Understanding the Communication Styles of Teens

MySpace allows users to share interests and hobbies, post photos and videos, post blogs and bulletins, and share messages and comments. For many teens, it's a way to meet people, share things about themselves, and communicate with friends. If it were that simple, it would be fine. However, the reality of MySpace and similar networking Web sites is that they have become vehicles for sharing too much information. Teens and pre-teens (who set up My Space pages despite the age requirement of 14) post personal information, including pictures, hometowns, e-mail address, and other information that can be a target for on-line predators. Many teens post provocative pictures and inappropriate comments and language. Some teens develop an "on-line persona" that may be very different from the person adults and peers see on a daily basis. http://www.joe.org/joe/2007april/tt1.php