The Internet Is a Menace for Children

Children at Risk on Social Web-Sites

by Yaroslav Lyssenko

[ 09/21/2006 | 11:39 PM ]

A magazine claims children using hugely popular social networking web-sites, such as MySpace.com and Bebo.com, face bullying, unsuitable advertising and pornography.

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“Children are spending hours every week on networking sites, building up their profiles and chatting with friends. However what might seem like innocent fun has a darker, more sinister side,” said Jessica Ross, editor of Computing Which? magazine.

MySpace boasts a global community of nearly 80 million users while Bebo said it had visits from two million British and Irish users in April alone, with over half aged between 13 and 18.

The Which? report said the freedom afforded to users on the sites meant they risked being abused by people claiming to be younger and also provided a “ripe environment for ‘cyber bullying’”, Reuters reports.

The magazine’s researchers said they had set up an account on MySpace, pretending to be a 14-year-old child, without having to any provide proof or age or identity.

“Teenage users need to be aware that there is no way of knowing who is behind the face of a ‘friend,”’ Ross said.

The report added that the mother of a 14-year-old U.S. girl was suing MySpace for $30 million after claiming her daughter was abused by a 19-year-old she met through the site.

• Reuters: Children at Risk on Networking Web Sites: Report.