Parent Information Related to MySpace

MySpace allows students 14 years of age and older to set up their own profile pages, which can include lists of their favorite musicians, books and movies, photos of themselves and others, and links to pages within and outside the MySpace environment.  Creating a profile is common practice;  61 percent of teenagers have a personal profile on a social networking site.  MySpace does not charge its users to set up their profiles or establish an account.  It does not require or accept credit cards or other payments, and is unable to independently verify all users identities or email addresses.  It is therefore possible for a user to establish a false identity or name on MySpace, and the true identity of an account creator may not be known by MySpace.

MySpace is the most widely-used and highly regarded site of its kind with nearly 100 million members.  MySpace integrates web profiles, blogs, instant messaging, e-mail, music streaming, music videos, photo galleries, classified listings, events, groups, college communities and member forums.

MySpace has created a hotline and e-mail address for the exclusive use of school administrators and employees.   Parents can contact MySpace with questions and concerns by clicking on “Contact MySpace”, located at the bottom of every page on MySpace.com.  In addition, parents can click on Parent Safety Tips”, located at the bottom of every page or at the following website address:

www.myspace.com/modules/common/pages/safetytips.aspx#

Finally,  MySpace.com provides parents with step-by-step instructions detailing how to remove their teen’s profile from MySpace.com, and links to free software that enables parents to monitor or block their teen’s use of the internet, including blocking MySpace.com.  See links and resources for parents to view these sites.