Myspace.com Becoming Sexual Marketplace

Recently I have been joining the world of online communities and have finally given into my friend’s requests to have me on myspace.com. Myspace.com, which I’m sure most of you know about by now, is an online community allowing people of all ages to sign up and communicate with others. It allows the posting of pictures, stories and blogs, and the joining of groups with people of common interests. I feel however, that most people abuse the privileges myspace.com gives and have been promoting themselves for sex. 

As I have looked around I have found pages for porn stars, strippers and countless do-it-yourselfers. Each page usually has pictures of the account holder in lingerie and sexual poses trying to get more friends. Specific groups are designated for meet ups and sexual encounters. In any given day, someone who spends time on myspace.com could locate hundreds of people to contact online or in person for sex. 

I really have no argument against myspace.com being used in this fashion. The trend follows along with other technologies we have learned about in class. Many times, a new technology or product of technology will be used in a sexual manner, not necessarily what it was meant for. The demand for sexual content is ever growing and people will look to fill that demand anyway possible. 

There is one problem I have noticed about myspace.com however, and that’s the possibility of exploiting children. Myspace.com and other sites of this sort are a growing fad for teens and many of them are vulnerable to online solicitation. When I was browsing sex groups on myspace.com I came across some that really bothered me. I found titles such as “Underage Lesbians” and “Boys Who Dress in Panties and Girls Who Like Them.” These groups may be innocent in nature and with a positive objective, to support children who are unsure of sexuality. However, I feel that these types of groups are bait for anybody looking to prey on children. Myspace.com needs to be aware of these types of groups, even if they are created by users. Offering these services and not attempting to protect the people who use them, makes Myspace.com liable if a situation should arrive. 

In summary, Myspace.com offers a great community atmosphere but its use is becoming mainly sexual. More and more people are making themselves available for sex and meet-ups with other users. As I stated, I have no real problem with this as long as children are not being forced into sex.