Facebook vs. MySpace

So, with much reservation I tried out both MySpace and Facebook. I found Facebook easier to use, mostly because it didn't have as many features as MySpace. I found them equally easy to find and add friends. I also liked Facebook because it showed me people I actually did know. I would have no problem continuing to use Facebook for some time. I can also see how it could be a useful tool for networking or keeping in touch with colleagues, friends and family. However, I quickly discovered this is a social networking site that is definitely NOT intended for kid use...

So here is the disaster that caused me to realize I would NEVER absolutely NEVER use these programs with my kids. I was looking at a close friend's MySpace page (I should mention I was using my school issued laptop). While looking at her page, I saw her sister listed on the side, so I went ahead and looked at her page as well. It so happened that her page was public. Then I decided to look at my friend's new husband's page, to get to know him a bit better. However, his page was not public, so I was not able to see it. But, never fear, MySpace always suggests public pages that you may want to view and they provide pictures of these random people. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can try going to one of our MySpace pages, before adding us as a friend. So anyway, one of the pictures was a close up a male body part that need not be photographed outside of National Geographic or an adult film. I know that MySpace has precautions set up to avoid this problem, but OBVIOUSLY it doesn't always work. Therefore I would never, ever use this at school with my kids!!