MySpace - a parent’s guide
07 Feb 07
Today’s teenagers inhabit a different world from previous generations. Theirs is an online universe, which their parents have little or no understanding of.
Adults call this “online social networking” - kids don’t - they just get on and use it. The statistics are mind-boggling:
- Somewhere around the globe a new blog is launched every second.
- Within a few months of launching, 25 million users had registered on Bebo.
- myspace increased its users by 98% in the first six months of 2006.
- 60% of UK kids are registered on at least one social networking site.
The impact of technology on kids is fundamental. They have used it to create a new universe with its own rules and language. This is a sacred, parent free place, where they can communicate, interact, express opinions, experiment with identity and stretch those wings to explore their new found independence. This is their territory and parents better think twice before “interfering”.
For parents this new universe might as well be Mars. They don’t understand how it works, it’s shrouded in mystery and all they do know are the horror stories of monsters lurking and threatening their children. They are justifiably scared and react suspiciously from a need to protect their children.
And so the battle lines are drawn
The risks are very real, and taken seriously by schools, the police and government, however the benefits are also huge. So, there needs to be a sense of balance between kids being safe and being able to explore, create and find independence.
Until now parents have not had a resource to help them navigate the world their teens inhabit. myspace: a parent’s guide brings parents up to speed with the world of online social networking, equipping them with advice on how to discuss the issues with their children. Its aim is to create that balance between the freedom kids crave, and the safety concerns parents need to address.
It delivers information and advice on how the sites operate, how profiles are set up (and kept secure) and how to monitor their own child's profile and activity without being intrusive and overprotective.
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MySpace - a parent’s guide |
| Author |
Larry Magid, Anne Collier |
| Pub Date |
7 Dec 2006 |
| Price |
£9.99 |
| Publisher |
Prentice Hall |
| ISBN10 |
0132060094 |
| ISBN13 |
9780132060097 |
| |
Click here for further information or to purchase MySpace. |
For further information please contact:
Elie Ball, PR Manager
t: 07803 392 710
e: elie.ball@pearson.com
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