MySpace

The local media, including the Republican American and especially WFSB (Channel 3), have been focussing a lot of attention on myspace.com lately. WFSB seems to be waging a campaign against it. Public opinion seems to be that it is the root of all evil, or close to it.

There is an internet generation gap. I'm not sure exactly what age the gap happens at, I suppose it varies depending on the person, but certainly most people over 40 seem to have a deeply rooted fear or distrust of the internet. I'm 34, and I remember when computers were introduced into the schools. There was a general sense of nervousness on the part of the adults. We were cautioned to be very, very careful, because if you did one wrong thing, you would destroy everything on the computer and possibly end existence. As far as I know, none of my classmates ever encountered any computer catastrophe worse than losing the paper they had been working on.

Most people younger than me probably can't remember a time before computers. Computers are as familiar and friendly to them as the television is to older generations. The leading complaint against MySpace seems to be the supposed preponderance of sexual predators stalking all those naive young girls. I'm pretty sure that sexual predators were around long before computers. If they weren't prowling the internet for victims, they'd be stalking them some other way. MySpace seems to do a good job of preventing crimes and/or catching perpetrators.

Personally, I really like websites like MySpace. I can't speak for everyone who uses them, but they're great for keeping in touch with friends who have moved away, or finding and reconnecting with friends you haven't seen in years. This is one of the real strengths of the internet: communication. Despite the fears of certain older people, the internet is not replacing face-to-face communication, it is supplementing it. My life is much richer and my friendships are much stronger because of sites like MySpace, Blogger, LiveJournal and just plain old email. (okay, I have to giggle here -- "plain old email" -- the newfangled becomes old hat so quickly!).