Ban Myspace? | Teen Ink

Ban Myspace?

December 10, 2009
By HulaHips BRONZE, Temecula, California
HulaHips BRONZE, Temecula, California
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Did you know, according to my survey, 84% of middle school through high school students go on their Myspace account as much as possible? Myspace should be banned from the Internet because kids and teens have been kidnapped through Myspace, can be cyber bullied, and hackers can pretend to be you and harm your friends and family.

My first reason to ban Myspace is many kids and teens get kidnapped through Myspace. Most of the kids who have been kidnapped through Myspace did not have their profile on private. Parents might say their kids are responsible enough to have their profile on private. I believe that since Myspace does not already set your profile on private, kids will forget or just assume it’s already on private. One example is a girl named Chelsey Deshazer who, according to www.state-journal.com , was 14 when she had been kidnapped through Myspace for not having her profile on private. Therefore, people could then see all her information and as a result to this, she was kidnapped. Even if your child has their profile on private, there are ways to see you information. People spend lots of time on computers trying to figure out how to hack your account which will give them access to your personal information like where you live and what school you go to. This is one reason I believe Myspace should be banned from the Internet.

The second reason I believe Myspace should be banned is because of cyber bullying. On Myspace, there is an application called the “Truth Box”, which allows you to write anonyms messages to people on your friends list. Since the clues given on who wrote the message are so vague, there is little chance of knowing whom you are being cyber bullied by. According to 17 Magazine, in an article by Jessica Press, a girl who had just broken up with her boyfriend was being threatened by him on Myspace. When she would delete her account and make a new one, there he was again. Now every time she goes on her new accounts she has to be worried about him showing up on her monster once more. How would you feel if that happened to you or a loved one? This is another reason I believe Myspace should be banned.

My last reason for Myspace being banned is hackers can pretend to be you and harm your friends and family. Even if you do not have a Myspace, you should join me in saying the website should be banned. The hacker pretending to be you can casually ask your friends to meet up with “you” and your friends and family wont find that weird. Your friends and family members could be seriously harmed. The police could then track the records of the chat or messages and blame you. In the end, even if you are not guilty, you may be blamed for what happened. Please remember you can be harmed through Myspace even if you don’t have one. This is my last reason I think Myspace should be banned.
To sum it all up, I think Myspace should be banned for the following reasons: kidnapping, cyber bulling, and hacking. I hope these reasons have persuaded you as they have persuaded me.


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This article has 2 comments.


LilySunshine said...
on Jan. 19 2010 at 8:25 pm
i kinda agree with you but not all the time you get cyber bullied. some choose to have a myspace and when they choose they know whats going to happen and also yes i think they should ban myspace because too many kids are getting kidnapped because of one little word they told a person that could say they are 16 but really they are 30 and above

Persona BRONZE said...
on Dec. 16 2009 at 8:19 pm
Persona BRONZE, Hanford, California
4 articles 0 photos 60 comments
Why ban a website for what some of it's users do? Myspace, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. If you don't want to expose yourself or the people you care about to myspace, don't go on the website and discourage people from using it. Simple as that. The risks you take are true of any social website. There's no reason that I shouldn't be able to use a fun, creative, and convenient means to socialize with people on the internet due to someone else's preferences, paranoia, and lack of cautiousness(concerning hacking and kidnapping). As far as cyber bullying goes, you're able to block profiles, messages, comments, and set your profile to private for a reason. Your proposition is ridiculous, as is the notion of banning a site from the internet. Ever heard of Net Neutrality laws?