THE DANGERS OF MYSPACE - NEWS YOU CAN USE

Myspace: a place for friends; but what kind of friends? It’s a great place to communicate with friends, make new ones, and express yourself; sounds great… right? Not so right.

Many predators use myspace as a lure for children. Police say a 14-year old from Escondido was raped earlier this month by a man who lured her to South Dakota on MySpace. In Northern California, a 15-year-old Kayla Reed, mysteriously disappeared after meeting a man on myspace. She was active on MySpace until the day she disappeared. The Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported more than 2,600 incidents last year of adults using the Internet to entice children. "Just like a car accident, it can happen to you," says high school student Julia Rinaldi. "Predators can come to you — and that's what [children] don't think when they post those things." "When they think MySpace, they think other teenagers. They don't think there are adults pretending to be teenagers."

If you really just can’t live without your myspace, here are some tips to make it safer. First, and foremost, NEVER give out any personal information. That means your name, phone number, address, and school name. Only talk to people you know. And, absolutely, don’t post pictures of yourself.

Myspace is fun, unless something happens, then it’s not so fun. Take the proper precautions, or don’t sign up at all.
I’m Katie Perkins and I’m Tyler McEwen, for Wildcat Daily Broadcast.