MySpace to Offer Spyware for Parents 282
mrspin writes "Following continuing pressure from politicians (and parts of the media), MySpace is planning to offer parents the chance to download software which will monitor aspects of their children's activities on the social networking site. From a business point of view, the move appears to be a highly risky one. The young users of social networking sites are notorious for their lack of loyalty — and history suggests that a change like this could tempt many to abandon MySpace for the 'next cool thing'."
Maybe I'm just wierd (Score:2, Insightful)
So much for that ... (Score:4, Insightful)
Children are innovative. (Score:2, Insightful)
I'm sure the developers of this software spent much time during their youth trying to hide and protect their ill-obtained, yet sacred, copies of Hustler, Penthouse and Playboy. Just as they succeeded then, the youth of today will no doubt succeed in protecting the Web activities they hold sacred.
Parental Paranoia (Score:5, Insightful)
What is this "MySpace" you speak of? (Score:1, Insightful)
The submitter is right -- the margin of error that sites like these have before they alienate kids with the attention span of a greased weasel on crystal meth is razor-thin. It's not like most of them have invested any significant amount of time on their page; the same blinking yellow text on a bright purple background with Celine Dion screeching in the background can be recreated in The Next Great Social Networking Site in approximately three minutes.
Sure, you'll have to rebuild "your network", but most youth would ten times rather do this than conduct all of their (potentially sensitive) discourse on a site where they know that their parents are listening in.
Re:HA HA HA (Score:5, Insightful)
How will they verify it's the real parents? (Score:5, Insightful)
Perhaps I am dull witted tonight, but I can't imagine how they can make this spyware foolproof.
Well designed, ill reciecved (Score:4, Insightful)
This is a well thought-out solution, as it provides the important information while still providing privacy to the user.
Unfortunately, for many teens any information is too much to share, and many parents think that any privacy is too much to allow.
Too Technical? (Score:4, Insightful)
Okay, let's disregard whether parents would/should need a piece of software to help them watch their children.
More importantly, how are these parents going to install and use this software? I would say that the majority children are more tech-savvy than their parents, and aren't likely to willingly help their parents peer into their private life.
So, how are parents going to install and configure a piece of software that will require user names and other information they might need to ask their children for anyways? What's to stop a child from setting up a dummy account to render the software useless?
Useless (Score:4, Insightful)
So it tells the parents the exact same information they would get by searching for their kids name, email, or username on myspace. Even the private/hidden profiles that I've seen still show username, age and location. How is downloading some proprietary software to get publicly available information useful?
Re:Solution to crappy parenting? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Parental Paranoia (Score:4, Insightful)
Most parents can safely assume their kids are only talking to people they personally know? Not really advocating one side or the other here, just saying - it's a real difference; there are others, too.
Seriously... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Maybe I'm just wierd (Score:5, Insightful)
I seem to see it as:
Everyone's all for spying, until they're the ones being spied on.
Responsible (Score:4, Insightful)
Mistrust will not help your children at all.... (Score:4, Insightful)
An essential component of this is to trust your children. Sure, they will do stupid things, but hey, they are children and still learning. And if they know they can talk to you they may actually come to ask for advice. Don't bbe shocked or appalled, just try to do the best you can. And if you don't know, say so. And if you are uncomfotable with some of your childrens choices, tell them that, but also let them make their choices.
Eventually it boild down to respect. Respect your children. If you do that, then there is no way in hell that you can spy on them, which in my and very likely in your children's eyes is the ultimate sugn of disrespect.
Re:Armageddon (Score:3, Insightful)
You overlook one thing (Score:3, Insightful)
And history also suggests that parents are quick to file lawsuits, juries are quick to side with the parents, and legislators are quick to pass new restrictive laws. Those trump what kids might do.
Myspace already gets held accountable for a very high degree of parental stupidity. They are merely trying to cover their own asses.
Re:Many wont do anything (Score:3, Insightful)
As a parent, and a Linux user at home and Windows user I'd agree to a certain point. My kids want to use/see certain sites that I just don't agree with. My house, I pay the bills for internet, end of frickin story. I don't actually block sites, but I let them know which ones they should avoid.
Another thing, WTF are you grouping this as a "Typical Windows User"? Moron.
Re:Responsible (Score:3, Insightful)
I know plenty of people who see no reason to monitor their children. If you can't trust your kids, perhaps it is time to take another look at how you've raised them.
Re:Children are innovative. (Score:5, Insightful)
Children are curious and will always try to see how far they can go before they overstep their boundaries. As parent it is up to you to define those boundaries with out being too restrictive although this can be a very difficult thing. Again this is were dialog comes in. It is normally a "cop out" on the parent's part to blindly agree with so called "well meaning" people who state that they are protecting their child's freedom because children are always going to do the wrong thing. Too many parents are willing to put their child's moral upbringing in the hands of people who probably have no idea of how to bring up a child themselves.
I have mainly trivialised this but common sense must prevail between parent and child and a parent must be willing (even if it is embarrassing) to discuss everything especially sex with their child, otherwise the child will find out anyway and usually from their peers who don't know that much or who have distorted view.
Hence if a parent does not know when asked a question by their child then the onus is on them to find out and come out with the correct answer that is not clouded by prejudice even though the parent may not like it because of their upbringing. If you as a parent can handle this you may actually learn something as well.
I don't mean to say that bringing up a child is easy, it is not, but meaningful dialog can go along way.
Re:Children are innovative. (Score:2, Insightful)
Social networking at its best, would be the method to defeat this.
Of course, chances are really good that every bulletin like that would just link to a porn site, a pyramid scheme, a myspace layout site, or, ironically enough, more spyware.
Re:As I said to my wife... (Score:3, Insightful)
Otherwise, you'll find out too late that
1. the account you have a password to isn't her only account
2. the monitoring software you installed was bypassed by a LINUX LIVE CD or usb drive
3. she's using a friend's computer
4. she's safe from online predators, but not her 13 year old boyfriend living down the block.
5. etc.,etc.,etc.
Re:I expect I'll be modded as a troll for this (Score:3, Insightful)
And how would you like it if someone sat down at your computer any time they wanted to see what you are doing? What do you expect your kids to do when they move out? They will rebel against your overbearing spying, thus destroying any reason you may have done it in the first place. Kind of like telling a 3 year old not to stick his hand on the stove: he will just want to do it more, where the best method maybe to let him, or at least feel the heat coming off of it...
People they expect kids to magically "grow up" at the 18/21 point make me sad. If they have never HAD to grow up, or more, never were allowed to see the outcome of their actions, what makes you think 18 is different than 12? Better make those mistakes while there is someone (ie, you) for them to fall back on than hope it all works out afterwards. An analogy would be not testing a new jet engine because it may blow up and just put it on jets and hope it works.
Re:As I said to my wife... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Well designed, ill reciecved (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Parental Paranoia (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Solution to crappy parenting? (Score:5, Insightful)
I've invented a perfect device for this purpose:
The KitchenTable(tm) (patent pending)
You install this device in a commons area of your home, and then one day you sit your kid down at the table and ass him or her, "OK, (name), I would never spy on you, but I keep hearing so much about MySpace and predators. Would you please walk me through the site and show me what it's all about? That would really make me more comfortable." (conversation NOT included).
This will in most cases cause the child to agree, and show the parent around the site (Warning: child/parent bonding may occur). If the tactic fails, the KitchenTable (tm) may be returned for a full refund, reddemable towards the purchase of The Dungeon (tm).
I am a bad parent (Score:2, Insightful)
Needless to say, his computer is not behind a squid proxy and is locked down to not going to any internet sites unless we approve and add them for homework reasons or other reasons... but we have to approve and add manually. This (for now) keeps the chat rooms, sites like this at bay. Although it does not keep the kid from going somewhere else and posting.. my theory is that while he is under our roof, he plays by my rules. He can like it or lump it.
It is like video games.. I play them with him, I see what computer and console games he is playing, and if I deem one inappropriate, it doesn't get played. Sure, I let him play Quake, Unreal, Rainbow6.. I have no problem with those games and such like that.. and I realize he can play stuff at friends. But, I am still the parent, and I control what goes on in my home. It is that simple.
Others will probably post what an awful parent I am and how kid is going to retaliate this or that.. but so be it.
Re:Children are innovative. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:As I said to my wife... (Score:1, Insightful)
The cheapest low-end cellphones availible in the stores are about 30$.
Alot of kids got cellphones. Actually most kids over the age of 6 do.
It's because it's a very good way for the parents to communicate with their child.
Example:
- They can tell their kid they will be late for the kindergarten pick up.
- They get to know if something bad happend at school, and can act on that.
- They can call their kid, to tell dinner is ready.
- They can call to find out where their kid are, if "lost" at some neighbors house.
Essentially. Almost all parents want their kids to have cellphones.
Many child-phones here are locked to only recieving calls, and only calling-out certain numbers, IE mum, dad, grandma, teacher.
So. The cellphones are not for rich kids. Wake up!
Re:Responsible (Score:3, Insightful)
I wasn't a *bad* kid, but that doesn't my parents had reason to trust me completely. I pushed the limits, and I suppose my children will do the same. In fact, I've got a two year old who is doing that right now. Reason does not apply to the mind of a child, unfortunately.
Kids push the limits because they haven't yet learned that limits exist. It's kind of like running into the street without looking. You and I can figure out that just because you do it once and didn't get hurt doesn't mean it's safe. But kids often don't know any better; they don't have the benefit of experience that we do.
Granted, they'll learn, one way or another. One way of learning - that is, teaching your children, doesn't leave emotional (and sometimes physical) scars. The other way - experience - can be rather painful and have lasting negative effects. Imagine if children had to learn not to play in the street by experience.
MySpace is not much different. Children don't understand adults; if they've been raised in a loving family, they might not understand why anyone would want to hurt them. They don't have the experience and judgement necessary to recognized the telltale signs that someone might have ulterior motives (could a 12 year old even spell ulterior?)
I don't think there's anything wrong with giving children a little leeway to experience the world. They do need exposure to things outside the immediate family for proper development. However, parents have a duty to provide the oversight necessary to keep their children from getting hurt. While the MySpace solution is simplistic, I think that's what this whole thing is all about. Maybe you can trust your kids. Or, maybe you're just naive.
Re:Parental Paranoia (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Children are innovative. (Score:3, Insightful)
At some stage (normally when the child gets into their teens) the parent has to start letting go and relaxing their supervision (this is called trust). It is very important for a parent to talk to their child and as the child gets older the dialog must become more meaningful so that greater trust when given is something a child can look forward to earning.
That's very nice. I'm sure they'll have no problem monitoring their kids online activities when they lose the house and internet access because they get fired because everyone complains about how they "only" work 40 hours a week so they can be a good parent.
Because that's what I hear a lot on /. when there's talk of people with kids in the workplace. I'm afraid you can't be a good parent AND work like you don't have kids.
Re:As I said to my wife... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:As I said to my wife... (Score:2, Insightful)