Kids on Myspace retarded?

[tivodan1116]

Quote by: ruksak You may qualify as my friend if I know you. You cannot know someone on the internet.

In your opinion.

[Maryjane]

You cannot know someone on the internet.

People can lie and scam you just as easily in person as they can online.

[tinybear]

Quote by: Praxius I haven't even touched my MySpace site in forever. Too much garbage to play around with to make it look like I want.... that and too many unknown fools try and add me from the oddest places in the world, who I have no connection to. The only thing I play around on now, which is also quite rare, is Facebook.

Hey, are you on Facebook too?

[ruksak]

Quote by: Maryjane People can lie and scam you just as easily in person as they can online.

Thats not true. They CAN scam and lie to you. But it is far more difficult when you actually know them. You cannot know someone just by internet interaction. For example; With little effort I could convince you that I am a 400 pound amputee with a medal of valor from the Vietnam war.

[triad]

OH MY GOD.


I am going to die in 546 days.



Seriously though, facebook was a fad at first - and I thought it was kind of neat that I could find old friends. Now it just bores me.


And yes, the internet seems to be filled with ads that are meant to attract idiots.

[Heather]

I think the thing with MySpace is it can be used as a shouting box for drama.

Something like a: "HEY LOOK AT ME!" scream for attention.

I myself do have a MySpace page and use it pretty frequently. I use it entirely as a means to keep in touch with friends, mostly real life friends.

My boyfriend seems to have a few interesting characters on his MySpace and I've noticed the definate pattern from one or two of them for the over-dramatic.

I have one of those as well, but she's been a friend since I was about 12, so I enjoy her drama because I understand it.

My point: Kids on MySpace aren't any more retarded then they are in real life.

In principle, used by those with brains, it's not bad, it really is a great way to keep in touch and if you've been out of touch, a way to see how things have been going in their life.

[Maryjane]

I use my myspace to share photographs with friends and connect with others who share my interests. I always chuckle when I see the kids I know from hockey put that they are 21 years old when I know for a fact (as a team manager and board member) that they were born before 1987. Their photographs are ones taken at their jr/sr prom or a team photograph from an U18/ U16 team.

Thats not true. They CAN scam and lie to you.

I never said they couldn't.

With little effort I could convince you that I am a 400 pound amputee with a medal of valor from the Vietnam war.

And as time progressed, the truth would eventually come out therefore ending the "relationship" just as it would in "real life. Not because I'm shallow but because trust had been broken. I feel a "cyber" communication is a lot easier to end than one in 3-D.


I don't know what your experience has been oline, but a great majority of my friendship (male and female) would not have been possible without the internet. I've known a lot of these folks for almost 4 years. A few are "friends" on myspace. Some I've never met face to face, but eventually hope to, some I met at a get together in St.Louis, my family and I went on vacation for a week at the beach with two and their families. There is no doubt they are who they say they are.

I don't hold friendships long if there is no trust online or off. I've let go of enough of them in my real life. I have many friends in real life, but I also enjoy my online social interactions just as much. I find communicating with people all over the world to be intellectually stimulating. There are several people on Volconvo I'd like to meet. I'm pretty confident they are who they say they are.

FWIW... From personal experience (and talking with others) the only people I'd worry about lying and scamming me are the ones I see as potential dates and that's because there is a possiblity that they would venture into my real life. I don't want or need someone else's drama effecting my life. I've found out several ways of fishing out who's being truthful and who's not all for free and if I was really concerned, a back ground check is easy enough to do for a few dollars.

[ruksak]

Quote by: Maryjane FWIW

What does that mean? I don't speak robot.

I don't know what your experience has been oline, but a great majority of my friendship (male and female) would not have been possible without the internet.

I don't befriend people on the internet. Ever. Not once. Thats not to say that I'm not "friendly" to people. I will not correspond with anyone I "meet" on the internet beyond what you and I are doing now.

I don't have a problem with people wanting to do so. I think its odd. Then again I'm anti-social when not around my good friends. People I've known for years and years, many of them for over two decades.

[Jack]

FWIW=for what it's worth.

You may want to bookmark this link for future reference: http://www.netlingo.com/

[Lilith]

I watched my 16 year old neice the other day get on Myspace and talk with all her friends and try to meet boys. It was quite amusing to say the least. Teenage drama, I feel so old. Was I ever that young? Yeah, I guess I was, eons ago it feels like. I got on Myspace to find a old highschool friend of mine. Found him. Then my first cousin out in California, she found me. Had not talked to her in years. So I don't like have a really big friend list. When I joined, for weeks after, I had people wanting to be my "friend", but it was mostly really weird ones.

[Maryjane]

Thats not to say that I'm not "friendly" to people.

What does that mean? I don't speak robot.

That's friendly? With a condescending attitude like that, I have a feeling you wouldn't be someone I would communitcate with outside of Volconvo anyway...:rolleyes:

[ruksak]

Quote by: Isherwood FWIW=for what it's worth. You may want to bookmark this link for future reference: http://www.netlingo.com/

Sweet, thanks Ish.

I'm kinda out of the loop with NET lingo. Often left to scratch my head and guess what these acronyms mean.

Quote by: Maryjane That's friendly? With a condescending attitude like that, I have a feeling you wouldn't be someone I would communitcate with outside of Volconvo anyway...

Oh c'mon......I'm way funnier in person. Another strike against the sterile exchange of black and white pixelated relationships. Text cannot convey emotion or tone, thus requiring these retarded faces ; I'M HAPPY --I'M JOKING :) -- I'M MAD --I'M CYNICAL :rolleyes: I HAVE A STICK IN MY A*S :eek:

With a name like Maryjane, you'd think we'd get along famously.

[Muser]

Making my living as a computer geek, I felt compelled to respond with a few thoughts that address some of the issues raised in the course of this thread thus far.

The OP: do the ads reflect the intelligence of Myspace users? Yes and no. Myspace is a collective comprised predominantly of youth of all ages, but particularly pre-teens and teens - has this demographic ever been largely characterized as having reason, intelligence or common sense? Think of these 21st-century ads as being similar to previous generations' silly games of "he loves me, he loves me not", dandelion under the chin, Ouija boards, etc.

Certainly some social networking sites contain those out to win an imaginary popularity contest amongst strangers; however, many are there to connect with people they already know in real life, and sites such as Myspace and Facebook make that dead-simple, more interactive and more personal than just emailing back and forth. For many, it doesn't replace face-to-face interaction, as Ruksak alludes to - rather, it augments and facilitates existing friendships.

In my opinion, a leading factor in the explosive growth of these social network sites was the ease in which kids (in particular) could create a webpage and have their own, personal websphere - without having to spend hours learning HTML and domain name technicals, or be limited by a blogsphere's lack of creative visual expression, etc. In 20 seconds and 3 clicks, boom, they're a somebody with a self-expressive web presence for all the world to see. What kid hasn't experienced "Hey, World, Look at ME!!

As an aside, there's an ongoing debate about Myspace and Facebook (similar to Mac vs. PC, Windows vs. Linux, etc.) - this is a rather interesting look at how class division plays a role in these two leading social networking sites:

Viewing American class divisions through Facebook and MySpace

The role class plays is interesting enough, I suppose, but this is what stands out most, in my mind:

Given the state of what I see in all sorts of neighborhoods, I'm amazed at how well teens are coping and I think that technology has a lot to do with that. Teens are using social network sites to build community and connect with their peers. They are creating publics for socialization. And through it, they are showcasing all of the good, bad, and ugly of today's teen life. Much of it isn't pretty, but it ain't pretty offline either. Still, it makes my heart warm when I see something creative or engaged or reflective. There is good out there too.

[edit] Changed "PC vs Linux" to "Windows vs Linux"

[Muser]

Quote by: Lilith I got on Myspace to find a old highschool friend of mine. Found him. Then my first cousin out in California, she found me. Had not talked to her in years.

I consider the ability to easily locate long-lost friends or family a checkmark in the positive box for social networking.

Quote by: Lilith When I joined, for weeks after, I had people wanting to be my "friend", but it was mostly really weird ones.

You can eliminate this via your account settings (though you're likely aware of this by now).

[Epistemologist]

I concur

[ruksak]

Quote by: Muser For many, it doesn't replace face-to-face interaction, as Ruksak alludes to - rather, it augments and facilitates existing friendships.

Kids get so sucked into this fake world of theirs that they don't know what's real anymore. You don't know people you meet online.



Share This : MySpace Hoax Leads To Megan Meier Suicide

You are probably gonna hear more about this incident, as it seems to have everything the media loves. Death, Myspace and teenagers. In a nutshell, a cute guy named Josh Evans had taken an interest in 13-year-old Megan Meier and contacted her via her Myspace page. Megan was a girl who had battled depression and struggled with her weight for the majority of her life. But after striking a friendship with Josh, a relationship that Megan's mother was aware of and approved of, her disposition had changed. She was happy, more confident, was losing weight and excited about having her braces removed and her approaching birthday. Then, Josh started posting mean things about Megan and making them public for everyone to see. One of the last messages, allegedly, was that the world would be a better place without her and that everyone hated her. On the day of that message, Megan went to her room and hung herself, three weeks before her birthday. While that is a story in itself, it actually gets a bit worse. Six weeks after her death, the parents of Megan were notified that Josh was not even a real person. He was a fabrication created by a neighbor down the block, an adult woman whose own daughter had once been Megan's friend. This woman knew of Megan's depression, and was friends with the family. The woman has stated that she created the account to check to see what Megan was saying, if anything, about her daughter. The woman, her daughter and an 18-year-old monitored the Josh Evans account.

I told ya so. You don't know people that you meet online.

[tivodan1116]

Quote by: ruksak I told ya so. You don't know people that you meet online.

The Anecdotal Fallacy

Try again.

[ruksak]

Quote by: tivodan1116 The Anecdotal Fallacy Try again.

WTF?


I'm not reading that bullsh*t.

Cut the crap and tell me what your trying to say.

[Maryjane]

You don't know people that you meet online.

So according to you, I'm not a real person?

[HelioPrime]

Quote by: ruksak I told ya so. You don't know people that you meet online.

What if you end with a wife you meet while playing a MMORPG?