I want to raise awareness among the youth, and adults alike in regard to logging out of their Myspace accounts when using a public internet access station (mall, library, etc.). If the user forgets, Predators can "jump on" the station after the user leaves, and obtain access to all the data on that user's account, and that user’s friends, and their friends, and so on, despite it being set to "private" by setting the age to 14. We saw this unfold at the mall.

Though the kid that "jumped on" the station after the first group left was most likely not a predator, he did say to the other: "...this dude

didn't log off her Myspace account. Let's post some hard..."

In this case it sounds as if some children may have been subjected to

some "hard core imagery..." without any warning it was coming. What is unsettling is the fact that this scenario could have had an even worse outcome; a predator could have made himself/herself a trusted "friend" of the account holder, and theoretically becoming one of every friend in the user's network of "friends."

I advocate blocking access to Myspace totally. The level of profanity and obscenity on Myspace would never fly in any broadcast or print media, and it certainly shouldn't in any public arenas (malls, schools, libraries, etc.). It is evident that many agree, thus the growing popularity of such sites as Stopspace.com, Net Nanny, etc.

Then there are the predators. With respect to the parents that contend their kids are responsible, and taking in consideration the above scenario, I cite this response from a parent: “I trust my kids not to feed sharks, but I’m not going to let them swim with them.”

IT Savvy Daddy