The Evilness of Myspace

Yea!! So happy that someone is standing up for poor Myspace. Really, what did Myspace ever do to deserve the bashing it receives? Ok, ok, ok...I know that Myspace can be a tool sexual predators can use to target children. I realize that, if used inappropriately, it can be dangerous. However, wouldn't it make more sense to talk to kids about how to use the website responsibly instead of just blocking it? Don't people realize that if you tell a teen not to do something that it only makes them want to do it more? Ahhhhh!!

Garcia rocks for using Myspace with his students. I don't even know Garcia and already I like him (not in the kissy way, in the "he's cool as hell" way). Garcia has decided to use Myspace to connect to his students He has set up a Mysapce site so that students can check their homework and check in with him about what they need to do. He rationalizes the use of Myspace by pointing out that all the students use it anyway and that as teachers we need to figure out ways to connect with our students in a way that they will respond. He also states that using websites such as Myspace helps students to socially connect with each other and that each one of their sites is a reflection of who they are as an individual.

My favorite part of this article was the point Garcia made that kids are much more techno-savvy than we give them credit for. Haven't schools realized that they can ban all the websites they want but kids are going to find a way around them? When I went to AASG in Anchorage this past fall there I noticed some students on Myspace. I approached them and asked if their school allowed them to access Myspace. They laughed and said no and then went right back to what they were doing. I just laughed and walked away. Here were students, using school computers to access a site that the school had banned and they weren't even hiding it. Since so many other teachers in my district are frequent Myspacers I have heard many of them voice their frustrations that this site is blocked. One of the funniest stories I have had a friend tell me is that he once busted a kid on Myspace and made the kids show him how to access Myspace. Instead of punishing the kid the teacher received instruction on how to use other proxy servers to access blocked websites.

Students are going to use Myspace no matter how many times we block it. I use Myspace and some of my students are my "friends" as well as many other teachers and co-workers. My students and I talk about Myspace quite a bit and we have had discussions about how to protect yourself and how to use the website responsibly. However, I have never once told them that I thought Myspace was the evil demon that it has become in the media.

This is a picture of Antero Garcia. He's cute and much younger than I thought. I wonder if he has a wife and if he talks to her on Myspace too?

Garcia, A. (2008). Rethinking myspace: Using social networking tools to connect with students. Rethinking Schools, 22, 27-29