— Kids shouldn't lie about how old they are.
MySpace members must be 14 years of age or older.
We take extra precautions to protect our younger members and
we are not able to do so if they do not identify themselves
as such. MySpace will delete users whom we find to be younger
than 14, or those misrepresenting their age.
— MySpace is a public space. Members
shouldn't post anything they wouldn't want the world to know
(e.g., phone number, address, IM screen name, or specific
whereabouts). Tell your children they should avoid posting
anything that would make it easy for a stranger to find them,
such as their local hangouts.
— Remind them not to post anything that could
embarrass them later or expose them to danger. Although
MySpace is public, teens sometimes think that adults can't
see what they post. Tell them that they shouldn't post photos
or info they wouldn't want adults to see.
— People aren't always who they say they are.
Ask your children to be careful about adding strangers to
their friends list. It's fun to connect with new
MySpace friends from all over the world, but members should
be cautious when communicating with people they don't know.
They should talk to you if they want to meet an online friend
in person, and if you think it's safe, any meeting should
take place in public and with friends or a trusted adult present.
— Harassment, hate speech and inappropriate
content should be reported. If your kids encounter
inappropriate behavior, let them know that they can let you
know, or they should report it to MySpace or the authorities.
— Don’t get hooked by a phishing
scam. Phishing is a method used by fraudsters to
try to get your personal information, such as your username
and password, by pretending to be a site you trust.
MySpace Safety Tips For Parents to Share With Their Children
MySpace makes it easy to express yourself, connect with friends
and make new ones, but please remember that what you post publicly
could embarrass you or expose you to danger. Here are some common
sense guidelines that you should follow when using MySpace:
— Don't forget that your profile and MySpace
forums are public spaces. Don't post anything you
wouldn't want the world to know (e.g., your phone number,
address, IM screens name, or specific whereabouts). Avoid
posting anything that would make it easy for a stranger to
find you, such as where you hang out every day after school.
— People aren't always who they say they are.
Be careful about adding strangers to your friends list.
It's fun to connect with new MySpace friends from all over
the world, but avoid meeting people in person whom you do
not fully know. If you must meet someone, do it in a public
place and bring a friend or trusted adult.
— Harassment, hate speech and inappropriate
content should be reported. If you feel someone's
behavior is inappropriate, react. Talk with a trusted adult,
or report it to MySpace or the authorities.
— Don't post anything that would embarrass
you later. Think twice before posting a photo or
info you wouldn't want your parents or boss to see!
— Don't mislead people into thinking that
you're older or younger. If you are under 14 and
pretend to be older, customer service will delete your profile.
If you are over 18 and pretend to be a teenager to contact
underage users, customer service will delete your profile.
— Don’t get hooked by a phishing scam.
Phishing is a method used by fraudsters to try to get your
personal information, such as your username and password,
by pretending to be a site you trust. Click here to learn
more.
For most parents, MySpace monitoring solutions
such as SniperSpy and WebWatcher
are the most practical. With the help of software, you can
keep an eye on how your children use MySpace at all times -
even when you're out of the house. You can choose to use SniperSpy
and WebWatcher in two different ways. Either you tell your children
that you're monitoring their MySpace use, which means that they're
likely to be much more cautious and sensible - essentially,
it'll be as if you're standing next to them, asking "should
you really be doing that?" The other option is to run SniperSpy
and WebWatcher in total stealth mode, and find out exactly what
your children do and who they talk to when you're not around. |
