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TurinTurambar said:
It's got a lot of crap on it, but it's a useful tool for musicians to network and promote among other things. There are cliques there already... I prefer the "musicians clique."
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That's what it started out to be...a place for people trying to become successful at something (music, art, writing, etc.) but because the space is free, kids (always wanting to do "grown-up" thing) "discovered" it as a place to have their own little "space". So, the news of late tends to forget the original reason and focus on all that it has become.
It's now the second-most visited site in the world behind Yahoo (I think...or was it Google?)!!!
My wife's best friend's daughter just got her site taken away from her when her mother managed to get on it and find out she was spittin' out lie after lie on it (the most maddening of which was telling people her mother had had her when she was 16 and not married). Most kids, because it has a few levels of password protection, really let themselves "go" and you can see what they are like when they don't think Mommy and Daddy are "watching". For example, her language surprised the hell out of them!
Same goes for my wife's son (my stepson) who has his space, too. I don't get into his life a lot (another story
) but do give my wife a bit of advice about it. She had to search all over just to find his space and after that, couldn't see anything except the public stuff. Then she got a password or something from a friend of his and could see more. Didn't like some of the stuff that was on it and told him to take it off. But, she still can't see into all the blogs (if I understand correctly). I told her to tell him the I'net was a privilege and not a right and that if he wanted a space, he'd have to withstand total scrutiny. That's where it stands now at our house.
My daughter is 11. If she ever maneuvers me to get a space (hopefully, the 'fad' will be over by then), I'll have complete access to it or it won't happen. As it is, she gets on the PC outside our room and has to worry about being seen doing something she shouldn't. I don't let her have an email address and she hasn't sneaked one (yet). I don't allow IM. She just plays games right now.
But, we all remember school and peer pressure. These days, when you're hangin' around a group of kids and they all talk about their space and YOU are the only kid in the group that doesn't have one, you may be made fun of (etc.). So what will any child do to become socially accepted? Make their own space, of course.
As a parent, it seems to me to be something to be approached with (hopefully) the right answer and balance for everyone concerned.