Cyber Socializing Are Internet Sites Like Myspace Potentially Dangerous?

Researcher Published by CQ Press, a division of Congressional Quarterly Inc. CQ www.cqresearcher.com Cyber Socializing Are Internet sites like MySpace potentially dangerous?

nternet socializing has become hugely popular, and Web sites that help people meet potential dates, find new friends and keep track of old ones are big business. Hundreds of sites attract tens of millions of users, and Imore sites come online daily. Born along with the Internet in the early 1970s, online socializing has helped people worldwide link to others with common interests for conversation and support. Nevertheless, new social-networking sites like Facebook and My- Space raise more troubling privacy issues than traditional Internet

chat rooms. Visitors to such sites can access not only individuals’ Paul Schnetlage and Cait Lynch married in March 2006 after meeting through the online dating service posted profiles but also profiles of their friends. Parents and law- Match.com. Both are 24 and live in Reston, Va. enforcement agencies worry that predators can use the information to contact vulnerable teens. Some states are considering requiring I tighter security and confidentiality, and a bill introduced in the N THIS REPORT S House of Representatives would require schools and libraries to THE ISSUES ...... 627 I block teenagers from the sites. CHRONOLOGY ...... 635 D BACKGROUND ...... 637 E AT ISSUE ...... 641

CQ Researcher • July 28, 2006 • www.cqresearcher.com CURRENT SITUATION ...... 642 Volume 16, Number 27 • Pages 625-648 OUTLOOK ...... 643 RECIPIENT OF SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS AWARD FOR BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 646 EXCELLENCE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION SILVER GAVEL AWARD THE NEXT STEP ...... 647 CYBER SOCIALIZING CQ Researcher

July 28, 2006 THE ISSUES Young Adults Are Most Volume 16, Number 27 629 Likely to Date Online 627 • Is cyberspace more Most online daters are 18-29. MANAGING EDITOR: Thomas J. Colin dangerous than real space? ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR: Kathy Koch • Should schools and 630 Survival Tips for Online public libraries block net- Socializing ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Kenneth Jost How to avoid pitfalls. working sites? STAFF WRITERS: Marcia Clemmitt, Peter Katel • Does cyber networking MySpace Users Are Most CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Rachel S. Cox, foster good relationships? 632 Loyal Sarah Glazer, Alan Greenblatt, Patrick Marshall, Tom Price BACKGROUND Sixty-seven percent of site’s visitors return each month. DESIGN/PRODUCTION EDITOR: Olu B. Davis 637 Wired Love 635 Chronology ASSISTANT EDITOR: Melissa J. Hipolit Parents always fear new Key events since 1967. EDITORIAL INTERN: Nicholas Sohr technology. Do You Take This Online Six Degrees 636 Stranger . . .? 639 The Internet expanded Internet dating sites are users’ social networks. popular. A Division of Yahoo, Match.com Drew Congressional Quarterly Inc. 640 Techno Kids 637 Most Visitors Young people quickly Internet dating sites entice mil- SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER: adopt new technology. lions of visitors each month. John A. Jenkins DIRECTOR, LIBRARY PUBLISHING: Kathryn C. Suárez Background Checks What’s Next for the Social 640 Some states want site users’ 638 Net? DIRECTOR, EDITORIAL OPERATIONS: backgrounds checked. Entrepreneurs are trying to Ann Davies attract a broader, older audience. CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY INC. CURRENT SITUATION CHAIRMAN: Paul C. Tash At Issue 641 VICE CHAIRMAN: Andrew P. Corty Big Brother Should Congress require 642 schools and libraries to block PRESIDENT/EDITOR IN CHIEF: Robert W. Merry Police monitor sites. social-networking Web sites? Copyright © 2006 CQ Press, a division of Congres- Safety First Many Americans Know sional Quarterly Inc. (CQ). CQ reserves all copyright 643 States ask sites to imple- 642 Online Daters and other rights herein, unless previously specified ment safety measures. Nearly one-third of adults in writing. No part of this publication may be re- know someone who used an produced electronically or otherwise, without prior online dating service. written permission. Unauthorized reproduction or OUTLOOK transmission of CQ copyrighted material is a violation of federal law carrying civil fines of up to $100,000.

Here to Stay FOR FURTHER RESEARCH CQ Researcher (ISSN 1056-2036) is printed on acid- 643 Online networking use is free paper. Published weekly, except March 24, July For More Information expected to grow. 645 7, July 14, Aug. 4, Aug. 11, Nov. 24, Dec. 22 and Organizations to contact. Dec. 29, by CQ Press, a division of Congressional Bibliography Quarterly Inc. Annual full-service subscriptions for SIDEBARS AND GRAPHICS 646 Selected sources used. institutions start at $667. For pricing, call 1-800-834- 9020, ext. 1906. To purchase a CQ Researcher re- Teens Feel Safe on The Next Step port in print or electronic format (PDF), visit 628 MySpace 647 Additional articles. www.cqpress.com or call 866-427-7737. Single reports More than 80 percent start at $15. Bulk purchase discounts and electronic- of teens think MySpace Citing CQ Researcher rights licensing are also available. Periodicals post- is safe. 647 Sample bibliography formats. age paid at Washington, D.C., and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CQ Researcher, 1255 22nd St., N.W., Suite 400, Washing- ton, DC 20037. Cover photograph: Jessica Lynch

626 CQ Researcher Cyber Socializing BY MARCIA CLEMMITT

example, about 70 million adults logged onto the Inter- THE ISSUES net every day in the United ast year, Eddie Kenney States alone — up from 52 and Matt Coenen were million four years earlier — L kicked off the Loyola and 63 percent of American University swim team after of- adults were Internet users. ficials at the Chicago school Teens were logging on at even found they belonged to a group higher rates — 87 percent of that posted disparaging remarks those ages 12 to 17. 5 about their coaches on the In- Today, a great deal of on- ternet social-networking site line activity remains social in Facebook. 1 nature. For example, in a sur- Like many people who vey by the nonprofit Pew In- post profiles and photos and ternet and American Life Pro- exchange messages on cyber- ject, 34 percent of the people networking sites like Face- who said the Internet played book, MySpace, Xanga and an important role in a major Bebo, the students were decision they’d made said shocked to find that univer- they had received advice and sity officials, not just their support from other people friends, were checking out online. 6 And 84 percent of the site. But Facebook, whose Internet users belong to a 8 million members are high- group or organization with school or college students, Getty Images/Bill Pugliano an online presence; more than alumni or faculty and staff Katherine Lester, 17, and her father leave the courthouse half joined only after they got in Caro, Mich., on June 29, 2006, after prosecutors members, is considered slight- decided not to treat her as a runaway for flying to the Internet access. Members of ly less risky than sites with Middle East to meet a man she had met on the Internet. online groups also say the open membership rolls. As cyber socializing grows, so do fears that the Internet brings them into more Nevertheless, said Kenney, Internet exposes the vulnerable — especially contact with people outside who has since transferred to the young — to sexual predators. their social class or their Purdue, “Facebook is dan- racial or age group. 7 gerous right now. I’ve learned my les- aren’t required to verify their age, and But as Internet socializing grows, so son. You’re supposed to have fun with security measures intended to prevent do fears that the practice exposes the this Facebook thing, but you need to contacts with children under age 16 are vulnerable — especially young people be careful.” 2 “utterly ineffective.” 4 — to sexual predators. 8 Some also But others see greater dangers than Though computer networking was worry that networking sites create added a lack of privacy lurking on social- developed in the late 1960s to allow peer pressure for teens to engage in networking Web sites. Last month, a scientists to access remote computers risky behavior, such as posting risqué 14-year-old Texas girl and her mother for research, its users — initially just pictures of themselves. filed a $30 million lawsuit against My- academic researchers — quickly saw In the cyber social world, there has Space, claiming the girl had been sex- its possibilities as a socializing tool. As always been the possibility that the ually assaulted by a 19-year-old man early as 1973, for example, 75 percent friendly stranger chatting about moun- she met on the site. The man allegedly of electronic traffic was e-mail, much tain biking or a favorite rock band is contacted the girl through her MySpace of it purely social in nature. not who he says he is. Older social- site in April, posing as a high-school Over the past 15 years, a slew of izing technologies, such as Internet senior. After a series of e-mails and new Internet applications — from chat discussion boards and chat rooms, phone calls, they arranged a date, when rooms to instant messaging and, most allow users to converse about favorite the alleged assault occurred. 3 recently, social-networking Web sites topics, from quilting to astrophysics. MySpace shares blame for the inci- — have made online socializing easier Participants generally use screen names dent, the lawsuit argues, because users than ever. By the end of 2004, for — pseudonyms — and conversation

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sonal information such as last name Teens Feel Safe on MySpace and phone number on the Internet, More than 80 percent of teens believe the cyber-networking site says Michelle Collins, director of the exploited child unit at the National Cen- MySpace is safe. Teens spend an average of two hours a day, five ter for Missing and Exploited Children days a week on the site. However, 83 percent of parents of MySpace (NCMEC). But on today’s social-net- users worry about online sexual predators. working sites, “You’re only as safe as your friends are,” says Collins. For ex- What Teens Say What Parents of ample, a teenage girl may think she’s About MySpace MySpace Users Say playing it safe by not naming her school • Typically visit 2 hours a day, 5 days • 38% have not seen their teen's on MySpace, “but if she has four friends a week MySpace page who all reveal the name of their school, then anyone who reads their pages can • 7-9% have been approached for a • 43% don't know how often their sexual liaison teens are on MySpace surmise” that she also goes there and could potentially track her down. • 20% feel MySpace negatively affects • 50% allow their teen to have a Last spring, concern about child preda- school, job, family and friends computer in the bedroom tors spurred the Suburban Caucus — a • 83% believe MySpace is safe • 62% have never talked to their teen new group in the House of Represen- about MySpace • 70% would be comfortable showing tatives — to introduce the Deleting On- their parents their MySpace page • 83% worry about sexual predators line Predators Act (DOPA). Building on • 35% are concerned about sexual on MySpace the 2000 Children’s Internet Protection predators on MySpace • 75% worry MySpace fosters social Act (CIPA), DOPA would require • 15% are concerned that MySpace isolation schools and libraries to block young fosters social isolation • 81% worry about their teen meeting people’s access to Internet sites through • 36% are concerned about meeting online friends in person which strangers can contact them. 12 online friends in person • 63% believe there are "quite a few" The bill’s purpose is to shield chil- • 46% believe there are "some, but sexual predators on MySpace dren from being approached by not too many," sexual predators on strangers when using the Internet MySpace away from home, an aim that’s important to suburban families, accord- Source: Larry D. Rosen, “Adolescents in MySpace: Identity Formation, Friendship ing to sponsor Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick, and Sexual Predators,” California State University, Dominguez Hills, June 2006 R-Pa. “One-in-five children has been approached sexually on the Internet,” centers on the forum topic, often with pages — allows strangers to learn far he told a House subcommittee on a minimum of personal information more about a user than they could about June 10. “Child predation on the In- exchanged. someone posting a comment in a tra- ternet is a growing problem.” 13 But social-networking sites have ditional cyber chat room. 9 But many wonder if DOPA address- greatly increased Internet users’ abili- Moreover, today most cyber social- es the right problem. For one thing, the ty to discover other users’ full per- network users are between 12 and 25 “one-in-five” figure is “more complicat- sonal information. For instance, newer years old. The largest networking site, ed than is being implied,” given today’s social-networking sites utilize a per- MySpace, had more than 51 million cultural norms, says Tim Lordan, execu- sonal profile — usually with photos unique U.S. visitors in May and boasts tive director of the nonprofit Internet Ed- and detailed descriptions of the per- about 86 million members. 10 Traffic on ucation Foundation. As one teenage girl son’s likes and dislikes — as well as the site jumped 367 percent between admitted, “ ‘Dad, if I wasn’t getting sex- the names of friends with whom the April 2005 and April 2006 while over- ually solicited by my peers, I would be person e-mails or instant messages. all traffic on the top 10 social-networking doing something wrong,’ ” says Lordan. The page owner also can post com- sites grew by 47 percent. 11 Similarly, “The media coverage of predators ments and message on friends’ pages. adult-oriented online dating sites are on MySpace implies that 1) all youth Thus, while most Internet social net- also attracting tens of millions of users. are at risk of being stalked and mo- workers use pseudonyms, the wealth of (See sidebar, p. 636.) lested because of MySpace; and 2) pro- information on their pages — plus in- By now, most people — including hibiting youth from participating in My- formation gleaned by reading their friends’ teens — know it’s risky to post per- Space will stop predators from attacking

628 CQ Researcher kids,” said Danah Boyd, a University of Unfortunately, the new dangers California, Berkeley, doctoral student Young Adults Are Most posed by sites like MySpace “have not who studies how teens use online tech- Likely to Date Online been integrated into the society’s knowl- nology. “Both are misleading; neither edge base,” said Kevin Farnham, au- is true. . . . Statistically speaking, kids About one-in-10 Internet users thor of a book of safety tips for social- are more at risk at a church picnic or — or 16 million people — visit- networking. “Common-sense teaching a Boy Scout outing than . . . when ed an online dating site in is [not] automatically passed from par- they go to MySpace.” 14 2005. Those ages 18-29 were ents to child.” 17 In fact, the NCMEC report from most likely to have used an But predators are not the only ones which the one-in-five figure originates online dating site. reading social-networking sites. Some shows that 76 percent of online sex- employers routinely scan pages posted ual solicitations “came from fellow chil- Online Daters by job candidates, with potentially dis- dren,” and 96 percent of the adult so- (% of Internet users who have astrous results, says Matthew Smith, a licitations came from adults 18 to 25, visited a dating site) professor of communications at Ohio’s said Boyd. “Wanted and unwanted so- Wittenberg University. “You may put up All Internet Users 11% licitations are both included. In other a birthday-party picture of yourself in words, if an 18-year-old asks out a Sex your underwear, thinking you are show- 17-year-old and both consent, this Men 12% ing how carefree you are,” says Smith. would still be seen as a sexual solic- Women 9 “But a future employer may see it and itation.” 15 decide you’re irresponsible.” Cyberspace presents no more dan- Race/Ethnicity And the federal government may ger than the real world, says Michigan White 10% be next. The National Security Agency State University Professor of Psycholo- Black 13 (NSA) is funding “research into the gy Linda Jackson. “But there are dan- Hispanic 14 mass harvesting of the information gers,” she says, “such as the ease with Location that people post about themselves on which you can give away your infor- social networks,” according to Britain’s Urban 13% mation.” New Scientist magazine. 18 Suburban 10 Unwary users giving out private in- “You should always assume any- Rural 9 formation — perhaps permanently, since thing you write online is stapled to so much Internet content is archived Age your résumé,” said Jon Callas, chief — is the chief new danger posed by 18-29 18% security officer at PGP, a maker of en- social networking, say many analysts. 30-49 11 cryption software. 19 Most teenagers who post MySpace 50-64 6 As lawmakers, parents and Internet pages “seem to have the sense that no- 65+ 3 companies confront new Internet se- body is watching” except their closest curity issues, here are some of the Education Level friends, says Tamyra Pierce, an assis- questions being discussed. tant professor of mass communication Less Than High School 14% at California State University, Fresno, High School Grad 10 Is cyberspace more dangerous who is studying social-networking use Some College 11 than real space? among high-school students. For ex- College+ 10 Some legislators and worried par- ample, “a boy who posted about bang- Source: Pew Internet and American ents warn that the online world in- ing a mailbox last night” apparently Life Project, March 5, 2006 creases opportunities for sexual preda- was unaware that the posting exposed tors to reach victims. Likewise, some him to vandalism charges, she says. cializing, it would be impossible to ban women won’t use online dating ser- “Teenage girls would be petrified it, says Kaveri Subrahmanyam, an asso- vices because they fear they might if you read their diary, yet they are ciate professor of psychology at Cali- meet unsavory characters. But de- now posting online stuff that is much fornia State University, Los Angeles. “The fenders of online socializing argue that more personal,” said Jeffrey Cole, di- Internet is here to stay. If you ban it, real-life encounters pose just as much rector of the University of Southern they’ll find a way to get around the ban. risk of unwanted sexual advances or California’s Center for the Digital Fu- It will become a cat-and-mouse game,” of being bullied or defrauded. ture. “Clearly kids need guidance.” 16 she says. “We need to teach kids how “There’s a child-abuse epidemic Given the popularity of online so- to keep safe.” that we don’t even know about on

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Survival Tips for Online Socializing n the long run, the Internet is good for teens, bolstering their Only children ages 12 to 13 or older can grasp the Inter- social development, creativity and even writing skills. Dan- net’s “social complexity,” such as the large number of strangers I gers do exist, however, mainly caused by teenagers not un- who can access information posted on Web sites. 1 derstanding how easily strangers can access posted information. • Web sites vary widely in how much public and private There’s clear evidence that writing and creating art, music access they allow to posted material, and it’s important and videos on the social Internet is building literacy and cre- to think about this when posting, says Alex Welch, founder ative skills in today’s teens, says Northwestern University Pro- and CEO of the photo-sharing Web site Photobucket. On fessor of Communications Studies Justine Cassell. Photobucket, the photo albums of people under age 18 In the early 1990s, educators were concerned about serious- are automatically kept private. ly declining interest in writing by American students. But today, However, even if they weren’t, posting photos on “we have striking evidence that kids are willing to write, when Photobucket would be less risky than posting the same they weren’t before,” a change that many analysts attribute to pictures on a social-networking site like MySpace, says the popularity of e-mail, instant messaging and blogging, says Welch. That’s because on MySpace photos are linked to Cassell. Today’s teens even show sophisticated understanding of additional personal information that may pique strangers’ literary niceties such as tailoring one’s writing style to suit the interest and provide clues to help them contact posters. audience. “They don’t use emoticons [symbols] with parents,” for • It’s also important to consider the future, including how example, because they “understand that’s a dialect,” she says. employers or college admissions officers might view your Benefits aside, however, dangers and misunderstandings also online postings, says Henry Jenkins, director of the com- exist, exacerbated by the fact that kids have raced ahead of many parative media studies program at the Massachusetts In- adults in their use of Internet socializing tools, says John Carosel- stitute of Technology. Much of what appears on the In- la, vice president for content at the Internet security company ternet today ends up archived somewhere and can be Blue Coat. “We are the first generation of Internet parents, and retrieved tomorrow, he says. “Kids don’t recognize the we need to learn how our job has changed,” Carosella says. permanence of what they put up there.” Here are experts’ tips for handling the online social world: • Adults will probably learn a lot about the Internet from their • Parents must learn how to use the technology, says Cassell. children, and they should be open to that, says Jenkins. Par- “At the very least, IM (instant message) your kids.” Parents ents “need to recognize that some unfamiliar experiences who IM “report much less fear about the technology and look scarier from the outside than they are. Take time to more happiness because their kids keep in touch,” she says. understand what you’re seeing.” • Parents should play with Internet search engines “to learn Talking about teens’ MySpace pages can open the how easily they turn up information and then share that door to family discussions of important, sometimes touchy knowledge as they talk with their children about Internet issues, like contemporary fashion, media images and ideals, privacy,” she says. Jenkins says. “Ask your kid how they choose to repre- • Privacy rules between parents and kids can’t remain the sent themselves” on their MySpace pages “and why.” same in an Internet world, says Kaveri Subrahmanyam, an • Teens — and adults — who socialize on the Web should associate professor of psychology at California State Univer- remember that, “when it comes to the rules for getting to sity, Los Angeles. “If it’s a kid’s diary, you don’t look at it.” know people,” the Internet “parallels our world perfectly,” But diaries are different from MySpace pages, “because no- says Patricia Handschiegel, founder and CEO of StyleDiary.net, body else is looking at them,” Subrahmanyam says. a social-networking site focused on fashion. When it comes to publicly posted information that Often, young people have “a false sense that you can’t strangers can access, “You do need to know what they be tracked” by people they correspond with online, Hand- do,” she says. “You can say to your child, ‘I don’t need schiegel says. “If you want to correspond, fine, but take your to know the content of the IM, but I do need to know time getting to know people. Watch for cues” to ulterior mo- whom you’re sending it to.’ ” tives, “such as somebody pushing too fast to know you.” • Age matters when it comes to teens understanding Inter- net privacy issues, according to Zheng Yan, an education 1 Bruce Bower, “Growing Up Online,” Science News, June 17, 2006, p. 376, professor at the State University of New York at Albany. www.sciencenews.org/articles/20060617/bob9.asp. the Internet, which is how it stays so control at Blue Coat Systems, a maker ternet, even the girl herself may not invisible, when a 45-year-old man en- of security software and other tools know it’s happening initially, he says. gages in sexually explicit dialogue for online communication. “This is why it can go on with such with a 12-year-old girl,” says John “When it happens in real life you facility, and it’s so easy to escalate be- Carosella, vice president for content know it’s happening,” but on the In- cause nobody can overhear it.”

630 CQ Researcher Internet commu- Collins of the National nication is riskier Center for Missing and than real-life meet- Exploited Children says ings, according to the Internet provides a Carosella, because “target-rich environment” many of the cues hu- for pedophiles. “Twenty mans use to size up years ago, people had other people — such to go to a park or a soc- as gestures and tone cer game” to meet chil- of voice — are miss- dren and teens, she ing. “Most of our says. And the Internet evolutionary clues [to allows predators to risk] are stripped out” learn more about a po- of online encounters, tential victim, which may he says. help him build a rela- In addition, online tionship. acquaintances can do There’s little disagree- harm — especially to ment that dangers can young people — lurk on the Internet. How- even without offline ever, many analysts note meetings, he says. The that, even as Internet so- Internet “is the most cializing has burgeoned, powerful tool yet in- CQ Press sex crimes have been de- Shortly after graduating from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in vented” capable of 2004, Jessica Ostrowski joined the popular college social-networking creasing, and data do not bringing “every aspect site Facebook. She lives in Boston but stays connected to friends indicate an increase in of human behavior nationwide through the site, which has 8 million members. sexual predation due to from the most sub- teens going online. “There lime to the most debauched and de- more friends they have on their lists,” is no evidence that the online world is praved” right into our own homes, he she says of recent studies of MySpace more dangerous,” says Justine Cassell, says. And it’s burgeoned so fast that and Xanga and their use by more than a professor of communications studies “we’ve had no time to figure out how 300 local high-school students. “Most at Northwestern University. to deal with it.” who have upward of 500 friends have In fact, predatory crimes against girls Carosella also suggests that — links to porn sites and graphic stuff.” have declined during the past decade, while there is not enough research yet Looking at social-networking sites even as the Internet was bringing more to prove it — easy access to online can sometimes expose teenagers to young people online, she says. All na- porn may prime some people to be- porn, even when they don’t seek it tional data sets show that from 1994 to come aggressive or engage in sexual out, says Pierce. For example, in a 2004, single-offender crimes, including predation. “Lots of data suggest that group of 50 to 60 sites she recently assaults, by men against 12-to-19-year- pornography is a very significant fac- examined, 10 contained automatic links old girls decreased, demonstrating that tor in the emergence of criminal, ag- that unexpectedly shift the viewer to the online world has not put young gressive behavior,” he says. “You’re a pornography site. people in more danger, says Cassell. whipping around the most powerful It “concerns me that our youth may The number of sexual-abuse cases urge that people have. And the Inter- be exposed to pornography” at the in- substantiated by child-protection agen- net has made pornography more ac- advertent click of a mouse, she says. “I cies “dropped a remarkable 40 percent cessible, more private, more extreme.” don’t know if individuals in the porn between 1992 and 2000,” and evidence Moreover, peer pressure among industry are creating ‘fake’ MySpace sites shows it was a “true decline,” not a teens may encourage risky sexual ex- and then autolinking them or if the young change in reporting methodology, wrote pression on cyber-networking sites, persons themselves are getting involved. sociology Professor David Finkelhor and says Pierce of California State Univer- I just know that what appeared to be Assistant Professor of Psychology Lisa sity. “The more stuff they have that is an innocent, young person’s site auto- M. Jones, of the University of New graphic and shocking, like links to matically turned into porn” when the Hampshire’s Crimes Against Children porn and photos in risqué poses, the site user’s photo was clicked. Research Center. 20

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Meanwhile, says Collins, tips about Should schools and public libraries online enticement of young people re- MySpace Users Are block access to social-networking ported to the NCECM have risen from Most Loyal sites? 50 reports a week in 1998 to about 230 Rep. Fitzpatrick and other members a week. But does that mean there are Two-thirds of the visitors to My- of the Suburban Caucus have intro- more online incidents today? Probably Space return each month — duced legislation that would require pub- not, says Collins. “More people know more than any other social- lic schools and libraries to bar access where to report it today,” thanks to the networking site. MSN Groups to social-networking sites and chat rooms center’s education campaigns and social- caters to those with special as well as to pornography sites. networking companies’ putting links to interests, such as computers, For adults, online social-networking NCECM’s tipline on their sites. In addi- cars, music, movies or sports. sites “are fairly benign,” but “for chil- tion, “more people, more kids, are wired dren they open the door to many dan- today than ever before,” Collins notes. gers,” including online bullying and Even teenagers’ fascination with on- Top Five Socializing Sites exposure to child predators that have line porn may be something of a pass- (based on retention rate) turned the Internet into a virtual hunting fancy, not a long-term, negative ing ground for children,” Fitzpatrick Site Retention behavior change, says Michigan State’s said on the House floor May 9. 22 Rate (%)* Jackson, who recently completed re- “There are thousands of online search that tracked teens’ Internet usage. MySpace 67.0 predators who are trying to contact “We went everywhere they went for MSN Groups 57.6 our kids using powerful engines like 16 months,” she says. “Porn sites were MySpace.com,” said Rep. Mark Kirk, Facebook 51.7 popular for the first three months, then R-Ill. 23 it really died down.” Xanga.com 48.9 Blocking Internet social tools, at As for the dangers of online dating, MSN Spaces 47.3 least temporarily, is a valid response, Eric Straus, CEO of Cupid.com, a pop- says Carosella of Blue Coat Systems. ular dating site, rates the dangers of * Based on the number of March 2006 While educational responses are vital online and offline dating as about equal. visitors who returned to the site in April in the long run, “we haven’t invented Meeting potential romantic partners on- Source: Nielsen/NetRatings [that education] yet.” line is “a numbers game,” and the Web Furthermore, “while we are devel- lets you search for geographic prox- ents weren’t privy to it.” oping our educational response, preda- imity or mutual interests across a wide “One child being molested by an tors are building and improving their variety of potential dates. But “you online predator is too many and has game plans. It’s an arms race,” says shouldn’t be fooled into feeling safe” to be addressed,” says Lordan, of the Carosella. Blocking access in schools from deception in either environment, Internet Education Foundation. “Never- and libraries “is absolutely an answer,” he says. “If you talk to 100 people on- theless, statistically, most molestations because supervision currently “is com- line, some are going to be unsavory. are family and acquaintance molesta- pletely inadequate.” If you meet them in a bar, and they tions, and the chance of your child But critics of such proposals say block- say they’re not married, you shouldn’t being dragged through the computer ing access is nearly impossible without believe that either, and if you give them screen by a predator is low.” inadvertently blocking valuable portions your phone number, that’s dangerous.” Furthermore, “a lot of the stories of the Internet. “It’s brain-dead to say New technology always spurs panic, that you hear” about teens running off you should stop people from using some says Paul DiMaggio, a sociology pro- with adults they met on MySpace, for technology,” says John Palfrey, clinical fessor at Princeton. “MySpace is gen- example, “appear to be kids who would professor of law and executive director erating the same fear reaction that films get in trouble in some other way if it of Harvard Law School’s Berkman Cen- and vaudeville got,” says DiMaggio. weren’t for the Internet,” he says. “Once ter for Internet and Society, pointing out “And all new technology and media you start digging down, these don’t that the technology isn’t going away. generate more hysteria than threat.” appear to be typical families.” Boyd, of the University of California, “A lot of the behavior on sites like All youngsters are not at equal risk pointed out that because technology MySpace has been going on in teen of being victimized, says Collins. “Some plays a major role in the business world, hangouts for generations,” wrote Anne kids are using the Internet to fill a it is unwise to deprive students of it in Collier, editor of NetFamilyNews. 21 void, and these kids are going to be schools and libraries. “The law is so Dangerous behavior existed, “but par- more susceptible,” she says. broadly defined that it would limit ac-

632 CQ Researcher cess to any commercial site that allows users to create a profile and commu- Freshmen Share Many Personal Details nicate with strangers.” While it ostensi- Most University of North Carolina freshmen reveal their birthday bly targets MySpace, as written it would block many other sites, she said, in- and hometown on social-networking sites. But only 16 percent give cluding blogging tools, mailing lists, video out more detailed personal information, like cell phone numbers. and pod-cast sites, photo-sharing sites and educational sites like NeoPets, where Information Shared kids create virtual pets and participate Birthday 96.2% in educational games. 24 Hometown 94.2% Moreover, she continued, many technology companies now are using so- Sexual Orientation 83.2% cial software, such as features that help Relationship Status 82.3% users find information, get recom- Academic Focus 76.2% mendations and share ideas. “This would all be restricted,” she wrote. 25 Political Orientation 74.7% Lynn Bradley, director of the Amer- Photo Albums 44.5% ican Library Association’s government Web Site 29.4% relations office, agrees. Fitzpatrick’s proposal “is like using a water hose Cell Phone 16.4% to brush your teeth.” The legislation 0% 20 40 60 80 100 could also affect distance-learning programs, which use many technologies Source: Fred Stutzman, “Social Networking on Campus,” University of North that the legislators want blocked. “Rural Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2006 schools have increasingly started to rely on distance learning to supple- important online socializing is to Does Internet social networking ment their curricula,” said Bradley. “It teenagers, says the Internet Education foster good relationships? would appear to us on reading this Foundation’s Lordan. “Kids feel quite For nearly as long as the Internet bill that [such programs] would be attached to their own space,” whether has existed, people have used it to stay swept up in the blockage.” 26 on MySpace or another site, and are in touch with old friends and meet new Henry Jenkins, director of compara- “incredibly worried” about it being ones. 28 For just as long, skeptics have tive media studies at the Massachusetts taken away, he says. If sites are blocked, argued that online relationships are less Institute of Technology (MIT), says it “they’ll go underground.” rich, real and reliable than real-world would be unwise to keep teachers and The bill should be called the “Send interactions and that Internet socializ- librarians away from social-networking Social Networking Sites Off Shore Act,” ing actually isolates people. Over the technology because “they are the best says Lordan, because there are social- years, studies have found evidence bol- people to teach people how to use it networking sites all over the world stering both sides of the question. constructively and safely.” And, while and “stories of kids creating these sites No online community can support Fitzpatrick’s bill contains loopholes for themselves.” If that happens, “we can’t human bonding the way real-world educational uses, history suggests that even help them.” communities do, said Clifford Stoll in fear and uncertainty would likely stop Moreover, there are serious techni- his 1996 best-seller Silicon Snake Oil: many schools from using those loop- cal barriers, such as age verification, Second Thoughts on the Information holes, he adds. he says. Many blocking proposals would Superhighway. “What’s missing from Blocking access at public schools and depend on age verification of site users, this ersatz neighborhood? A feeling of libraries would also worsen the already either to block out older users who permanence, a sense of location, a troubling “digital divide,” says Jenkins. 27 might prey on kids or to keep younger warmth from the local history. Gone Children in wealthier families could still kids from using the sites. But “age ver- is the very essence of a neighborhood: access school-blocked Internet sites from ification is a problem even in the real friendly relations and a sense of being home, but students without Internet at world,” where kids use fake ID cards in it together.” 29 home “will be shut out,” he says. to buy alcohol and cigarettes, says Loran, Some studies have found that In- Policymakers who propose block- and the problem is “worse in the on- ternet usage pulls people away from ing as a “silver bullet” don’t know how line world.” their real-world friends and family and

Available online: www.cqresearcher.com July 28, 2006 633 CYBER SOCIALIZING isolates the user. Research by Stanford study concluded, Americans today “are be ignored,” said Lisa Goldman, a University’s Institute for the Quantita- probably more in contact with mem- Canadian-born freelance journalist who tive Study of Society (SIQSS), for ex- bers of their communities and social blogs from Tel Aviv and who points ample, finds that Internet use directly networks than before.” out that Internet discussions and so- relates to social isolation. Based on For example, the analysts found cializing between Israelis and Lebanese survey findings, the Stanford researchers that those who e-mail 80-100 percent predated the current conflict. 39 say that for every hour a person of their closest friends and family week- Another significant new phenomenon spends online, their face-to-face time ly also speak regularly by phone with among adolescents equipped with cell with family and friends decreases by 25 percent more of their closest as- phones, instant messaging and social- 23.5 minutes. 30 sociates than those who e-mail less. networking pages is “tele-cocooning,” Furthermore, “face-to-face interac- For so-called second-tier (or “signifi- says MIT’s Jenkins. Coined by Mimi Ito, tion with close [friends and family] cant”) social ties, the effects were even a research scientist at the University of qualitatively differs from interactions more pronounced: Those who week- Southern California’s Annenberg Center in the virtual world online and is more ly e-mail 80-100 percent of their sec- for Communication, tele-cocooning refers important to one’s psychological well- ond-tier contacts also regularly tele- to “carrying your friends around with ness,” according to Lu Zheng, a Stan- phone twice as many of those contacts you, using technology to be literally in ford doctoral student in sociology. 31 as do people who do not e-mail their contact with them all the time.” Another SIQSS analysis found that friends. 35 Furthermore, 31 percent of Online socializing also helps kids “the more time people spend using those surveyed said their Internet use who would otherwise have a hard the Internet the more they lose con- had increased their number of sec- time finding friendships, says Jenkins. tact with their social environment.” In- ond-tier contacts — while only 2 per- “Kids who may be outcasts, or pari- ternet users, for example, spend much cent said it had decreased them. 36 ahs, or have interests that nobody in less time talking on the phone to friends A Canadian study of a housing de- their school shares now can go on- and family, according to the study. 32 velopment found similar results. Uni- line and meet kids all around the “E-mail is a way to stay in touch, versity of Toronto researchers found country who like the same comic books, but you can’t share a coffee or a beer that residents with high-speed con- music and sports,” Jenkins says. “I with somebody on e-mail or give them nections had more informal, friendly watched my son go through that.” a hug,” said SIQSS Director Norman contact with neighbors than residents In addition, while online socializ- Nie. “The Internet could be the ulti- who were not on the Internet. 37 Resi- ing creates opportunities for decep- mate isolating technology that further dents with broadband service knew tion or misunderstanding, meeting reduces our participation in commu- the names of 25 neighbors, on aver- people online first can sometimes help nities.” 33 age, compared to non-wired residents, avoid superficial judgments. The In- But other analysts insist that Inter- who knew eight. Wired residents ternet allows disadvantaged or phys- net socializing strengthens online and made 50 percent more visits to neigh- ically different people to socialize offline relationships. What looks to bors’ homes than non-wired people, without suffering the instantaneous some like a “fading away” of social and their visits were more widely scat- negative judgment that may happen life as Internet usage increases is ac- tered around the housing development, in person. tually just a shift to new communi- according to the paper. 38 “If people consider you unattractive, cation modes that strengthen many And in a new and interesting wrin- for example — you have moles, a big people’s social ties, says a recent re- kle, the Internet may be helping to nose — . . . you can get negative report from the Pew Internet and Amer- keep the lines of communication open actions in public,” says Wittenberg’s ican Life Project and the University of between people on both sides of the Smith. “Online, I can talk about my Toronto. 34 recent Middle East violence. Since the love of pets or my work with my church. “The traditional human orientation cross-border shelling between Israel and I can put down what is lovable about to neighborhood- and village-based Lebanon erupted earlier this month, In- me and bypass whatever I think is groups is moving toward communities ternet message boards, discussion fo- keeping me from getting fulfilled rela- . . . oriented around geographically dis- rums and blogs have exploded with tionships” offline. persed social networks,” the Pew re- posts from Israeli and Lebanese na- Internet dating also saves time, port said. “The Internet and e-mail play tionals commenting on the fighting. says Mark Brooks, editor of Online an important role in maintaining these “The fact that the citizens of two war- Personals Watch. “The great thing . . . networks” and “fit seamlessly” into ring countries are maintaining a dia- about Internet dating is being able to people’s social lives. As a result, the logue while a war is going on cannot Continued on p. 636

634 CQ Researcher Chronology

1990 dized public and school libraries 1960s-1980s John Guare’s play “Six Degrees of to use filtering software to block As the Internet develops, its Separation” captures the public children’s access to pornography. academic and technical users imagination with its portrayal of begin socializing online. the power of social networks. 2001 Columbia University Professor 1967 1994 Duncan Watts uses forwarded The term “six degrees of separa- Netscape’s Mosaic Web browser is e-mails to confirm Milgram’s six- tion” enters the lexicon after Yale offered free on the company’s degrees-of-separation finding. University psychologist Stanley Web site, helping draw millions of Milgram claims to experimentally non-technical users online. 2003 validate the theory that any two MySpace is founded. . . . The U.S. people on Earth are connected by 1996 Supreme Court upholds CIPA’s re- an average of six intermediate AOL introduces the Buddy List, quirement for public libraries to contacts. which alerts users when friends block Internet sites. . . . Vermont are online and ready to IM (in- Gov. Howard Dean becomes a lead- 1972 stant message) each other. ing contender for the 2004 Democra- E-mail is invented and quickly be- tic presidential nomination by using comes the most widely used tool 1997 the social-networking site Meetup to on the first wide-scale computer Sixdegrees.com becomes one of spur grass-roots organization. network, ARPANET. the first Internet social sites to link users to friends of friends, through 2005 1975 three “degrees of separation.” . . . News Corp., a global company First ARPANET mailing lists link AOL introduces AIM, allowing headed by Australian media mogul people with shared interests. users for the first time to IM non- Rupert Murdoch, buys MySpace AOL users. for $580 million. . . . Several state 1979 legislatures consider bills requiring First Usenet newsgroups are estab- 1998 online dating sites to conduct lished. eHarmony.com, the first online background checks of users. dating site to require users to 1982 complete a personality-matching 2006 Carnegie Mellon University test, is founded by evangelical NBC’s television newsmagazine computer-science Professor Scott Christian Neil Clark Warren. “Dateline” films sting operations Fahlman invents the first emoticon, around the country in which the smiley :-) • adults pose as teens in Internet chat rooms and arrange to meet 1988 sexual predators. . . . The Delet- Internet Relay Chat is invented, al- 2000s Social-networking Online Predators Act is intro- lowing computer users to exchange ing sites become teenagers’ so- duced in Congress to require fed- real-time messages with a group. cializing tool of choice, while erally subsidized schools and rock bands and other perform- libraries to block children’s access • ers begin using the sites to to social-networking sites, chat build and strengthen their fan rooms and other socializing tech- bases. Lawmakers become con- nology. . . . Social software con- 1990s People flock to cerned that cyber social net- tinues to spread with Internet the Internet, mostly drawn by so- working makes it easier for companies including AOL, cializing tools like e-mail and sexual predators to find teens. Netscape, Google and Yahoo chat rooms. Worries grow about jumping on board. . . . Americans sexual predators contacting 2000 spend $521 million on online dat- teens through online socializing, President Bill Clinton signs the ing, making it one of the biggest but sex crimes against teenagers Children’s Internet Protection Act income generators on the World decrease overall. (CIPA), requiring federally subsi- Wide Web.

Available online: www.cqresearcher.com July 28, 2006 635 CYBER SOCIALIZING

Do You Take This Online Stranger . . . ?

oon after moving to Washington, D.C., from upstate New visited online dating sites showed a 4 percent decline in York to attend community college, Cait Lynch signed up American visitors in the past year compared to a 4 percent S with the popular Internet dating site Match.com. “I’d just increase in the total U.S. Internet audience. 3 moved to the area and I didn’t really know anyone. I was in- “There is a natural limit to the number of people who want terested in meeting new people,” she says. Moreover, her moth- to participate in this industry, and they are getting to that num- er had met her husband of eight years online. “I figured if it ber,” explained Jupiter Research analyst Nate Elliot.” 4 went well for her, I should give it a shot.” And Mary Madden, a Pew senior research specialist, points After a few months, Lynch came across a promising pro- out the Internet is still very low on the list of ways people file. Paul Schnetlage was getting his master’s degree at Johns meet their significant others. “We asked all Internet users who Hopkins University, and they shared an interest in cafes, movies, are married or in a committed relationship if they met their reading and art. Moreover, they were the same age — 22 — partner online or offline, and only 3 percent said they met them and both were in school full time while working. online,” she says. After e-mailing for a month, they met for coffee, and Paul There are clearly cases where online dating does foster mean- admitted he had “met several really strange girls” before meet- ingful relationships, says Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, co-director ing her. For her part, Lynch says she “didn’t take anything se- of Rutgers University’s National Marriage Project. “But to what riously at all” on the site. Nonetheless, their relationship slow- degree it’s a very reliable source of finding a partner is the open ly blossomed, and last March, nearly two years after meeting, question,” she says. they married. Without Match.com, “I don’t think I ever would Stan Woll, a psychology professor at California State Uni- have met someone like Paul,” says Lynch, who works for a versity, Fullerton, says Internet dating sites are good at intro- real estate developer. Her husband is a software designer. ducing people to large numbers of potential mates they might Launched in 1995 as the first online dating service, not otherwise meet. However, he finds that the number of pos- Match.com now has some 15 million paid members. It claims sibilities tends to make members overlook people they would that more than 300 marriages or engagements occur between ordinarily enjoy. “There is an array of other people, and you members or former members each month and that 400,000 keep wanting to go on and find somebody better or closer,” people find the person they are seeking each year. The “vast argues Woll. majority aren’t marriages,” says spokesperson Kristin Kelly, “but Andrea Baker, a sociology professor at Ohio University and a lot of people are telling us they found a great relationship.” author of the 2005 book Double Click: Romance and Com- Today, Internet sites devoted to matchmaking constitute one mitment of Online Couples, argues that online dating sites are of the top online income generators, with the U.S. market val- better than chance meetings at helping members find partners ued at $521 million. 1 Nearly one-third of American adults know with common interests. someone who has used a dating Web site, according to the But online dating has its drawbacks. Whitehead says she often Pew Internet and American Life Project. 2 hears criticism about untruthful member profiles. Lynch says mem- But after steady increases in membership, the 25 most- bers she met online often embellished their résumés to enhance

Continued from p. 634 connections but the quality” that counts, Collins. “There’s capacity for large-scale find the right people,” something that a fact obscured by concentration on humiliation,” Collins says, citing an in- is harder in the real world, where long friend lists, he said. 40 cident in which a girl created a page there’s no search function, he says. Social networking is based on a laden with pornography and put an By meeting someone online first, “I faulty view of friendship — the “premise ex-friend’s name on it. don’t need to go out with somebody that . . . if A is a friend of B, and B But Boyd isn’t so sure. “Bullying, sex- who smokes or who has kids. You is a friend of C, then A can be a friend ual teasing and other peer-to-peer ha- can ask the difficult questions up front.” of C, too,” said the University of Cal- rassment are rampant among teenagers” Social-networking sites also draw ifornia’s Boyd. “Just because you’re because they are “tools through which criticism for their emphasis on having friends with somebody doesn’t mean youth learn to make meaning of pop- a lengthy list of friends, as sites like their friends are similar” to the friends ularity, social status and cultural norms,” MySpace tend to do. Encouraging the you would choose. 41 she said. It is unclear whether online how-many-friends-do-my-friends-have A social-networking site can also embarrassment is any more damaging game sets up bad behaviors, accord- be used as “an electronic bathroom than offline humiliation, she added, con- ing to technology entrepreneur Christo- wall,” potentially increasing the reach ceding the Internet “may help spread pher Allen. “It is not the number of of school bullying, says NCMEC’s rumors faster.” 42

636 CQ Researcher their appeal, such as the man who And Whitehead and Kelly said he liked chess but didn’t know Yahoo Drew Most Visitors agree that singles are also turn- the rules when they sat down to ing to the Internet to find a play. And the Pew project found Each month Internet dating sites entice millions mate because they are not find- that 66 percent of Internet users of hopeful visitors searching for the perfect mate. ing them in the old places, such think cyber dating is dangerous as college or high school. because its puts personal infor- Top 10 Dating Sites While online-dating sites do mation online. 5 provide more conveniences, Mad- Online-dating experts have Site Unique Visitors den says the majority of people found that people are turning (in thousands) she surveyed did not find online to the Internet to find love for dating more efficient than offline a number of different social and Yahoo! Personals 6,052 dating. Users “still have the com- cultural reasons. For instance, Match.com Sites 3,893 plex challenges of negotiating re- busy work schedules make it lationships [including] norms and MarketRange Inc. 2,676 harder for people to find com- social skills that are different patible partners in the offline Spark Networks 2,638 from face-to-face communication.” world, Baker says. Mate1.com 2,354 Some, like Carducci, describe The Internet also allows busy online dating as just one more singles to meet people who live True.com 2,093 tool in the dating arsenal. Oth- across town whom they would eHarmony.com 1,796 ers, including Whitehead, think not normally bump into, contends Love@AOL 1,516 it is a big tool that is going to Kelly. It can “cut across bound- have a lasting force in society. aries that used to limit people’s Zencon Technologies Dating Sites 1,091 Kelly predicts that “some of opportunities to meet people, like Lovehappens.com 976 the stigma about online dating geography,” adds Whitehead. is a generation gap” that will Compared to a generation ago, Source: comScore Media Metrix, a division of comScore disappear over time. people are much more likely to Networks, Inc., January 2006 live in a city where they did not — Melissa J. Hipolit grow up, Kelly points out. Because people’s lives are no longer dictated by geography, traditional “friendship networks are down,” 1 Ginanne Brownell, “The Five-Year Itch,” Newsweek, Feb. 27, 2006. 2 says Bernardo Carducci, a professor of psychology at Indiana Pew Internet and American Life Project, “Online Dating,” March 5, 2006. 3 University Southeast. He argues that people are lonely and don’t comScore Media Metrix, January 2006. 4 Brownell, op. cit. have a local friendship network that can produce dates. 5 Pew Internet and American Life Project, op. cit.

Northwestern’s Cassell recounts a could be a telegraph operator because newspaper story entitled “Wired people worried that girls would con- BACKGROUND Love,” which describes how a father tact men through the device,” she says. followed his 16-year-old daughter to In the early 1900s, similar worries a tryst she’d arranged with a man she and proposals for legislation arose about had met online and was arrested after the telephone, she says. The anti-tele- Wired Love threatening to kill the man and the phone “rhetoric was identical to anti- girl. The father had bought his daugh- MySpace rhetoric today,” stressing “fears irtually all communications tech- ter the new technology — a telegraph that girls were at risk,” she says. V nology, no matter why it was de- — according to the 1886 story in the Yet socializing has always been a veloped, has quickly become a social- magazine Electrical World. top human need, as the history of izing tool, with teenagers usually leading “At first people thought the tele- communications technology has shown, the way. And — from the telegraph to graph would be good for girls,” who says Wittenberg’s Smith. When new MySpace — parents have always wor- might land jobs as telegraph opera- technologies change how people ried what kind of trouble teens may tors, says Cassell. “But in the 1880s, communicate, people always use get into with the new technology. an attempt was made to legislate who them for social interactions — rather

Available online: www.cqresearcher.com July 28, 2006 637 CYBER SOCIALIZING

What’s Next for the Social Net?

he mega social-networking site MySpace boasts more Some people in the social-networking business think of the than 30 million visitors a day. But with the bulk of its sites as “destinations,” cool places to hang out and spend time, T users teenagers, Internet industry observers say the My- says Caldwell. But that’s a recipe for a site whose popularity Space phenomenon may have peaked and that teens are ready wanes fairly quickly, Caldwell believes. “The site’ll be like a to move on to the next big thing. night club. It’ll be cool for a while, but then it’ll fade.” But social-networking technology — from people searches But a site envisioned as a collection of popular, useful, top- to video sharing — is here to stay. And Internet entrepreneurs of-the-line communication tools won’t likely suffer that fate, be- are scrambling to develop new ways to give social-networking cause “you’re plugging into something that people always do.” sites more staying power and attract a broader — and older IM — instant messaging — for example, “is not a fad. It hasn’t — audience. changed since its inception” because it’s “a cool tool that peo- “Could it be that MySpace peaked” this past April?” mused Scott ple continue to want to use,” Caldwell says. Karp, a technology and publishing analyst. “When a fad becomes A big draw of social networking will always be connec- overhyped, teens will eventually retreat,” and MySpace daily traf- tion, especially for the older-than-teenage crowd that entre- fic began falling off somewhat in late spring, Karp said. 1 preneurs hope to lure in bigger numbers, says Mark Brooks, Some observers seconded Karp’s observation. “MySpace is editor of Online Personals Watch. Facebook — a site that hot now, but teen audiences are the most fickle market ever caters to college students — has an advantage for the long invented,” wrote Mathew Ingram, an online business writer for run in that regard, says Brooks. Providing a connecting point the Toronto Globe and Mail. “MySpace has gone (or is be- for school pals that will help them avoid losing touch with coming) mainstream, and mainstream is the kiss of death.” 2 old friends, Facebook “hits people at their point of pain,” Media mogul Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corp. bought Brooks says. MySpace last year for $580 million, has been reticent about how The fact that the site provides a venue to keep in touch he plans to make money on the free site. But the man who with old school mates will eventually “drive Facebook beyond once described newspapers’ paid classified advertising as “rivers MySpace,” Brooks predicts. of gold,” confounded the industry recently when he announced To draw older, hopefully more permanent users than My- that he will offer free classified advertising on MySpace. 3 Space’s teens, some entrepreneurs are developing sites where Social-networking sites are really about communicating with people can join groups discussing topics of interest rather than people you know or specifically want to know, not publica- hanging out and posting personal profiles. Such sites are sim- tion to strangers, according to Dalton Caldwell, founder and ilar to traditional Internet social venues like Yahoo Groups, CEO of the social-networking site imeem.com. “You don’t want whose thousands of discussion groups are focused on indi- to see strangers’ home movies,” Caldwell says. vidual topics like hobbies or alternative sexual lifestyles. than just for business or educational ly social in nature — made up 75 per- nical information about the Unix com- use, he says. cent of traffic on ARPANET, the computer operating system. Again, to the The telephone, for example, was puter network designed by the De- surprise of its developers, Usenet al- first marketed as a tool to speed up partment of Defense to allow most immediately became a tool for workplace transactions, says Smith. researchers to exchange data and ac- long-distance socializing. Usenet’s “orig- When the fledgling phone industry cess remote computing capability. 43 inators underestimated the hunger of found that people were getting on and By 1975, ARPANET users had de- people for meaningful communication,” talking for a long time, they “were veloped the first Internet communi- wrote Internet historians Michael and horrified,” he says. For example, for ties, mailing lists through which peo- Ronda Hauben, pointing out that the efficiency’s sake a single party line was ple could send messages on topics possibility of “grass-roots connection usually assigned to several families to of interest to a whole list of others of people” around the globe is what share. “But people wanted to get on who shared their passions. Some attracted users. 44 and yak,” clogging up the lines for lists were work-related, but lists link- Although other online groups joined their neighbors, he says. ing science-fiction fans and wine- Usenet, until the early 1990s most users Internet socializing, which began tasting enthusiasts were among the were technical people and academics. almost as soon as computer networks most popular. In the early 1990s, however, America were established in the late 1960s, also In 1978, computer scientists devel- Online and Netscape began making it took network developers by surprise. oped Usenet, a network intended to easy for non-technical users to move By 1973, e-mail — much of it pure- allow Internet users to exchange tech- online. AOL, in particular, popularized

638 CQ Researcher Unlike traditional discussion groups, however, the new “so- other communities linked by different interests, potentially at- cial media” groups capitalize on social networking’s ability to tracting different age groups, says Batt. connect an individual not only to friends but also to friends But Buzznet is not the replacement for MySpace that its founders of friends, says Tom Gerace, founder and CEO of Gather.com, expected it to be, says Batt. “People tend to have three stops. a social-networking site aimed at adults. They hang out on MySpace, write a bit at LiveJournal” — a blog- Gather’s approach is to encourage its users — envisioned as ging and social-networking site — “and then spend time with us.” the sort of folks who are regular listeners to National Public Radio, Online dating services will ultimately succumb to the social- for example — to post thoughts on subjects ranging from poli- networking boom, predicts Markus Frind, creator and owner of tics to recipes. Those postings constitute a new “social media,” the Canada-based dating site Plentyoffish.com. Unlike most other movie reviews and political rants composed not by professional dating sites, Plentyoffish is free to users. Frind’s operation is “half journalists but by any interested Internet user. Sites like Gather social networking,” because, unlike most other dating sites, Plenty- then use social networking’s “friends of friends” structure to help offish doesn’t attempt proactive matchmaking. Instead, like MySpace, people link up to the posting they’ll be most interested in, be- Plentyoffish simply allows members to post profiles, converse cause they interest others in their circle of contacts, says Gerace. and arrange outside meetings — one-on-one dates or multi- Gather users will also provide “social filtering” of the media member parties — on their own. they create, providing links and reviews that will bring the best Contrary to what MySpace and Facebook members claim, the socially created content to the top of the heap, Gerace says. social-networking sites “are all about sex,” says Frind. “People The site currently pays members a modest fee if content they go there to hook up,” and they’re succeeding at it, he says. Even- create gets high marks from fellow users. And “eventually some tually, that success will pull most people away from online dat- writers will earn a living” by creating top-ranked Gather con- ing services — which charge — to social-networking sites, which tent, Gerace says. are free. “The hot girls are only on the social-networking sites Content is also king at Buzznet, a social-networking site on now, not on dating sites. It’s socially unacceptable for hot girls which users share writings, photo, music and video celebrating to say they’re looking for dates,” Frind says. “Eventually, all the popular culture, especially music. “A classic social network is all guys will follow them there.” about your profile, but on Buzznet our emphasis is 100 percent focused on what you’re producing,” says co-founder Anthony Batt. 1 Scott Karp, “Has the MySpace Downturn Begun?” Publishing 2.0, May 25, Buzznet “is the upside-down version of MySpace,” says Batt. 2006, http://publishing2.com. 2 Quoted in ibid. It’s a catalog of people. We’re about . . . what people are in- 3 Murdoch was interviewed on “The Charlie Rose Show,” on July 20, 2006. terested in. You connect with an interest, then you meet the Also see “Murdoch predicts demise of classified ads,” Financial Times, people.” Buzznet founders plan to build on its success to found Nov. 24, 2005. chat rooms, where people can exchange then their friends link to their friends, messages in real time. The live nature Six Degrees creating a chain of social linkages. of chat room discussions raised new In 1997, the pioneering Web site fears among parents because users were n the 1960s, Yale University psy- Sixdegrees.com allowed users to send generally anonymous. Some chat rooms I chologist Stanley Milgram tested and and post messages viewable by their were eventually found to be heavily apparently verified the theory that any first, second and third-degree con- trafficked by pedophiles. By 1997, AOL two people on Earth are connected to tacts. 48 Founder Andrew Weinreich, had 14,000 chat rooms, which accounted each other by an average of six in- a lawyer-turned-entrepreneur, ex- for about a third of the time AOL mem- termediate contacts. 47 plained social networking’s usefulness bers spent online. 45 Scientific doubt remains about the in business and social terms. Later, AOL introduced instant validity of Milgram’s so-called “six-degrees- “Say you’re coming out of college messaging (IM) — real-time e-mail of-separation” theory, but the idea has and you want to be a lawyer in Dallas. discussions with one person — and intrigued the popular imagination. In the You ask, ‘Who knows an environmen- buddy lists, which alert users when late 1990s, Internet developers recognized tal lawyer in Dallas?’ You want advice. friends are online and available to that the Internet provides tools to seek We give you a shot at that.” Less serious receive IMs. and contact others in the farther circles queries also pay off, said Weinreich. “You “Community is the Velcro that keeps of connection. For example, those who can get a movie review from Siskel and people there,” said AOL President post personal Web pages invite friends Ebert, but wouldn’t you rather hear it Theodore Leonsis. 46 to link their personal pages to theirs, from friends you trust?” 49

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The first really big-name social- Following right behind have been MIT’s Jenkins. “Children and young networking site, Friendster, was advertisers, with everybody who wants people have always been early adopters launched in 2002, and the block- to contact young people putting up a of technology,” he says, noting that buster site, MySpace, quickly followed, MySpace page. Even the Marine Corps the Boy Scouts were early users of in 2003. While other sites also attract began collecting “friends” in early 2006. radio, and in the 19th century chil- visitors in the millions, MySpace struck Some 12,000 people now link their pages dren used toy printing presses to cre- gold with a concept that, for the first to the Corps’ page, and at last count ate magazines and newspapers. time, brought teen Internet users to- 430 people had contacted recruiters But the speed with which new tech- gether at a single spot. through the site. 53 nologies appear on the scene today, “Curiosity about combined with teens’ other people” drove propensity to quickly em- social networking’s brace new technologies, initial fast growth, says makes it especially diffi- Brooks, of Online Per- cult for parents, lawmak- sonals Watch. “But to ers and technology com- make a site grow you panies to figure out how need to hit some- /Greg Derr to respond, says Blue thing more powerful Coat’s Carosella. “The so- than curiosity,” some- cial behaviors that involve thing that attracts key the Internet are not going people or “connec- to go away.” In fact, “the tors” — the “so- kids . . . are inventing The Patriot Ledger cialites . . . or loud- these behaviors.” mouths . . . those who “Kids are always one run into hundreds of or two steps ahead” of AP Photo/ other people all the Flight instructor Harold Spector, 67, is arrested last April in Marshfield, older generations, says time,” Brooks says. Mass., where he’d flown in his private plane to meet what he thought California State Univer- MySpace seized was a 15-year-old girl he’d been “talking” to in an Internet chat room. sity’s Subrahmanyam. upon music as a tool Spector was charged with attempted statutory rape and attempting “Chat, IM, social net- to entice a minor under age 16 for sex after the “girl” to reach the young turned out to be two police officers. working have all de- “connectors.” The site veloped as teen-heavy contacted music promoters and got band technology,” she says. “That makes members to engage with the popular Techno Kids sense, because figuring out sex and people on the site, said Berkeley’s their own place in the social order Boyd. The bands then created their hat has really brought MySpace . . . makes talking with peers very own pages on MySpace, giving musi- W to public attention, however, is important.” cians an opportunity to link to multi- not its sheer numbers, but its demo- But while teens have long dis- ple kids’ pages. “Eventually, other young graphics. cussed sex and relationships via in- people followed the young people that Teens and young adults make up stant messaging, adolescent inter- followed the music,” she says. 50 the overwhelming majority of users, changes on sites like MySpace “can And follow they have. With more triggering fear among parents, law- now be seen by others,” she adds. than 80 million members, MySpace enforcement agencies and some legis- was growing by about 250,000 mem- lators that the site may offer sexual preda- bers a day in early 2006. 51 Exact rank- tors easier access to young victims or Background Checks ings among the world’s top Web sites encourage adolescents to engage in un- shift daily, but MySpace averages the healthy behavior, such as posting sex- hile most of the uproar over sixth-highest number of daily visitors, ually suggestive photos of themselves. W potential dangers in online so- alongside English-language sites Yahoo, “The dangers our children are ex- cializing concerns teenagers and chil- Microsoft Network, Google and eBay, posed to by these sites are clear and dren, some fear that online dating sites and several Chinese-language sites. compelling,” said Rep. Fitzpatrick. 54 may also make it easier for sexual That translates to more than 30 mil- These worries aren’t new and did- predators to reach adult victims. 52 lion users visiting MySpace daily. n’t start with social networking, says Continued on p. 642

640 CQ Researcher At Issue: Should Congress require schools and public libraries to block social-networkingYes Web sites?

REP. MICHAEL FITZPATRICK, R-PA. HENRY JENKINS SPONSOR, DELETING ONLINE DIRECTOR, COMPARATIVE MEDIA STUDIES PREDATORS ACT PROGRAM, MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY FROM REMARKS ON HOUSE FLOOR, MAY 9, 2006 FROM INTERVIEW POSTED ONLINE BY THE MIT NEWS OFFICE, y most important job is my role as a father of six ACCESSED JULY 2006 children. In a world that moves and changes at a dizzying pace, being a father gets harder all the m s a society, we are at a moment of transition when the time. Technology is one of the key concerns I have as a parent, specifically the Internet and the sites my kids visit, register most important social relationships may no longer be with and use on a daily basis. a restricted to those we conduct face-to-face with people One of the most interesting and worrying developments of in our own immediate surroundings. We are learning how to in- late has been the growth in what are called “social-networking teract across multiple communities and negotiate with diverse sites.” Sites like MySpace, Friendster and Facebook have literally norms. These networking skills are increasingly important to all exploded in popularity in just a few short years. aspects of our lives. For adults, these sites are fairly benign. For children, they Just as youth in a hunting society play with bows and ar- open the door to many dangers, including online bullying and rows, youth in an information society play with information exposure to child predators that have turned the Internet into and social networks. Rather than shutting kids off from social- a virtual hunting ground for children. The dangers our chil- network tools, we should be teaching them how to exploit dren are exposed to by these sites are clear and compelling. their potential and mitigate their risks. MySpace, whichyes is self-regulated, has removed an estimated Much of the nocurrent policy debate around MySpace assumes 200,000 objectionable profiles since it started in 2003. that the activities there are at best frivolous and at worst dan- This is why I introduced the Deleting Online Predators Act gerous to the teens who participate. Yet a growing number of as part of the Suburban Caucus agenda. Parents have the abil- teachers around the country are discovering that these technolo- ity to screen their children’s Internet access at home, but this gies have real pedagogical value. protection ends when their child leaves for school or the li- Teachers are beginning to use blogs for knowledge-sharing brary. The Deleting Online Predators Act requires schools and in schools; they use mailing lists to communicate expectations libraries to implement technology to protect children from ac- about homework with students and parents. They are discover- cessing commercial networking sites like MySpace.com, and ing that students take their assignments more seriously and chat rooms, which allow children to be preyed upon by indi- write better if they are producing work that will reach a larger viduals seeking to do harm to our children. public rather than simply sit on the teacher’s desk. Teachers Additionally, the legislation would require the Federal Trade are linking together classrooms around the country and around Commission [FTC] to design and publish a unique Web site to the world, getting kids from different cultural backgrounds to serve as a clearinghouse and resource for parents, teachers share aspects of their everyday experience. and children for information on the dangers of surfing the In- Many of these activities would be threatened by the pro- ternet. The Web site would include detailed information about posed federal legislation, which would restrict access to these commercial networking sites like MySpace. The FTC would sites via public schools or library terminals. In theory, the bill also be responsible for issuing consumer alerts to parents, would allow schools to disable these filters for use in educa- teachers, school officials and others regarding the potential tionally specified contexts, yet, in practice, teachers who want- dangers of Internet child predators and others and their ability ed to exploit the educational benefits of these tools would face to contact children through MySpace.com and other social-net- increased scrutiny and pressure to discontinue these practices. working sites. Teens who lack access to the Internet at home would be In addition, the bill would require the Federal Communica- cut off from their extended sphere of social contacts. tion Commission to establish an advisory board to review and Wouldn’t we be better off having teens engage with My- report commercial social-networking sites like MySpace.com Space in the context of supervision from knowledgeable and and chat rooms that have been shown to allow sexual preda- informed adults? Historically, we taught children what to do tors easy access to personal information of, and contact with, when a stranger telephoned them when their parents are away; surely, we should be helping to teach them how to our nationNo ’s children. manage the presentation of their selves in digital spaces.

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Many Americans Know Online Daters CURRENT Nearly one-third of American adults know at least one person who has used an online dating Web site. SITUATION Percent No. of People Who Know Someone Who Has . . . (of U.S. adults) 31% 63 million used a dating Web site Big Brother 26 53 million dated a person they met on a dating site 15 30 million been in a long-term relationship or married owadays, teenagers aren’t the someone they met online N only ones hanging out on My- Space.com. Law-enforcement officials Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project, “Online Dating,” March 5, 2006 now are increasingly staking out the site, looking to head off crimes. Some Continued from p. 640 fake names,’ ” said Kristin Kelly, a high-profile arrests in MySpace-related In the past year and a half, legis- spokeswoman for the Match.com dat- cases have raised concerns about so- lators in several states, including Cal- ing site. 58 cial networking similar to worries that ifornia, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, True.com has contracted with Rap- arose in the 1990s about chat rooms. Texas and Virginia, proposed requir- sheets.com, a private firm trying to For example, a 39-year-old Penn- ing online dating sites to conduct crim- build a national database of criminal sylvania man faces federal charges that inal background checks of all prospec- convictions, according to the Internet he molested a 14-year-old Connecti- tive members or prominently inform Alliance, an advocacy group whose cut girl he met through her MySpace users that they do not conduct such members include the dating sites page. The girl had listed her age as checks. 55 Match.com and eHarmony.com, as well 18. In another Connecticut case, a 22- The bills were suggested by Herb as other Internet companies such as year-old man traveled from New Jer- Vest, founder and CEO of the True.com eBay, AOL and Yahoo. But mecha- sey to visit an 11-year-old girl, whom dating service, which checks the crim- nisms for tracking criminal convictions he molested in her home while her inal and marital backgrounds of its are state-based, the group points out, parents slept. 60 members. “The primary motivation is and some states decline to participate Besides monitoring for sexual pre- to protect people from criminal pre- in national databases. So it is impos- dation, law-enforcement officials dation online,” said Vest. “I can’t imag- sible for Rapsheets to have complete worry that teenagers may use MySpace ine anyone with a hatful of brains information, they said. 59 to plot violence or vandalism. For ex- being against that.” 56 Internet Alliance also argues that ample, a 15-year-old New Jersey girl Many online daters think dating new laws aren’t needed because un- was charged with harassment when sites already take such precautions, said regulated dating services — such as school officials found an apparent “hit Republican Florida state Rep. Kevin newspaper ads and singles hotlines — list” on her MySpace page. In Den- Ambler, who sponsored a similar bill have run “smoothly for years without ver, a 16-year-old boy was arrested in Florida last year after hearing that legislative interference,” while “pro- after allegedly posting photos of him- 20 percent of survey respondents viding even less information [than] a self holding handguns on MySpace. 61 thought background checks were al- typical online profile.” And in Riverton, Kan., five high-school ready required on dating sites. “Many So far, the bills have gone nowhere. boys were arrested in April after online daters have a false sense of se- The Michigan House passed a bill, but school officials found a message on curity,” he said. 57 it later died in the state Senate. In one boy’s MySpace page apparently But some Internet companies and Florida, bills were approved in com- threatening a Columbine-style shoot- dating sites say the bills aren’t need- mittee last year but did not advance. ing. Law-enforcement officers later ed or would create a false sense of A California bill that would have fined found weapons and documents relat- security. “It would be just as easy to online dating services $250 for each ed to a plot in a student’s bedroom argue that True.com should be required day they don’t conduct background and in school lockers. 62 to post labels on each page, saying, checks was introduced but later pulled Meanwhile, the NBC program ‘Warning. True.com’s background from consideration. “Dateline” recently highlighted poten- searches will not identify criminals using tial online dangers to children from

642 CQ Researcher adults. In a series of programs, “Date- Connecticut Attorney General Richard photos, additional listed friends — on line” photographed men who had Blumenthal, for example, has asked a MySpace Web page for free. arranged to meet what they thought social-networking companies to imple- “I started it as . . . a way for par- were young teenagers but were actu- ment tougher measures to block teenagers’ ents to check out what their kids are ally adult members of an activist group. access to pornography and rid the sites doing,” said Strand. 70 While the encounters took place in of sexual predators. Voluntary efforts, once chat rooms, not on social-networking the state and businesses agree on what sites, the shows raised further alarms. steps should be taken, would “avoid the In response, Rep. Fitzpatrick intro- costs and time required for any sort of 65 OUTLOOK duced his Deleting Online Predators Act. legal action,” he said. It would expand the anti-pornography In April, MySpace hired Hemanshu Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) Migam — Microsoft’s former director of by requiring schools and libraries to consumer security and child safety and Here to Stay prohibit access to any commercial so- a former federal prosecutor of online cial-networking site or chat room through child-exploitation cases — to manage its n the future, online communica- which minors could access sexual ma- safety, privacy and customer-education I tions and social networking will be- terial or be subject to sexual advances. programs. The company also partnered come even more deeply rooted in our “This is a new and evolving prob- with the National Center for Missing and lives, say most analysts. lem” that requires amendments to CIPA, Exploited Children and the Advertising That makes it imperative to learn as since social networking didn’t exist Council to post public-service an- much as possible about how online ac- when that law was written, said Michael nouncements about online safety on TV, tivities affect people, says Carosella, of Conalle, Fitzpatrick’s chief of staff. 63 MySpace and other Internet sites. 66 Blue Coat Systems. “There’s a critical role But the American Library Association While acknowledging the compa- for mental health and social scientists,” said the bill is so broadly written that ny’s first steps, Blumenthal said he had he says. “We should be doing studies it would block not only education that urged MySpace to adopt other, “more on why there are so many sexual preda- would teach kids to go online safely significant, specific measures,” such as tors out there. Where did they all come but also “a wide array of other impor- tougher age-verification efforts and free from? Is there a vicious cycle between tant applications and technologies.” 64 software for parents to block MySpace easy access to pornography online and Lordan of the Internet Education Foun- from home computers. 67 the emergence of online predators?” dation said evidence suggests that more Alarms about social networking also Future generations will make teens are abused in their own homes are drawing interest from parents’ groups even more use of social networking, and neighborhoods than online. “We and some entrepreneurs. In Utah, for predicts Diane Danielson, who cre- could end up diverting resources” to at- example, the state parent-teacher as- ated www.DWCFaces.com, a social- tack online predation “when the main sociation is creating materials to teach networking site for businesswomen. need is really elsewhere,” he says. parents how to make their children “We will see Generation Y bringing Although the House Energy and safe online. It will also recommend fil- their social networks into the work- Commerce Committee has held sub- tering and blocking software to par- space,” she says, referring to the 20- committee hearings on Fitzpatrick’s bill, ents in collaboration with Blue Coat, 25-year-old age group. “They will and it has been discussed on the House the Internet security company. 68 also remain connected to more peo- floor, discussions so far have focused Other Internet-technology develop- ple from their high schools and col- heavily on child pornography on the ers also are offering help. Sales have leges” thanks to the persistent pres- Internet. No action on the legislation tripled in the last three years for pro- ence on social-networking sites of has yet been scheduled, and no bills grams like eBlaster, Content Protect, IM links to Web sites like Classmates.com. have been introduced in the Senate. Einstein and Safe Eyes, which allow “In a transient society, a social net- parents to monitor their kids’ e-mails, work Web page might be your most instant messages and online chats in consistent address.” Safety First real time from a separate computer — Social networking may also trans- such as while the parent is at work. 69 form some political campaigns into tate attorneys general, parents, en- Software developer Alex Strand, for in- more grass-roots affairs, says Zephyr S trepreneurs and social-networking stance, has established MySpace- Teachout, a professor of constitu- companies recently have launched watch.com, where users can sign up tional law at Vermont Law School, safety initiatives for online socializing. to monitor changes — such as new who directed Internet organizing for

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Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential cam- it as harking back to earlier, simpler 12 For background, see Kenneth Jost, “Libraries paign. Dean encouraged people times — a town square where people and the Internet,” CQ Researcher, June 1, 2001, around the country to communicate can gather.” pp. 465-488. on their own via social-network soft- When town squares were common, 13 Michael Fitzpatrick, testimony before House ware, allowing local and individual he says, “there was a certain sense of Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Over- momentum to drive many activities. responsibility on how we presented our- sight and Investigations, June 10, 2006. 14 Henry Jenkins and Danah Boyd, “Discussion: “We discovered that the human need selves. We’ve lost that. Now we have to MySpace and Deleting Online Predators Act,” to be political is important” and, if reinvent it for a new generation.” interview published online by Massachusetts In- tapped, increases participation, she stitute of Technology News Office, May 24, 2006, says. “But to do it you need a can- Notes www.danah.org/papers/MySpaceDOPA.html. didate willing to devolve power.” 15 Ibid. When media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s 16 Quoted in Anne Chappel Belden, “Kids’ 1 Erik Brady and Daniel Libit, “Alarms Sound Tech Toys: High-Tech Communication Tools,” News Corp. bought MySpace last year Over Athlete’s Facebook Time,” USA Today, Parenthood.com, http://parenthood.com. for $580 million, some speculated that March 8, 2006. 17 Kevin Farnham, reply to “Friendster Lost the conservative Murdoch might use the 2 Quoted in ibid. Steam. Is MySpace Just a Fad?” Corante blog, site to influence the politics of the site’s 3 Clair Osborn, “Teen, Mom Sue MySpace.com March 21, 2006, http://man.corante.com. young users, perhaps by pushing Re- for $30 Million,” Austin American-Statesman, 18 Paul Marks, “Pentagon Sets Its Sights on publican-slanted commentary on the site June 20, 2006. Social Networking in Washington,” NewScien- 4 Quoted in ibid. during the 2008 presidential election cycle. tist.com, June 9, 2006, www.newscientist.com. 5 “Internet: The Mainstreaming of Online Many analysts doubt whether such an 19 Quoted in ibid. Life,” Pew Internet and American Life Pro- effort could succeed, though, since so- 20 David Finkelhor and Lisa M. Jones, “Ex- ject, www.pewinternet.org. cial-networking users have notoriously planations for the Decline in Sexual Abuse 6 John Horrigan and Lee Rainie, “The Internet’s fled sites when owners have tried to ex- Cases,” Juvenile Justice Bulletin, U.S. Depart- Growing Role in Life’s Major Moments,” Pew In- ment of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and ercise regulatory clout. ternet and American Life Project, April 19, 2006. Delinquency Prevention, January 2004, But Murdoch says he spent $1.5 bil- 7 “Internet: The Mainstreaming of Online www.ojp.usdoj/gov/ojjdp. lion in the past year to buy MySpace Life,” op. cit. 21 Quoted in Larry Magid, “Plug In, or Pull and other online companies to empower 8 For background, see Brian Hansen, “Cyber- the Plug,” Staysafe.org for Parents, www.stay people to create their own content. “Tech- predators,” CQ Researcher, March 1, 2002, p. safeonline.com. nology is shifting power away from the 169-192. 22 Congressional Record, House, May 9, 2006, 9 For background, see David Masci, “Internet editors, the publishers, the establishment, p. H2311. Privacy,” CQ Researcher, Nov. 6, 2998, pp. the media elite. Now it’s the people who 23 Ibid, p. H2315. 71 953-976. are taking control,” he said. 24 Jenkins and Boyd, op. cit. 10 “Social Networking Sites Continue to Attract As Internet technology draws more 25 Ibid. Record Numbers as MySpace.com Surpasses people to publish their personal infor- 26 Quoted in Robert Brumfield, “Bill Calls for 50 Million U.S. Visitors in May,” PRNewswire, MySpace Age Limit,” eSchoolNews online, mation in cyberspace, a new set of comScore Networks, Inc., June 15, 2006. May 16, 2006, www.eschoolnews.com. ethics is needed for presenting oneself, 11 Marshall Kirkpatrick, “Top 10 Social Net- 27 For background, see Kathy Koch, “The says Bill Holsinger-Robinson, chief op- working Sites See 47 Percent Growth,” the Digital Divide,” CQ Researcher, Jan. 28, 2000, erating officer of Spout.com, a social- socialsoftwareweblog, May 17, 2006, http://so- pp. 41-64. networking site focused on film. “I see cialsofware.weblogsinc.com. 28 For background, see Marcia Clemmitt, “Con- trolling the Internet,” CQ Researcher, May 12, About the Author 2006, pp. 409-432. 29 Clifford Stoll, Silicon Snake Oil: Second Staff writer Marcia Clemmitt is a veteran social-policy Thoughts on the Information Highway (1996), p. 43. reporter who previously served as editor in chief of Medi- 30 cine and Health, a Washington industry newsletter, and Killeen Hanson, “Study Links Internet, Social Contact,” The Stanford Daily Online Edition, staff writer for The Scientist. She has also been a high- Feb. 28, 2005. school math and physics teacher. She holds a liberal arts 31 Quoted in ibid. and sciences degree from St. John’s College, Annapolis, 32 Norman H. Nie and Lutz Erbring, “Internet and a master’s degree in English from Georgetown Uni- and Society: A Preliminary Report,” Stanford versity. Her recent reports include “Climate Change,” “Con- Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society, trolling the Internet” and “Pork Barrel Politics.” Feb. 17, 2000. 33 Quoted in ibid.

644 CQ Researcher 34 Jeffrey Boase, John B. Horrigan, Barry Well- man and Lee Rainie, “The Strength of Internet Ties,” Pew Internet and American Life Project, FOR MORE INFORMATION Jan. 25, 2006. 35 Apophenia: Making Connections Where None Previously Existed, Ibid. www.zephoria.org/thoughts/. News, data and commentary on the social Internet 36 Ibid. by social-media researcher Danah Boyd. 37 Barry Wellman, Jeffrey Boase and Wenhong Chen, “The Networked Nature of Communi- Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard Law School, Baker House, 1587 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138; (617) 495-7547; ty: Online and Offline,” IT & Society, summer http://cyber.law.harvard.edu. A research program investigating legal, technical and 2002, pp. 151-165, www.itandsociety.org. social developments in cyberspace. 38 Ibid. 39 Sheera Claire Frenkel, “Israelis and Lebanese Center for the Digital Future, University of Southern California Annenberg Are Still Talking — on the Net,” The Jerusalem School, 300 South Grand Ave., Suite 3950, Los Angeles, CA 90071; (213) 437- 4433; www.digitalcenter.org. A research program investigating the Internet’s effects Post, July 21, 2006. on individuals and society. 40 Christopher Allen, “My Advice to Social Networking Services,” Life With Alacrity blog, Crimes Against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire, 20 Feb. 3, 2004, www.lifewithalacrity.com. College Rd., #126 Horton Social Science Center, Durham, NH 03824; (603) 862- 41 Quoted in Michael Erard, “Decoding the 1888; www.unh.edu/ccrc/. Studies criminal victimization of young people and how to prevent it, including online. New Cues in Online Society,” The New York Times, Nov. 27, 2003. Internet Education Foundation, 1634 I St., N.W., Suite 1107, Washington, DC 42 Quoted in Jenkins and Boyd, op. cit. 20006; (202) 638-4370; www.neted.org. Educates the public and lawmakers about the 43 For background, see The Internet’s Coming Internet as a tool of democracy and communications; the industry-supported GetNet- of Age (2000). Wise project (www.getnetwise.org) disseminates information on safety and security. 44 Michael Hauben and Ronda Hauben, “The Many2Many, http://many.corante.com/. Academics and technical experts provide Social Forces Behind the Development of information and commentary on social networking in this blog. Usenet,” First Monday, www.firstmonday.org. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 699 Prince St., Alexandria, 45 “Internet Communities,” Business Week VA 22314-3175; (703) 274-3900; www.missingkids.com. Provides education and ser- Archives, May 5, 1997, www.businessweek.com. vices on child exploitation to families and professionals; maintains a CyberTipline 46 Quoted in ibid. and other resources for reporting and combating exploitation via the Internet. 47 For background, see Judith Donath and Online Personals Watch, http://onlinepersonalswtach.typepad.com. A blogger Danah Boyd, “Public Displays of Connection,” and industry veteran provides news and commentary on social networking and BT Technology Journal, October 2004, p. 71. online dating. 48 Doug Bedell, “Meeting Your New Best Friends,” Pew Internet and American Life Project, 1615 L St., N.W., Suite 700, Washington, The Dallas Morning News, Oct. 27, 1998. 49 DC 20036; (202) 419-4500; www.pewinternet.org. Provides data and analysis on In- Quoted in ibid. ternet usage and its effects on American society. 50 Danah Boyd, “Friendster Lost Steam. Is MySpace Just a Fad?” March 21, 2006, Progress and Freedom Foundation, 1444 I St., N.W., Suite 500, Washington, www.danah.org. DC 20005; (202) 289-8928; www.pff.org. A free-market-oriented think tank that examines public policy related to the Internet. 51 Dawn Kawamoto and Greg Sandoval, “My- Space Growth Continues Amid Criticism,” ZDNet News, March 31, 2006, http://news.zdnet.com. 59 “Online Dating,” white paper from Internet Newsmaker Q&A, Business Week online, March 52 MySpace traffic details from www.alexa.com. Alliance, www.internetalliance.org. 6, 2006, www.businessweek.com. 66 53 Audrey McAvoy, “Marines Trolling My- 60 “Twenty Youths Suspended in MySpace Maria Newman, “MySpace.com Hires Official Space.com for Recruits,” Chicago Sun-Times, Case,” The Associated Press, March 3, 2006. to Oversee Users’ Safety,” The New York Times, July 25, 2006. 61 “MySpace in the News,” Bergen [New Jersey] April 12, 2006. 67 54 Congressional Record, op. cit., p. H2310. Daily Record, May 14, 2006, www.dailyrecord.com. Quoted in ibid. 68 55 For background, see Javad Heydary, “Reg- 62 “Charges Mulled in Alleged School Shooting “Utah PTA and Blue Coat Systems Join Forces ulation of Online Dating Services Sparks Con- Plot,” The Associated Press, April 23, 2006. For to Drive Greater Internet Safety, Community troversy,” E-Commerce Times, March 3, 2005, background, see Kathy Koch, “School Violence,” Action,” Blue Coat Systems press release, June www.ecommercetimes.com. CQ Researcher, Oct. 9, 1998, pp. 881-904. 20, 2006, www.bluecoat.com. 69 56 Quoted in “Online Dating Background 63 Quoted in Declan McCullagh, “Congress See Ned Potter, “Watching Your Kids On- Checks?” CNNMoney.com, April 25, 2006, Targets Social Network Sites,” C/Net News.com, line,” ABCNews.com, July 24, 2006. 70 http://cnnmoney.com. May 11, 2006, http://news.com.com. Quoted in Stefanie Olsen, “Keeping an 57 Quoted in ibid. 64 Michael Gorman, “ALA Opposes ‘Deleting Eye on MySpace,” C/Net News.com, June 29, 58 Quoted in Declan McCullagh, “True Love Online Predators Act,’ ” May 15, 2006, state- 2006, http://news.com.com. 71 With a Criminal Background Check,” C/Net ment, American Library Association. Spencer Reiss, “His Space,” Wired, July 14, News.com, Feb. 28, 2005, http://news.com.com. 65 Quoted in “Making MySpace Safe for Kids,” 2006, www.wired.com.

Available online: www.cqresearcher.com July 28, 2006 645 Bibliography Selected Sources

Books Leonard, Andrew, “You Are Who You Know,” Salon.com, June 15, 2004. Farnham, Kevin M., and Dale G. Farnham, MySpace Safe- Social-networking entrepreneurs and Internet analysts ex- ty: 51 Tips for Teens and Parents, How To Primers, 2006. plain why Internet technology led to development of social Parents of a veteran teenage MySpace user explain what software and why they believe social networks matter, on- their experiences have taught them about how social net- line and off. working works and what safety rules families should follow. Marks, Paul, “Pentagon Sets Its Sights on Social Networking Rheingold, Howard, The Virtual Community: Home- Websites,” New Scientist, June 9, 2006, NewScientist.com. steading on the Electronic Frontier, The MIT Press, 2000. The National Security Agency is researching the possibili- A technology analyst and longtime participant in Internet ty of mining social-networking sites for data to assemble ex- communities recounts the history of the social Internet and tensive personal profiles of individuals and their social cir- his two decades of personal experience with it. cles to help sniff out terrorist plots.

Articles Reiss, Spencer, “His Space,” Wired, July 14, 2006, www.wired.com. Armental, Maria, “Site Started by New Jersey Teens Is Grow- Since media mogul Rupert Murdoch paid $580 million to ing Fast,” Asbury Park Press, May 16, 2006, www.app.com. buy MySpace in 2005, technology and business analysts have MyYearbook.com, a social-networking site created by two argued about whether Murdoch can make the investment New Jersey high-school students in 2005, has membership rolls pay by selling advertising and/or using the site as a distri- that are growing by about 40 percent a month. The brother bution channel for music and video content. and sister team who created it became millionaires before high- school graduation earlier this year when an investor paid $1.5 Studies and Reports million for a 10-percent stake in the operation. Boase, Jeffrey, John B. Horrigan, Barry Wellman and Lee Bower, Bruce, “Growing Up Online,” Science News Online, Rainie, The Strength of Internet Ties, Pew Internet and June 17, 2006, www.sciencenews.org. American Life Project, January 2006. Research psychologists dissect the appeal of Internet social- Statistics show that the Internet and e-mail aid users in networking software to teenagers and describe the findings in maintaining social networks and providing pathways to sup- several recent studies of how teenagers behave online. port and advice in difficult times, according to University of Toronto and Pew researchers. Brumfield, Robert, “Bill Calls for MySpace Age Limit,” eSchoolNews online, May 16, 2006. Finkelhor, David, Kimberly J. Mitchell and Janis Wolak, Educators discuss the possible effects on schools and stu- Online Victimization: A Report on the Nation’s Youth, dents of a congressional proposal to require schools and Crimes Against Children Research Center, University of public libraries to block social software. New Hampshire, June 2000. In cooperation with the National Center for Missing and Hof, Robert D., “Internet Communities,” Business Week, May Exploited Children and the U.S. Department of Justice Office 5, 1997, Business Week Archives, www.businessweek.com. of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, University of As women, teenagers and non-technical users flock online, New Hampshire researchers detail national statistics on on- Internet use turns away from pre-created content toward so- line crimes against children and teens, online sexual solici- cializing and Internet communities sharing common interests. tation of young Internet users and responses to Internet sexual solicitations by young people, their families and law Koppelman, Alex, “MySpace or OurSpace?” Salon.com, enforcement. June 8, 2006, www.salon.com. A growing number of school administrators and law-en- Lenhart, Amanda, and Mary Madden, Teen Content forcement officials regularly monitor MySpace and other so- Creators and Consumers, Pew Internet and American cial-networking sites in search of evidence of rule-breaking Life Project, November 2005. and criminal activity. The practice is raising awareness among Creating and sharing content through blogs, videos and teens that spaces they believed were private are not and other sites is an integral part of online social life for today’s also is raising questions about how far schools can go in teens. policing students’ out-of-school activities.

646 CQ Researcher The Next Step: Additional Articles from Current Periodicals

Internet Dating Police in Pepperell, Mass., have launched a campaign to erase profiles of local children who are underage or mis- English, Bella, “Pet Lovers Find Animal Attraction Hard representing their ages on MySpace. to Resist,” The Houston Chronicle, Feb. 19, 2006, p. 4. Dan Cohen’s animalattraction.com is a dating site that pairs Jesdanun, Anick, “Popularity of MySpace Soars, Sphere of people up based on their love of animals. Influence Expands,” Chicago Tribune, Feb. 13, 2006, p. 1. MySpace, created just over two years ago, quickly eclipsed Kloer, Phil, “Site Offers Truth About Personal Ads on Net,” Friendster as the top social-networking site and now has Chicago Tribune, Aug. 7, 2005, p. B3. more than twice the traffic of Google. Truedater.com allows online daters to post reviews of anyone they have dated from a variety of sites, depicting what that Mitchell, Dan, “MySpace No Longer Their Space?” The person is really like as opposed to his or her personal ad. New York Times, June 3, 2006, p. C5. Internet experts contend that MySpace might lose popu- Noveck, Jocelyn, “Internet Dating Comes of Age — Middle larity among teens because of increasing reports that the site Age,” The Miami Herald, March 25, 2006, p. E4. is dangerous, cluttered and beset by technical problems. People over 50 are increasingly turning to Internet dating sites to find romance. Teens Online

Internet Safety Lenhart, Jennifer, “Teens’ Online Boasting Leads to Arson Arrests,” The Washington Post, May 13, 2006, p. B2. Briscoe, Daren, “ ‘Netbangers,’ Beware,” Newsweek, March Two Maryland teenagers who set fires around their neigh- 13, 2006, p. 31. borhood for several months were caught after boasting about Street gangs are setting up Web pages to communicate their exploits on MySpace. with one another and pick online fights with rival gangs. McDonald, Soraya Nadia, “ ‘Facebooking’ The Rage on Col- Helderman, Rosalind S., “Law Directs Schools to Teach About lege Campuses,” The Seattle Times, July 4, 2005, p. C4. Cyber-Safety,” The Washington Post, March 30, 2006, p. T1. Facebook.com, an online directory created to connect the A new Virginia law will require the state’s public schools higher-education world through social networks, is an Internet to teach students about Internet safety. sensation on college campuses.

Sharos, David, “Internet Safety Fears Spark Education Prichard, Oliver, “Web Network ‘Friends’ Who Can Be Any- Efforts,” Chicago Tribune, May 8, 2006, p. 8. thing But,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec. 11, 2005, p. A23. Law-enforcement officials, school administrators and software Teens are increasingly congregating on social-networking sites companies have begun to address social-networking issues, for interaction, self-expression, mischief-making and risk-taking. including pedophiles trolling for youngsters on the Web and the sharing of too much personal information by minors in CITING CQ RESEARCHER chat rooms. Sample formats for citing these reports in a bibliography Wyss, Jim, “Chaperoning On The Net,” The Miami Herald, include the ones listed below. Preferred styles and formats Feb. 8, 2006, p. C1. vary, so please check with your instructor or professor. A background screening company will police a new gaming- meets-dating site that uses fantasy and role-playing. MLA STYLE Jost, Kenneth. “Rethinking the Death Penalty.” CQ Researcher MySpace.com 16 Nov. 2001: 945-68.

Gaither, Chris, and Dawn C. Chmielewski, “MySpace APA STYLE Takes Measures to Make Hip Youth Web Site Predator- Jost, K. (2001, November 16). Rethinking the death penalty. Free,” The Houston Chronicle, April 12, 2006, p. 8. The social-networking site MySpace.com has hired a former CQ Researcher, 11, 945-968. federal prosecutor to patrol the service and launched ads CHICAGO STYLE warning kids about Internet predators. Jost, Kenneth. “Rethinking the Death Penalty.” CQ Researcher, Gunderson, Matt, “Police Delete Minor Users From November 16, 2001, 945-968. Website,” The Boston Globe, Feb. 23, 2006, p. 1.

Available online: www.cqresearcher.com July 28, 2006 647 In-depth Reports on Issues in the News

Are you writing a paper? Need backup for a debate? Want to become an expert on an issue? For 80 years, students have turned to CQ Researcher? for in-depth reporting on issues in the news. Reports on a full range of political and social issues are now available. Following is a selection of recent reports:

Civil Liberties Education Health/Safety Social Trends Right to Die, 5/05 Academic Freedom, 10/05 Rising Health Costs, 4/06 Blog Explosion, 6/06 Immigration Reform, 4/05 Intelligent Design, 7/05 Pension Crisis, 2/06 Controlling the Internet, 5/06 Gays on Campus, 10/04 No Child Left Behind, 5/05 Avian Flu Threat, 1/06 Gender and Learning, 5/05 Domestic Violence, 1/06 Terrorism/Defense Crime/Law Disaster Preparedness, 11/05 Port Security, 4/06 War on Drugs, 6/06 Environment Presidential Power, 2/06 Domestic Violence, 1/06 Nuclear Energy, 3/06 International Affairs/Politics Death Penalty Controversies, 9/05 Climate Change, 1/06 Change in Latin America, 7/06 Youth Methamphetamines, 7/05 Saving the Oceans, 11/05 Pork Barrel Politics, 6/06 National Service, 6/06 Identity Theft, 6/05 Endangered Species Act, 6/05 Future of European Union, 10/05 Teen Spending, 5/06 Marijuana Laws, 2/05 Alternative Energy, 2/05 War in Iraq, 10/05 Bullying, 2/05 Teen Driving, 1/05 Upcoming Reports Drinking on Campus, 8/18/06 Stem Cell Research, 9/1/06 Voting Reforms, 9/15/06 Treatment of Detainees, 8/25/06 Sex Offenders, 9/8/06 Abortion, 9/22/06

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