Although Facebook is a relatively contemporary Web site, it is at battle with an arch nemesis known as MySpace. The Goliath of our David, MySpace has become a corporate empire, filled with advertisements, disgusting pre-teens taking lewd photos of themselves and posting them for pedophiles to ogle over. MySpace is a disappointment for several reasons.
Number One: MySpace is for everyone of all ages. Sure, it is a wonderful marketing objective, meeting people from all over the world, but the age gap situation can be a bit much. For example, the young kids who need to be a certain age to have a profile are on. It is beyond easy for children to make a profile and lie about their age, though the snapshots sometimes give it away. In this sense, MySpace is largely irresponsible. There is a reason why there is an age requirement for joining the Web site, and there should be some system in place to deter those under age.
Number Two: MySpace harassment and murder. MySpace has become an ominous forum. There have been several reports that young girls have been harassed or murdered after having contact with pedophiles via MySpace. The Associated Press stated that “police in Connecticut were investigating as many as seven teenage girls who have been sexually assaulted by men they met through MySpace. The girls, ages 12 to 16, are from Middletown and say they were fondled or had consensual sex with men who turned out to be older than they claimed.”
Number Three: The art of stalking has been perfected with MySpace. You can never escape a friend request from certain people. While persistence gets the job done, persistence on the Internet can be an act of desperation. A 13-year-old commenting on wanting to have sexual relations with someone almost twice their age is both tasteless and pathetic. Stalking can be downright scary. The fact that people can search for someone by name or e-mail address is a frightening idea.
On the other hand, Facebook has a more sophisticated approach. It is limited to certain individuals (high school and college students and alumni only) and you have the same opportunities to search for friends from high school or friends from long ago. Additionally, it is constantly updated. We can see how people are connected to one another and classes we share. Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg has given us birthday reminders and the opportunity to upload unlimited amounts of photos; features that only MySpace has recently added to its site.
In conclusion, MySpace has worn out its welcome in the World Wide Web. It can redeem itself, if only Tom Anderson (its creator) made the necessary changes to make it as distinguished as Facebook.
Facebook dominates.
