Like others here, I have my own account and watch her to make sure her MS is restricted to friends. I have talked about it with her and explained the dangers. We have the PC in plain sight. So far, all is well!

As a teenager, I wouldnt recommend delving too deeply into it. MySpace's administrators are making the site more and more secure every day.

The last thing a teen wants is for their parents to start asking them questions about it, and at the end of the day if your child has an ounce of intelligence, they are unlikely to meet someone from there anyway, and thus be fairly safe from predators.

As for the "In A Relationship" part, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE dont ask about that. If she/he is in a relationship, maybe its just getting started or he/she is testing the waters with a partner, when they are ready to tell you they will, dont go delving into it as we teenagers are very private about our personal lives and dont like involving our parents as much as theyd want.

Even if they have a MySpace account, they probably have accounts on other social networking sites also, there's little you can do about it really.

My mum was constaantly on my case about chatting online to unknown people. She used to tape things off the TV about the dangers of internet predators all the time. I never really convinced her enough that I was being extra careful, not giving out lots of details and things. When I did get close to one person and exchanged phone numbers with them, she obviously fretted again. But she appreciated that when I did finally meet up with him (3 years later) that I told her where I was going, and was taking 2 friends with me. I imagine there's a good chance she spied on me, god knows she still tries to today (though I'm much more computer wise these days, much better at covering my tracks... (sorry all you parents, but the day will come...))

My advice would be to educate them and make them wary, but don't overcrowd them. And if you're going to spy, make sure you only approach your kids if it's something really serious.

OMG!!! Don't leave the house!


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Aqua, just to mention, if it hasn't already been, that the 'In a relationship' bit might simply be her way of trying to ward off predators or youngsters her age from pestering her. To be honest, it's probably a good thing for her to do, as predators often target girls whom they feel are vulnerable/ lonely. Making out that she's not available is surely better than advertising the opposite?

I havnt been reading all this.. but myspace really isnt that dangerous.. its controlled by microsoft and its pretty safe.. how old is your daughter?

That's not entirely accurate.

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That having been said, nothing protects children better than their parents. And being informed is the most important part.

First, catch your rockspider.

You can maybe do things about convicted predators who are silly enough to register under their real name, but phoney registration details and undiscovered/unconvicted bastards are almost bulletproof.

Truth be told.. If your daughter is on the internet.. Then she is a target.. The only way to completely protect her against internet predators.. is to ban her from the internet.

I am sorry but i don't think just becuase she is on the internet she is target. IF you have brought her up with common sense and values it will be fine. I would tell her not to meet anyone unless she knows them from school and always let you be there to meet them with her. I have met many people from online and yes i learned my lesson after going alone once. I was an idiot. I was safe and went home scared. I have never since that time met anyone alone always with a friend that could be my backup.