kids on myspace!!

I agree with you, although Myspace should play some responsibility, i think it is ultimately the parents responsibility to monitor their kids. I know that there are parents that "respect" their kids privacy and they dont want to get into a kids room to find out or into their computer, but if the kid doesnt tell them anything, how is a parent to know? I think that first you should try to build a good relationship with your kid to make sure that open communcation happens but if your kid doesnt talk to you, i think snooping should be ok.

I agree with you so much. When I heard about the parents suing myspace, I couldn't believe it. Why should the website be responsible for the child's actions? The parents should be monitoring their kid's activities online. Also, they should be warning their kids about the dangers of people online and what could happen. If this girl would have known about this, maybe she wouldn't have met the guy from myspace and this would never have happened.

I'm glad that they are adding some better safety features but ultimately the parents are responsible for their own kids. Whether the kids run into trouble on myspace or at the local hangout-it's still the same lack of monitoring

The funny thing on Myspace and sites like Mylot, is that everyone of them has their internet safety tips and procedures written out for the user. Sadly, the users that arent smart enough to read on it before accessing a social site. I wrote a bit on the subject here http://15000dollarmission.blogspot.com/2006/12/enough-with-money-do-you-stay-safe-on.html But overall, I think the parents should teach the kid some common sense.

I feel awful for the kids and their parents, what they are going through and what they are dealing with however what happened was the fault of the pedophile that went after the kids it is not Myspace's fault. If they want to sue someone they should be suing the pedophile not myspace. Second I agree parents should be monitoring who their kids are talking to online, what they are doing on there, and what they are revealign about themselves. I know with my neice we watch. We make sure who she is talking with in the yahoo messenger and her games. We've also talked with her about the dangers and what can happen. Then again we also let her watch shows like SVU so she has an idea that we aren't just being paraniod. The parents need to step up and take some responsiblilty here.

Where are the "concerned" parents when the children are msg's /joining in the 1st place?!!!! the suit should be nixed. If parents cannot watch their own kids then how can a online community be expected to?

oh my god whatever! ~shakes head~ I hate stupid people & obviously that's what these parents are, otherwise they wouldn't be trying to sue ySpace for something that the site has no control over. Maybe the kids should be watched closer & maybe the parents should teach their kids about the dangers of the internet instead of trying to make a quick buck by sueing a site that has done nothing wrong. It sure is alot simpler to lay the blame somewhere else tha to take responsibility for their own actions as crappy parents.

Yes the parents are the ones who raise their children. When we tell our kids right from wrong... we teach them about stangers. That should never change, there will always be a stranger. I think that the parents are the ones who need to put limits on their kids. Without limits no one knows what they can do. There are things you can put on your computer to block your kids from getting on myspace. So maybe instead of sueing them they should be sueing theirselves. I really agree with you on this one. It is just like a kid falling out of a shopping cart who was not buckled in and in the wrong part of the basket. The parents did not pay attention to the kid and it fell and broke theri arm. Whos fault is that? The parent who was not paying attention to the kid.

i agree with you, i think parents should be more proactive in monitoring their kids' online activities. i think its a ridiculous law suit that is just a scam by the parents to make some easy money. predators can prey on kids anywhere on the internet. its not like myspace makes it any easier or allows predators to do so. the kids should not have been allowed to post pictures or personal information, and it is their parents' responsibilities to make sure that they dont.

My daughters computer have a block on the sites that they are not allowed to visit. As they get older (5 & 7) we will monitor where they go & their interactions more closely. Right now they are mainly on Disney, PBSkids & such. The younger one can't even go anywhere without someone else setting up the site. I think you should need a credit card to set up a myspace page. I know not everyone has a credit card, but that would hopefully cut down on the amount of teens & such on their. Parents need to set guidelines & let their kids know how dangerous the internet can be.

I don't see how MySpace can be responsible. It's not like they can verify the age of every single person who sings up? How hard would it be for someone who was preditory to make a fake account to get around MySpace (or other online communities for that matter) age group things... Kids can run in to preditory people anywhere. You can't sue the mall if you dump your kids off there unsupervised and something happens to them. The mall, the Internet, the tv, video games, etc. are not baby sitters. How and why where these people able to attack these teens? That is the root of the problem. Pointing at MySpace is a lazy answer for these parents... btw, I hate MySpace because it is extremely annoying, so mark this as one of the few times I will say anything in it's defense. : P

I caught a bit of this news story, as well. I don't blame the parents for wanting to sue. What happened to the kids is awful :( But I agree with you very, very strongly that parents should be more mindful of what their children are doing on the internet, and in life in general. Too many parents don't properly parent their children, and just let the computer, television and video games babysit their kids. I wish that these parents had taken more of an active role in their kids' lives and had paid attention to what they were doing on the internet in the first place. Then maybe less of these things would happen :(

I agree, it is the parents fault. They are the one who should be implementing controls in regards to their children's access to the internet.

I believe, since the internet is fairly a recent phenominon, it is time to intigrate safty tips about the internet in school. Not only teach children how to use it, but teach them proper ways of declining invites to meet people on the net. Just like we teach our children not to get into cars with strangers, we need to teach our children about strangers online!

yeah i definately agree with you i think that parents should be alot more envolved and if not they should install some parental controls n their pc

At the end of the day parents should be teaching their kids NEVER to meet strangers over the internet without having someone with you to verify that the situation is okay...I really don't know what myspace can do about it, I'd put the blame with the parents.

Myspace should sue the parents for not keeping better track of what their kids are doing. Scum love the internet and to use it to prey on kids. I remember reading a year or so ago about a guy who showed up at a 15 year old's house. He had chatted with her for a while. Bit by bit he got personal information from her. He found out where she lived and when her parents were home. So he goes to her house. Oh yeah he was a cop showing her and her parents how a pervert could find her. So THAT story had a happy ending at least.

I think they are just looking for someone else to blame. I mean, before this there were always those shows (and still are actually) where they catch the predators online and have them come to meet the young girls, when it is actually a news cast when they show up. Personally I think if they can sue Myspace, they should sue all the people who have those chat rooms, etc... because at least Myspace has the option of private profiles, and messages, instead of just typing back and forth. I think that no matter where you go, you will always have problems with this type of stuff, no one can really stop it, and what is a lawsuit going to do? Make parent's richer, that is all. I agree and think parent's should pay more attention to what their kids are doing. There are all those blocks now that you can use against certain websites, and just getting on every so often to check the links they have visited. I mean, to a point it is an invasion of privacy, but if their kids are doing something they should know about and are still at a young age, then I think parent's have every right to monitor this stuff. If the parent uses the excuse my child has their own computer, or they have passwords, well, find a way around it. Make sure you can get on their computer, or make sure that it is not password protected to get on. What does a child under the age of 16 doing with a password anyway? What is so important that it must be kept from their parents? Personally, I was always close with my parents and told them everything, so I never felt like I had anything to hide. It is sad that some people do.

Ultimatly, it't the parents responsibility to supervise their children whilst they are online. The internet is a wonderful tool for education, but it can also be a very dangerous place for children. I mean, you wouldn't let your young child go wandering the streets alone would you? So why let them use the internet alone, when it is a haven for people who prey on children. There is only so much that websites can do to restrict use and make the pages a safer place for children. I think it is unfair that these parents have been able to sue Myspace, when clearly they are the ones more at fault. They should try spending more time with their children, rather than just letting them sit at the computer all day. Parents need to pay closer attention to what their children are doing, what they are looking at on the web and who they are talking to.

Dude, weak!