That MySpace is a waste of space
March 26, 2008 – 8:22 pm | by Duncan
I’ve just returned from a high school debate with my daughter in which the topic was “That MySpace is a waste of space”.
Pros from the Teenage Users
1. An effective way of learning first hand from people from around the world.
2. A means of self expression
3. A way for people to become famous - self promotion for bands, designers, artists
4. A cheap way to set up online conversation
Cons from the Teenage Users
1. What should be private quickly and easily becoming public (e.g. parties)
2. Bullying finding a new insidious channel
3. Identity fraud - misrepresenatation or identity theft
4. Addiction leading to distortion of priorities, distracting from education, exercise and face-to-face communication
And More
The students didn’t cover the banality of MySpace conversation, bad design, the domination of the media by self promotion and commercial interest, and the trivialisation of friendship. There was no comparisons of MySpace with Facebook, Bebo or other social networking sites.
I found it ironic that 13 year olds are debating an internet phenomenon that, in theory, they have had no experience of. The minimum age for starting a MySpace page is 14. And yet it would seem, from talking to the students there, that many teenagers have had their own site well before their 14th birthday, just by lying about their age. By the time they reach the age of 14 they’re bored and have moved on. Or their parents have discovered their site…
Tags: MySpace
