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MySpace has been invaded by adults! And not just the cool adults that you might want to send a shout out to, like a famous hot babe or a professional athlete. Some of the adults on MySpace today are there for one reason. To spy on teens! Maybe even you. Parents, school officials, even cops and private detectives have all been reported to check out MySpace when they want to get the low-down on what one teen or another is up to. But of course you already knew that, because you’re hip to the games adults play. That’s why you set your MySpace profile to private. Adult snooping problem solved.
Not! A teen’s parents or guardian can make a legal request, directly to MySpace, to show all of the contents of a teens’ private profile. Adult snooping problem not solved after all. Some teens have decided that MySpace is just too well known these days -- even your grandmother knows about MySpace! -- so they’ve closed their MySpace profiles and moved down the online road, to Facebook, or maybe even Friendster. But how long before adults know all about these online communities too? Facebook is already in the news because Yahoo is trying to buy it for a gazillion dollars. There goes another cool hangout where you could find some space from your parents.
So what to do? Pack up your profile every time your parents might figure out where it is and move it some place else? Sure, that’s an option, and some teens will probably take it. But moving is a hassle, whether it’s moving to a new house or a new online hangout. And how can you really know whether your current online community has become too popular? Ask your parents if they’ve heard of it? Duh. Wouldn’t that sort of tip them off?
Maybe the thing to do is just accept that your parents probably know that you have an online profile, whether that profile is on MySpace or someplace else. You don’t have to advertise your profile to your folks, but don’t treat it like it’s top secret either. If your parents ask you if you use MySpace, say yes! If you behave like you’ve got nothing to hide, that’s a pretty good indication that you don’t -- even if you really do! And as for those super intimate things that you add to your MySpace profile, you might want to share those the old-fashioned way. Talking to your friends on your cell phone!
