Beyond MySpace?!

Not all teens like MySpace, of course. Also reflected in our BlogSafety forum is the view that – to some teens – online social-networkers need to "get a life." The Fort Worth Star-Telegram cites the view of 18-year-old Summer Stoker, "disappointed" with MySpace "by what seemed like less of a social network and more of a popularity contest." Another factor that may cause some teens to move on is all the monitoring that schools and law-enforcement folk are doing in MySpace. For example, the Mississippi Education Department's director of school safety regularly cruises social-networking sites "looking for anything that would threaten students, school officials or the general safety of a school," the Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger reports (and two Maryland teens were charged with setting fires after police saw them bragging in MySpace, the Associated Press reported Sunday). The Star-Telegram article looks at the history of social-networking as well as where it's headed, ending with the idea that maybe teens are looking for all-inclusive, immersive virtual worlds like SecondLife.com. The Fort Worth reporter may be on to something, if the "online nightclub for the global teen market" that launched yesterday takes off (here's the press release). BTW, Second Life is not for minors. See more on this in my items "Lively alternate lives" and "Second Life for teens."