Let’s go over some basic tips for finding a MySpace profile. You might be asking one or two things here, such as:
Why should I find a MySpace profile in the first place?
Doesn’t this imply some sort of invasion of privacy?
In answer to the first question, many parents are finding it necessary to locate their child’s MySpace profile—for their child’s safety and well-being. MySpace is this huge, teeming world, and all sorts of folks hang out there. Many of these folks are harmless enough, it is true, but there ARE predators among them. These predators take advantage of naive young people by getting to know them via their MySpace profile, setting up a meeting, and so forth.
Predators aside, though, MySpace profiles can lead to all sorts of bad things, such as drugs, alcohol, underage sex, the selling of weapons, pornography, you name it. Therefore, it behooves concerned parents to locate their child’s MySpace profile and find out what he or she is up to.
As to the second question, well, I guess it is a sort of invasion of privacy. But remember, you’re the parent. If you suspected that your child had crack cocaine in his or her underwear drawer, you’d take a peek to make sure. A child’s privacy is only sacrosanct so long as the child isn’t participating in harmful, dangerous activities, harmful and dangerous not only to him or herself but to others as well.
It’s really not that difficult to find a MySpace profile. Now, there are millions and millions of MySpace profiles out there, and lots of them use fake names and so forth, but it’s still in the rules that a user must use some legitimate information. Therefore, in order to find a MySpace profile, you first must sign up for a MySpace profile yourself. That is, you must join the club, as it were. You’re only allowed to seek out other MySpace profiles if you have one yourself. Thank goodness that this is an easy thing to do!
Now, when you sign up for a MySpace account it’s probably best that you don’t give your actual name or age, and, most important, that you click on the option that allows you to keep your email account private. Otherwise, your child will know what you’re up to. Once you have an account on MySpace, you’re ready to begin the hunt. What you want to do next is go to search, and then to find a friend. It’s most likely that your child is using an alias (or fake name), and it’s also most likely that your child is using an email address that you’re not aware of. Even so, it doesn’t hurt to try and find their page by using the email address that you’re familiar with.
If these things don’t work, you can enter your zip code and search within ten or twenty miles (or however many) of where you live. Then you can scroll down the page looking at the different pictures belonging to your state. If you find your child’s picture, presto, you’ve got it, and can click on it to see how your child is presenting him or herself and what sort of friends he or she is accruing on the web.
Remember, you might feel guilty at first for finding your child’s MySpace profile and for covering up your tracks afterward (deleting the history on your computer). But children are living in an increasingly dangerous, appalling world, and it’s up to parents to be their children’s guardians no matter how difficult a task it is. It’s not a bad idea to keep watch on what your child is doing on the Internet. Of course, in an ideal world you could talk to them about it, tell them you plan on checking up on them once in a while, and so forth. But if you’ve got a child that’s resistant to any such idea, you’ll have to take matters into your own hands.
