MySpace or Facebook?
- By Contributor Submission
- Published 03/25/2009
- Community
- Unrated
By Lindsey Sires
Have you ever walked in on your kid while they were on the computer supposedly finishing up their homework, but it turns out they were “posting a bulletin” or replying to a comment that was left on their “wall?” Some adults are unaware of what their kids are doing online.
Most popular with teenagers are the social networking sites MySpace and Facebook.
MySpace was created in 2003 in response to the growing popularity of Friendster.com, a popular social network website. Because MySpace gave users the ability to personalize their pages to match their personality, the popularity of the two social networks shifted and MySpace is now one of the top ten websites in the world. One in every four Americans has a MySpace account.
“I got a MySpace because everyone else had one,” said 17-year-old SHS Junior Jessica Willard. “It’s like texting. It’s a form of communication and you don’t want to be out of the loop.”
“I think it’s used more as a social tool than anything,” said 18-year-old Senior Trevor Heilman.
The slogan “A Place for Friends” is the straightforward explanation for what the website is all about. It’s a way for friends to connect with each other and for users to make new friends. When someone first registers on MySpace.com they can browse through its members MySpace (if the members are at least 18) to request friends, or if they already know someone who is a MySpace user, then they can search for them using the friends search tool. If a user receives a friend request then they can accept, deny, or block them from requesting them as a friend again.
Once a user starts making friends, they are able to communicate through comments, which can be seen on a users profile and, depending on their profile settings, can be seen by anyone who is able to see their profile.
Friends can also communicate through messages, which can only be seen by the two friends messaging each other, similar to e-mail. There are also bulletins, in which users can post how they’re feeling at a particular moment, post surveys, pictures, and videos. The bulletins are the most public form of communication.
The biggest difference between MySpace and other social networking sites is that with MySpace, users are able to create their profiles as if they were their own website. They can learn basic skills by posting layouts, adding their favorite songs or by uploading pictures and videos.
Facebook is the second most popular networking site, next to MySpace. It was originally created for college students to get to know other students at their schools but in 2006 the network became open to high school students and in the latter part of the year, to everyone at least 13 years old. The majority of the members are still college students.
“Facebook is for people who are more serious about talking to people and there’s more adults who have it and college students.” said Willard.
Facebook is used for, like MySpace, communicating with friends. It’s the same process as with MySpace, a user becomes friends with another user and then they can communicate. The “wall” application is the equivalent to comments on MySpace and messages are used on Facebook as well. On Facebook, users are able to add applications and become fans of different pages.
One of the controversies with the social networking sites are privacy issues. Because students are able to put all of their personal information on their profiles and because of numerous cases of online sexual solicitors, parents tend to be very concerned about their children on these social networking sites.
“I was a little worried just because of the information that can be put out there,” said mother Edee Simpson, mother to Courtney Stuker, when asked about her views on the privacy policies of these social networks. “I would watch [Courtney] and she didn’t like it but she proved that she could handle it. There have been instances where people tried to get more information out of her and she told me and we were able to block them,” said Simpson.
Both MySpace and Facebook state in their privacy policies that any information that is placed on a user’s profile is determined by the user. On Facebook a user can edit the information that goes on their profiles and can choose if they want to have their profiles visible to the public or not. MySpace is the same.
“It’s up to the individual,” said Willard. “My profile (MySpace) isn’t private but my pictures are, and it says I’m from Shimmerbeach, California, which doesn’t exist.”
In this generation, students spend a lot of time on these sites.
“I probably go on MySpace four or five times a week,” said Willard.
Have you ever walked in on your kid while they were on the computer supposedly finishing up their homework, but it turns out they were “posting a bulletin” or replying to a comment that was left on their “wall?” Some adults are unaware of what their kids are doing online.
Most popular with teenagers are the social networking sites MySpace and Facebook.
MySpace was created in 2003 in response to the growing popularity of Friendster.com, a popular social network website. Because MySpace gave users the ability to personalize their pages to match their personality, the popularity of the two social networks shifted and MySpace is now one of the top ten websites in the world. One in every four Americans has a MySpace account.
“I got a MySpace because everyone else had one,” said 17-year-old SHS Junior Jessica Willard. “It’s like texting. It’s a form of communication and you don’t want to be out of the loop.”
“I think it’s used more as a social tool than anything,” said 18-year-old Senior Trevor Heilman.
The slogan “A Place for Friends” is the straightforward explanation for what the website is all about. It’s a way for friends to connect with each other and for users to make new friends. When someone first registers on MySpace.com they can browse through its members MySpace (if the members are at least 18) to request friends, or if they already know someone who is a MySpace user, then they can search for them using the friends search tool. If a user receives a friend request then they can accept, deny, or block them from requesting them as a friend again.
Once a user starts making friends, they are able to communicate through comments, which can be seen on a users profile and, depending on their profile settings, can be seen by anyone who is able to see their profile.
Friends can also communicate through messages, which can only be seen by the two friends messaging each other, similar to e-mail. There are also bulletins, in which users can post how they’re feeling at a particular moment, post surveys, pictures, and videos. The bulletins are the most public form of communication.
The biggest difference between MySpace and other social networking sites is that with MySpace, users are able to create their profiles as if they were their own website. They can learn basic skills by posting layouts, adding their favorite songs or by uploading pictures and videos.
Facebook is the second most popular networking site, next to MySpace. It was originally created for college students to get to know other students at their schools but in 2006 the network became open to high school students and in the latter part of the year, to everyone at least 13 years old. The majority of the members are still college students.
“Facebook is for people who are more serious about talking to people and there’s more adults who have it and college students.” said Willard.
Facebook is used for, like MySpace, communicating with friends. It’s the same process as with MySpace, a user becomes friends with another user and then they can communicate. The “wall” application is the equivalent to comments on MySpace and messages are used on Facebook as well. On Facebook, users are able to add applications and become fans of different pages.
One of the controversies with the social networking sites are privacy issues. Because students are able to put all of their personal information on their profiles and because of numerous cases of online sexual solicitors, parents tend to be very concerned about their children on these social networking sites.
“I was a little worried just because of the information that can be put out there,” said mother Edee Simpson, mother to Courtney Stuker, when asked about her views on the privacy policies of these social networks. “I would watch [Courtney] and she didn’t like it but she proved that she could handle it. There have been instances where people tried to get more information out of her and she told me and we were able to block them,” said Simpson.
Both MySpace and Facebook state in their privacy policies that any information that is placed on a user’s profile is determined by the user. On Facebook a user can edit the information that goes on their profiles and can choose if they want to have their profiles visible to the public or not. MySpace is the same.
“It’s up to the individual,” said Willard. “My profile (MySpace) isn’t private but my pictures are, and it says I’m from Shimmerbeach, California, which doesn’t exist.”
In this generation, students spend a lot of time on these sites.
“I probably go on MySpace four or five times a week,” said Willard.