teenage digital networks. It will look at the statistics they present and the unique point of view that they offer. It will draw on personal experiences of those that have been members of MySpace. There will be no actual attempt made to register with MySpace under false pretenses just to prove it can be done. Rather, the paper will interview a computer security expert to gain insight into what flaws there may be in MySpace's registration and profile process. Bibliography Carlotti, Richard. Personal Interview. 21 Feb. 2007. Carlotti is a computer securities expert with a pharmaceutical chain. He has analyzed the MySpace registration process. He contends that to provide adequate security, the site would be unusable except by professionals. He said, "If it is designed to be used by teen-agers, the security needs to be geared toward them. Which means any one with a 13 year old mind can subvert the system". He further stated that there is no practical way to do age checking on the Internet and there is nothing available in the near future. He said identity verification on the Internet "could only be accomplished with expensive biometric techniques such as fingerprint readers or retina scans. These are the kinds of things the Defense Department uses, but not MySpace". Carlotti contended that the present registration method at MySpace is the honor system. It takes what you give it. He said that the limitation of contacting children under 18 merely requires a name and e-mail address to gain access. He added, "Anyone with a motive could get right in". "'MySpace' Cadets Are Up for Sudden Death." Education Digest 72.1 (2006). EBSCO. 22 Feb. 2007. This article points out the alarm that is going through schools based on the concern for children's safety on MySpace. It points to several recent examples of violence against children linked to MySpace. According to the article, "Agreement terms to enroll say users must be 14 or older, but nothing keeps younger ones from lying about their age". It further reports that MySpace was linked "to the January death of a 14-year-old girl found strangled to death" and also "In Connecticut, police are investigating whether seven girls, age 12 to 16, were sexually assaulted by men they met through MySpace". It also tells that a New Jersey Principal became concerned when "one of her 10-year-old students got an inappropriate message from "someone clearly an adult". The article also illustrates how predators can use what seems to be innocent information such as age, friend's name, picture locations, and school to locate and contact a potential victim. This article was condensed from a publication by the National Association of Elementary Principals. "MySpace Tightens Age Restrictions." BBC News. 21 June 2006. BBC. 22 Feb. 2007 . This is an online article that demonstrates the difficulty in verifying age at the MySpace website. The article states, "A 14-year-old girl in the US is currently suing the site after she said she was sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old who she met on MySpace". The article also has an admission from MySpace about the dangers. According to the article, "the site introduced adverts warning teenagers about the dangers of sexual predators on the web". It also goes on to say that, "In March this year, two men were arrested in the US over sex charges after they allegedly used MySpace to meet two girls aged 11 and 14". In addition the difficulty in verifying age is demonstrated when it is says, "At the moment, MySpace has no way of verifying the age of users". The BBC is a well established and respected source for news and information. "Plan to Let Parents Track MySpace Profiles Met With Skepticism." USA Today 18 Jan. 2007, life ed.: 7d+. EBSCO. 22 Feb. 2007. This newspaper article highlights the efforts of 34 state attorneys general that are considering filing a lawsuit against MySpace due to concerns over child safety. The article questions the effectiveness of MySpace's yet-to-be released parental control software. It reinforces the belief that there are expert people in law enforcement who see the warning signs. The article quotes Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal who called the plan "a shortsighted and ineffective response to a towering danger to kids." He also contends users "can easily evade" the software. North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper also contends, "You've got 10-, 11- and 12-year-old kids who are on the site -- that's a problem. Parents are lulled into thinking that this is a safe site for children ... but they are a mouse click away from predators and porn." Though the article does not cite an individual author, the publication is widely read and well respected. Stafford, Rob. "Why Parents Must Mind MySpace." Dateline . 5 Apr. 2006. MSNBC. 22 Feb. 2007 . This is an online interview with a mother and her 13-year-old daughter. It is a personal account of how the girl registered as an 18-year-old. The article is important because the girl's mother is a computer expert and understands the challenges parents face in policing their children's online activities. When asked what age she gave to MySpace when she registered, the girl answered, "I think it was 18". She then replies, "I was 13 at the time". The Dateline correspondent surfed MySpace and stated "we found scenes of binge drinking, apparent drug use, teens posing in underwear, and other members simulating sex, and in some cases even having it". Stafford noted that MySpace would not agree to an interview. He did get a written response and stated, "MySpace said it does not pre-screen the content of its more than 50 million members, but encourages all of them to exercise caution". Whalen, Debra L. "Teens Don't Reveal Personal Info Online." School Library Journal 53.2 (2007). EBSCO. 22 Feb. 2007. This article points out the statistics that the number of people revealing personal information online is dropping. The statistics are from the Pew Research Center, which is a credible source. The article paints the numbers as good news. However, the numbers it quotes from a Pew Senior Research Specialist are alarming. This article will be used as an example of the 'best' news there is on the topic. According to their research, "only 34 percent reveal data to strangers". It also states, "55 percent of online teens-those age 12 to 17-use social networking sites" with "only 17 percent saying they use the sites to flirt". The author is a senior editor at the journal. The publication is primarily distributed to public and school libraries. Though it is not peer reviewed, its contributors are primarily educators and staff. Read More