www.myspace.com

For those of you who have teens and teen grandchildren please be certain you speak with your kids about this site. There was a recent local murder that's getting tons of attention because the couple met on this site.

Tons of local kids from private, Catholic, and public high schools have profiles that share entirely too much information, and inappropriate information.

The profile questions are so wrong. They ask the kids if they've had sex, drink, do drugs, are bi, etc., etc. And the kids are dumb enough to answer them. They post all kinds of pictures and can correspond with anyone on the site.

Please ask the young loved ones in your lives if they are aware of this site.

This is so sad and I heard last night too that parents are furious because porn is being sent to the kids on those I-Pod thingys....

There have been several tragedies that have happened because of that particular place on the internet. I would not have been happy if my kids had been on a board like that, although it's possible they could have been and I never knew. One of the very real dangers of this sort of thing is that often those who post there are not who or what they claim to be. Or so I've been told.

Another myspace.com horror story. Yesterday they arrested a pedophile from MA in a town not far from here when he attempted to keep an assignation with a teenage girl, who turned out to be a very male undercover cop. They said it wasn't the first time this guy had gone after young girls.

At least this one had a positive outcome!

My granddaughter uses this site to connect with her friends. When she was visiting me, she would log on and chat, etc. She just turned 18 so who can do anything about it? She's legal.

I think it was originally created for a way to have young people connect but leave it to the perverts to ruin everything.

I think the pervs are always one step ahead of the rest of us.
My kids use it too, but they are 16,18,20 and 24, so I don't think they would be in danger. All are boys, except for the 24 year old. I'd watch the younger ones though,especially girls, no matter where they go on the net.

Woah! I'm getting close to 2000 posts. I should probably stop talking!!

Bite your tongue Bluebird...I would cry if you ever stopped talking!!!

My family usually cries when I start talking!

Bluebird, please don't stop. I love reading what you have to say.

Dianne, what you said about myspace is so true. Wouldn't it be ideal if there was a place for youth to go and know for certain that there was no danger and that everyone was precisely who they said they were?

I'm sure that's what the myspace people intended.

What a shame.

Bluebird never stop talking you have so many pertinent points to make...I love listening to the things you say/post!!! 2000 posts, whahoo!!!

Oh I was just kidding! Like I COULD stop talking.
C'mon now...

The problem with a place that's intended for teenagers is anyone can say they are anyone on the net and get away with it. I guess I used to have a lot more faith in human nature than I do now. I wish there was a way of keeping these places safe, because the original intent is a wonderful one.

It's funny, I just got an email from my cousin and he has a new blog or whatever and it's on myspace.com. I thought it was a great site (his) because his picture looked so good. He's 25, designs websites, runs his own company and is in a band. He writes music. I emailed him and asked about the myspace site. I thought it would be a good place to promote the book. My husband, who doesn't go online, had a fit. He had heard about myspace on the news. I'm all over the Internet, so what's the big deal? He said people look for kids, yada yada. I'm not a kid, so what? Then my daughter told me it's a site all the kids are using. Her friends kid has her full name on there etc. The parents told her to get it off there. She is also putting her friends names on it. Didn't sound good. My cousin emailed me back and said it's a great site and lots of fun. ?? Now, I come on here and it's a topic. I guess, I won't be using it. A couple of days ago, I had never heard of it.

Chatty - I have an ipod thingy and I don't get any porn on it. But, then again, I don't download it either. I have the new one that you can put pictures on. The screens so small the porm would be wasted on me. I wouldn't be able to see it. LOL

Louisa

Bluebird...I feel like all I do is post on here and I haven't even hit 500 yet!!!...it will take me years to get where you are...keep postin' my sister...

My kids use the site too. I have talked to them since the day we got our first computer about not giving out too much information and all I can do is hope that it sunk in.
In defense of my space, my children have found long lost friends that have moved away, and since we moved away also it helps them to stay in touch with their old friends and school mates. I hate that it is being abused by the pervs. But then, what isn't?

It's so sad that there are evil people that take advantage of everything and anything to hurt others.

The internet is a great tool for good purposes, but its a double-edged sword: as with so many other developments, it is also a good tool for perverts.

You can never be too careful nowadays!

My son was trying to sell some parts of his car on the net and got an email from someone "interested" offering to send a check for a much larger amount than the cost of the parts. The catch is they then ask you to pay for the shipping of the item and wire the difference to a certain account .

Of course, the check is fake and if you're not alert and wire the "difference" you'll be left with nothing but a scam while feeding their account.

Thank God my son replied with a "I'm not sending any parts until the check is cleared". That was the end of it. But many people are not aware of all this going on!

This invasion of perversion just plain makes me mad. I am sick of it. These inhuman beasts are making every aspect of life unsafe. The myface site could have been a fun place for kids, but these disgusting perverts have made it dangerous.

I get angry every time I pass the parks and roadside rest stops that have been closed around here because they were popular hang outs for teens that gradually changed to drug drops, homosexual hang outs, and pick up sites for pedophiles.

I think much of what appears to be an epidemic of perversion is related to increased drug use. The addicts I have known are deeply spiritual people, but drugs separate them from their soul. Some have spoken to me about that and of the need to seek arousal through increasingly perverse sexual acts.

I wish I had a solution. For one thing, maybe we could stop portraying celebrities who use drugs then go to rehab as heroes and we could stop releasing perverts from prison. At this point we are the ones confined. We are in prisons of fear. Fear for ourselves and for our children.

smile

[ March 01, 2006, 12:17 PM: Message edited by: smilinize ]

Scary world we live in today. I agree with Smile's sugestion regarding celebrities and drug use! It sure would help if we didn't make such a big deal out of it!

Some keep lobbying for the legalization of drugs and even prostitution stating if made legal the desire would cease to be as strong plus the Government could charge taxes. If drugs were legal would the price go down drastically? I wonder. As far as prostitution goes I doubt they will ever be able to control it. Too many willing to sell and too many willing to buy!! It's the growing popularity of Human Trafficing that scares me to death, now these criminals have even a better reason to steal our children and young women....and its happening everyday.

[ March 01, 2006, 08:28 PM: Message edited by: chatty lady ]

songbird, that very thing happened to a girlfriend of mine who was selling a car online. We're talking big check, big loss!

Fortunately she had throughly read the site before posting her car. One of the warnings was that scam. What will they think of next?

Smile, in addition to drugs, I think there's a loss of morality that's invaded society. I also blame television and movies.

I am also sick about myspace. Can we trust our kids to speak only to their friends? If so, it could still work. Maybe?

I am thankful that my son is 31. I would not want to have to worry about a teen on the Net today. It seems to attract paedophiles like bees to honey. As for paedophiles I think one conviction and they should be automatically castrated.

Blondi I haven't been here all that long (Feb.06 was 2 years) and have passed the 6000 mark in posts, doesn't seem like it took that long to me of course I am long winded and my screen name suits me, he, he....

[ March 02, 2006, 08:31 PM: Message edited by: chatty lady ]

Christina, a couple times a week, I share that I am so glad my youngest is 17.

I have no desire to do middle school and high school again...and I maintain that I have good kids...but no teens are perfect.

I know I have a way to go, but I believe the majority of my work is done. they know right form wrong. They just don't always choose what is right.

My sons are 20 and 21. There were some rough times. Middle school is the worst and maybe the first year of high school.

I either volunteered or worked in the schools from the time they were in preschool all the way through high school. I was the parent who was always at the school trying to stay on top of things.

Sometimes it's hard. My older son in particular. He loves music and radio and all ever wanted to do was do that. Everyone in power at the school discouraged him - seems I was the only one fighting for him. Now he is going to college and guess what - he works at a radio station. He started out as an intern and now he has his own music show on Saturdays. I'm am so glad that we don't have to put up with the negativity of school anymore.

My other son is going to college in Boston and doing very well. But there were still some issues. He did better in school but as a parent you have to constantly monitor what is going on.

My husband and I did a good job. They seem to been fine young men. Granted we all screwed up every now and than. But I didn't want my kids to be robots but I wanted them to stay out of trouble and safe.

I totally agree with the fact that you need to teach them wrong from right. Also, to respect other people's opinions.

Perfectly said, Beverly! Being an advocate for your children and setting them on the path knowing right from wrong seems to have worked for ours, too. They are 27 and 29 and I couldn't be prouder of who they turned out to be.

Tell your son my brother worked for and ran a radio station when he was in college, then went on to law school. Now he's president of an important music company. No matter what anyone tells you there IS a future in the music industry!

My sons are both adults now but my grandson has visited the site...I heard on TV that there were already 2 deaths they are attributing to them using that site....sad!

[ March 04, 2006, 09:47 PM: Message edited by: chatty lady ]

I looked at some of the things on that site. Kids do put too much information out there. That makes them easy targets for the preditors that are out there waiting. This is a scary thing. I also couldn't believe some of the pictures they put on there of themselves and some of the comments. As for the two deaths attributed to that site, I think the sad thing is that if it had not been that site, it would have been another. It wouldn't surprise me, based on what I've been hearing on the news, if they shut that site down. Unfortunately, that won't put an end to it. They'll find other sites. It's not just the Internet either. Look at that poor young girl in NY who was just murdered and the girl in Aruba and many others like the one a few years ago who disappeared from a playground.
Louisa

I always tell my kids, "it's not you I don't trust, it's the rest of the world."

Louisa, you're right, it's everywhere.

And I agree, some of the girls pictures are very provocative. It appears as though they are asking for trouble.

I think maybe being young and very inexperienced with the world they live in they think its cute...Thats where the parents have got to be intrusive into their kids lives because the kids are so dumb as to the ways of the world. My friend Sandys daughter, only 15 years young had pictures up until her dad saw them and down they came. They, me and my detective friend spent the greater part of the next few evenings telling her some horror stories and after all that she said, "yea, but that wouldn't happen to me." What kid ever thinks of their own vulnerability? None I know of, and I and my friends never did either. I believe some of us are lucky to be alive and the perversion has increased 10 fold since those days. Whats the answer? Be strict and they hate us but at least their alive.

[ March 05, 2006, 09:58 PM: Message edited by: chatty lady ]

You're right, Chatty. Many teenagers think they're invulnerable. The "That could never happen to me" attitude was particularly prevalent at the middle school when I was teaching there. They could have been in grave danger any number of ways and never noticed.

We set what we thought were reasonable limits on our kids, and they grew up safe and happy. In my experience, "strict" doesn't always work, either. Some of the saddest stories I know are about kids who rebelled against their parents limits. It really is a slippery slope out there.

I decided to make a profile page on myspace...the address is below. If anyone wants to see any of my kiddies, I have pics on there!

[ March 07, 2006, 08:48 PM: Message edited by: Bluebird ]

Oh my gosh, you are so mod! I can't believe it.

I am so excited. I just browsed your site a little and immediately went to Katy's because I know she's your daughter.

My heart is singing for you Blue.

A 24 year old daughter who has I Can Only Imagine as the music on her page and writes about her faith and family. Blue, you are so blessed!

PLEASE tell me who you are in her slideshow. I know you have to be one of the grandmothers. Which one?

Actually Dotsie, I am only in one picture and I'm kind of in the corner. Since I am always taking pictures, I'm really never in any of them. Which is ok since the camera doesn't "love me ,baby" The one I'm in is the one where there are several people sitting on the couch - I'm in the left corner, on the floor.

I am thrilled that my daughter has such a relationship with the Lord. She's not Catholic but that's ok. I prayed years ago that she would meet a good Christian guy and she did. They are on the same page and I am so happy that she doesn't have to deal with what I do in that department. Isn't she cute, though??? she doesn't look like me!!!

So mod...that's funny. Your age is showing!!

OK, here's an update. If you go to my Myspace page, click on "view more pics", you will see a picture of Jim and me. If you click on the photo itself, it will enlarge.

I spent quite a bit of time there Bluebird and you and your family are all adorable. How cool to share!

JJ

Are you sure you meant to say adorable and not deplorable??

Thanks JJ! It's actually fun and easy to set up. I did it mainly so I could post pictures that others could see w/o me emailing them.
Did you check out my daughter's profile? Katygirl. It's awesome!

[ March 09, 2006, 01:44 PM: Message edited by: Bluebird ]

When I tried to view more pics, it asked me to create my own space!

You like Rascal Flatts too? I love them!

Oh I DO love Rascal Flatts!! There is something so sexy about that nasally voice of Gary's...

Were you able to look at the pics w/o creating a space, though? I'm sure thy're always drumming up new business but you should have been able to look.

NOPE...had to create a space. Couldn't tell you what I did for a password either, because I only went there to view your pic's. And yes, you all are adorable, you silly woman!

JJ

Well, I gotya both!

Sam has a space on Myspace. He once asked me to look up his space to view a picture of him on his motorcycle - and I saved it!!!!! So now, I can just bring that up and see what he and all the others are up to!!!! Bad Mommy. But just tooooooo much fun. Shhh. Dont tell.

Bluebird, you're so cute!!! and all your little birdies....

Searcher, how funny. I won't tell.

Do you have AOL?

You know how the kids post away messages?

Well that is one of the ways I know my college son is still alive.

Dramatic, I know.

But if I am on AOL and see he has an away message, I read it and immediately know what he is up to. Knowing his whereabouts makes me feel more connected to him.

What did we do without computers?

I also catch him online sometimes and we IM. I love it!

I could view your daughter's pictures but when I click on the church pic, it wants me to join.

I don't have AOL. I do have IM thru Yahoo, but haven't used it because, really, I can just ring Sam up. He's not so far away. But I feel like you do, Dotsie - I just have to have connection. I so love that boy! Honestly, tho, I try to stay out of his way and let him have some freedom. Nichole's troubles kept us so close to home all the time it's time he flew around a bit.....

Yesterday, we went to lunch and I got to catch up on his stuff! He's done something new with himself - he's never worn a pair of white tennis shoes in his life - always grey or black or tan or something - yesterday he had on white tennis shoes and I was shocked! Sam thought this was really funny and to get me to laughing, he started doing back-handsprings and walking on his hands, waving his feet back and forth in the parking lot!!!!. we call him Hollywood.

Which reminds me - when he was about 7 or 8, he found he was really good at walking on his hands. And he was always looking for ways to use up energy (never found a way to use it all!) so he would walk up and down the stairs at school on his hands - with his books on his feet!!!! The principal called me and told me he was going to reprimand Sam, but couldn't because he was so entertaining that the principal liked to watch him! I asked if he got to class ok, and the answer was yes, so we just let him have at it!!!

I put him in gymnastics a year later.

Search

Ok, since no one was able to see my extra picture page, I made a slideshow of about 50 pictures. It should start up as soon as you go to the main page: http://www.myspace.com/westernbluebird

Make sure your speakers are on because there is a song that plays.

Hope you all enjoy it!

Bluebird, I cannot find the words...it was so nice to hear that song and view those pics. Made me all teary eyed this morning. I truly enjoyed it.
chick

Thanks chick! It was really easy to do, just a little time consuming. It was hard finding a song with appropriate words, too.

Oh no, I guess this is where the shi"" is gonna hit the fan:)

1. It's not 'the space' that is deliquent it's the kids.

2. They have a public service announcement on tv here..."CUTIEPIE" has attracted a pervert. Does anyone ever think of the first line of defense? Not have the child have a screen name such as CUTIEPIE?????

3. And from personal experience...back in the 60's (this is nothing new) when I walked through my girlfriends door and her Grandfather handed me a Hershey bar with one hand and tried to stick the other down my shirt I knew it was WRONG in the 6th grade!

4. And in fact I knew it was wrong when I was 5 a playmate offered me a nickle to see my underwear!

Where are these children's Mother's? jennifer

I happened to see a show about child sexual abuse on Oprah recently. She made the point that most pedophiles do not forcibly rape children. Rather, they seduce them.

As a sexually abused child herself, she said it was the seduction, the feeling of being special then being betrayed, and the sexual pleasure in something so shameful that confused and injured her most.

There are so many seductions for our children. So many forms of pleasure to entice them to premature sexual feelings. No place seems safe. How do we protect them without injuring them further?

smile

[ April 09, 2006, 01:45 PM: Message edited by: smilinize ]

Our mothers or we as mothers can not be with our child every minute of every day. My mother was a great mother who watched us like hawks but my Uncle Friendly, as we kids called him managed to get me alone on numerous occassions even with other relatives in the next room. He was gutsy and calculating and waited for every second he might fondle or sway one of us children. I learned real young to steer clear of this creep. Oh and not all pedifiles seduce, some just hold you down and do what they want to especially to the very young child who can't tell. On Diannes wonderful site Educating Against Domestic Abuse I made the comment all pedifiles should be given only ONE chance, you offend and you get a 'lobotomy' and 'castration', no questions asked, do not pass goal, do not collect $200... That way you take away the 'desire' and the 'equipment'.... It's a sad state of affairs when a cutiepie can't even call herself one on the net..As you may have guessed I have zero tolerance for these sick twisted scum bags...

[ April 09, 2006, 07:00 PM: Message edited by: chatty lady ]

Both of my girls, ages 18 and 16, have accounts on myspace.com. They know what to watch out for but I wonder about younger kids who are probably more vulnerable. Even so, the perverts can't just reach through the computer and grab the kids --- the kids have to agree to meet the jerk somewhere. When that happens, I wonder where the parents have been. My daughters know that I check-out their sites once and awhile. I tell them that if the millions of people who are on myspace can read what they post than so can I!

Misfire, with all the information some of the kids give, the perverts sould probably do a sneak visit and appear next to them at the mall, a game, school, or work.

I joined myspace to keep on eye on my adult kids. My youngest is 13 and when he turns 14, I will let him join myspace but here's the catch - under my supervision! No cutie pie names, very litle personal info. He has Aspergers, which is part of Autism Spectrum Disorder and has great difficulty making friends. I don't think there's anything wrong with the site itself, I think parents need to supervise their kids more! 3 high schoolers were recently arrested in a neighboring town, for post child porn. 2 of the girls posed naked in sexually suggestive poses and the 3rd was arrested for taking the pix. Where are the parents? Of course they could be dingbats like my mother. In Junior High (jeez, remember when they called it that?) there was a math teacher who just loved to help any girl with big breasts at her seat. He would lean over in such a way he would elbow our boobs. I remember hanging over the side of my chair so he couldn't touch me. My sister and I told our mother what was going on and she told us to keep our mouths shut, not to tell our father because "he will kill the teacher and go to jail and who will support us?"
Yup, the joys of a dysfunctional childhood. I just think parents need to pay more attention to what their kids are doing.
Someone mentioned Natalie Holloway and Aruba. My heart goes out to the mom, believe me. BUT, why let an innocent inexperienced kid go to a foreign country that allows 18 yr olds to drink with very little supervision from the chaperones? Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me, no matter how trustworthy your child is, they are vulnerable and no matter how hard it is, sometimes you just have to say no, it's for your own good!

have a happy day!
Susan

Hey, Mother Mystic! I never formally welcomed you, so Welcome!! I'm going to check out your myspace. My kids still accuse me of being a hippie!

Amen to that Mystic Mother. I watched my two sons like a mother hawk, sure they complained but too dam bad and now I get thank yous because they now watch their own kids the same way and understand the dangers....

Thanks for the welcome Bluebird. Yup, I'm a tie dyed in the wool hippie, no matter how much I've tried to evolve, it just ain't happening.

I know what you mean Chatty Lady. One of my sons used to joke that if he tried to go mountain climbing, he knows at some point a helicopter would appear over his shoulder with me shouting thru a megaphone "Get down from there!" I just say, "That's my job! I'm here to teach and protect you, and you don't have to like it. But you have to respect me."

I remember a woman at my baby shower saying with a sad face, "you're in for a lifetime of worry". I thought she was being mean at the time, but boy was she right!

peace & happiness,
Susan

Great idea to join myspace to keep an eye on the kids. A letter came from my daughter's school advising paretns to do the same.

I have two friends who have children with Asbergers that live locally.

That's also how I got started on it, too. I was trying to see what my 18 year old was up to because he tells me nothing!! Then I saw it was a good way to connect with other people, catch up with old friends and post pictures.

I use the myspace blog as a rant space - it helps to get a lot of grief out and hopefully someone out there can connect with my experiences. I've met a few people online, no one in person yet but I'm hopeful I might find a true friend or two.

Asperger's shares a lot of characteristics with Indigo children which I've seen posted elsewhere on this form. Probably the most difficult part is trying to establish a close relationship with a child who states emphatically he'd rather be alone. It's hard to imagine wanting to be that alone. I will always keep trying tho. Never give up hope, that's one of my credos.

Susan

Mystic, do you have a support group for you and/or your son? I think it would be helpful especially for the children to know they are not alone.

Dotsie,
No, no support group, no social worker absolutely no help from any agency whatsoever. He did get help ONE time from the agency associated with the psychiatrist he was seeing. They paid for 1 summer socialization course. Then they called and said since he wasn't receiving any other services, they would no longer help. We made the decision to take him off meds once he started puberty because they were having a strange effect on him, falling asleep as soon as he came home from school, very fatigued. His teachers didn't notice any difference when we stopped the meds so I guess they weren't having that great of an effect. Unfortunately, the town we live in consistently underfunds the school dept, the mayor brags about gutting the Special Ed dept funding, IEP meetings are a nightmare.

Susan

Hello I had a myspace.com blog or space since the Autumn and I don't get weirdo's on my blog LOL. I get them on yahoo LOL.

Welcome proud, great screen anme. I hope you'll tell us more in the welcome forum.

I have been away from this site for awhile and am just catching up...

A couple of weeks ago, I had a phone call telling me to check out My Space. There was something on there that would be of great interest to me. So I did. I found my out of town college son had a site. He had posted way to much info about himself and posted pictures that did not meet with my approval. We went several rounds over this and he had since cancelled his site.

BUT in order for me to access his site, I had to create my own site. The only thing that I did was put my real email address and everything else was fake. I expected to be cancelled out right away but I wasn't. This is why I used my real email address. I wanted to see what would happen.

Now my reason for going on MySpace was to find my son but what about these creeps that create a fake id to go after unsuspecting kids. MySpace is not policing this. I am very concerned for the kids that are on there.

In looking for my son, I read some of these other sites and thought are these kids are crazy. They are giving way too much info and posting their pictures.

There is a radio station that posted a fake id...a girl 14 years old and they posted a picture. They got a few responses from men who thought they were communicating with a 14 year old girl and some of these responses were unbelievable.

As a parent, we can't be standing over them 24 hours and they are much too computer sauvey, so shouldn't these types of sites also take some responsibility as to what goes on???

Believe me if you don't police your own kids these sites won't. They couldn't care less who posts or what they post, the more tintalating the better. What we need is a law to make the owners of these trashy sites responsible but the web is to big for that and even the government doesn't want to be bothered nor do they have the man power. So we're on our own ladies to do the policing. Heaven help us!!!

[ May 13, 2006, 05:48 PM: Message edited by: chatty lady ]

I'm not sure the technology is there to police any site the way we'd hope. Just look at ebay! People get ripped off all the time and the thief is never caught. How can you really be sure the person signing up is who they claim they are? At the least, we can try to be the best parents possible and limit our childrens access to the internet.
peace,
Susan

I have to say there must be some gneralized patrol on myspace.com from some agencies, because that's how they stopped the Columbine anniversary attack in Kansas. A blurb was found on myspace.com and authorities were able to arrest the boys before anything happened.

I think a teenage member of myspace.com turned the information about the Kansas Colunbine plans in to the police.

smile

There's another one to check and that's www.facebook.com. Have you heard of that one? I think it's for older kids, like college age.