MySpace Move: Notification Software for Parents
Wed Jan 17, 2007 12:35PM EST
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To ward off a lawsuit by 33 state attorneys general, MySpace will offer free parental notification software that will allow parents to learn what name, age, and location their children use to identify themselves on MySpace.
News Corp. is trying to walk a thin line between appeasing government officials who are concerned that teenagers are opening themselves up to online predators and teenagers who don't want adults looking over their shoulders in their online lives.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the "Zephyr" software will not allow parents to read their kids' email, instant messages, or see their profile pages. Teens, meanwhile, will be notified when their parents request the profile ID information. The software is installed on the child's home computer, but will detect changes even if he logs onto MySpace from another computer.
This move may push some kids away from the social-networking site, but probably only if their friends go, too. It seems a plausible medium between privacy and accountability. It's okay for parents to know how their kids are presenting themselves online without reading their conversations and seeing the pages they put together. Basically, it's a heads-up for parents on what is already public information should they go searching online for their kids' pages.
As Larry Magid, a founder of blogsafety.com, writes for CBS News online, it provides an incentive for parents and kids to talk about how and why the software is being used, and about their activities on MySpace: "That conversation is probably more important than any reporting mechanism, because it helps create a dialog between the parent and the child." He likens it to asking where your kids are going and which friends they will be with, without following them or eavesdropping when they're out with friends.
For MySpace, it is one more gesture to assure law enforcement officials it is serious about safeguarding members as best as possible. In June, the site restricted MySpace users age 18 and older from requesting to be on 14- or 15-year-old members' friends lists. Still, there is no way for MySpace to verify the ages any of its members purport to be.
What do you think about MySpace's latest effort to assuage concerns about kids' safety in a growing online community? Restrictive or ineffective?
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2 Posted by mullins on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:30PM EDT Report Abuse
This doesn't seem like anything more than what parents can already do by simply looking at their kid's profile (even if it is private). I guess the change notification is important.
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3 Posted by axster_98 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:00PM EDT Report Abuse
My Daughter was posing as a 15 yr old and she is 12, all her 11 and 12 year old friends have myspace accounts. This Myspace needs some altering to prevent this from being so easy. Predators are having a field day with myspace. I think you should have a credit card for verifaction or someway to prove your identity.
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4 Posted by susancucchiara on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:50PM EDT Report Abuse
I agree with Mullins... but maybe a lot of parents dont realize all that htey can do to keep an eye on their kid's internet activities. In order for my child to have a MySpace, the rules were: 1. To make it private.. that is a must. 2. To not list any detailed personal information. 3. To add me on her friends list. That way I am able to go on her site whenever I want, see her comments to others (unless they are private too) but more importantly, see comments to her and what kind of friends she is inviting to her private site. A lot of her friends also invited me onto their space which just extends my ability to see what's going on in their social groups. My daughter jokes that I am stalking her friends by reading stuff on there but perhaps if more parents looked into what their kids were doing, we wouldnt hear such horrible stories out there. I realize that kids could make another profile that they dont tell you about but we also have a rule that computer use is in common rooms only.. no hiding away in a bedroom. I am constantly shocked by the stories I hear about kids on this website and things that happened but to be honest, I am more shocked at the lack of parent supervision. One other thing I have heard about is a software called KeyLogger that you can install (secretly) and it will tell you every single key that your child ever types on the computer. I think there are free versions and then more detailed versions you can pay for. It does not however give you what others type to your child though. So supposedly you could read what they type on emails, websites, you name it. I have not used it myself but know of others who like it.
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5 Posted by smilielyn on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:28PM EDT Report Abuse
I don't know if this will help parents at all. I being a parent of two (2) teenage boys would like to be able to receive an online history report with all of my childrens activity with emails, conversations and IM's. This would be essential and would help parents monitor their children more carefully and take extra precautions. I believe it will also help detect early signs or changes in a child that can perhaps lead them to do something stupid or crazy like what's been happening lately with predators and kids running away with someone they met online.
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1 Posted by galtonjisix on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:05PM EDT Report Abuse
Excellent article, Dory. While my kids have not yet asked about MySpace, it is good to know that I have an option to instigate a good conversation about online safety with them. I'm sure other parents would agree and will find this move by MySpace helpful, at the least. It's a shame we have to worry about such things ... alas, an imperfect world we all live in. G