MySpace versus Facebook

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Ok, now that we have discussed some of the risks and benefits of social networking, I want to return to an issue that we have discussed before on this blog.  And that is whether or not any one particular social networking environment is “safer” than the others.  And if so, how?  When I talk to adults I often hear them say that they would never let their children on MySpace, but they allow them on Facebook.  MySpace certainly received the weight of the negative attention that was directed toward online social networking over the last couple of years, but again, in essence Facebook isn’t any different.  Or is it?

We are definitely seeing a trend of adolescents migrating away from MySpace to Facebook.  In our presentations to students I we always ask how many of the attendees have profiles on MySpace and/or Facebook and the ratio has begun to shift in favor of Facebook.  I even find this to be true among my friends; even though I have been on Facebook for a couple of years, I have received more friend requests in the last several weeks than ever before (whereas hardly anyone contacts me on MySpace anymore).

What are your thoughts?  Have you also seen this trend away from MySpace and toward Facebook?  What do you think explains this?  Do you think there is a perception among the public that Facebook is safer than MySpace?

8 Comments

  1. I think facebook is stupid and boring! It has none of the features that myspace has such as adding a playlist to your profile, backgrounds or any other images you want.

  2. I think Facebook is less exciting because of its original purpose. In my opinion, Facebook was created for individuals with only an educational email address marked by ".edu." I feel it is made for socialization between friends who no longer have the chance to see each other in person because they now attend different schools. It is more about interaction with individuals you know and keeping in touch, not meeting new people. This to me would make it reasonable to believe that Facebook, ideally, would be safer…however with it now opened to everyone, the ideals change. Somewhat disappointing…

  3. Most people say that myspace has alot more people on it than Facebook. Facebook has alot of high school and college leveled students whereas myspace everybody any age can have one. I once saw a video passed through my email from a friend that said that if myspace was a continent, it would be either the 1st or 2nd largest continent in the world, thats how many people are in it. I deffinetely would say that I have moved from myspace to facebook. (which I have) In my own knowledgeable opinion, Facebook is safer than Myspace and I think its starting to be a fact!

  4. I think the belief that Facebook is safer than MySpace comes from the perception that Facebook is sort of a "graduation" site. MySpace is considered a networking site for pre-teens and high school, whereas Facebook is considered a site for college and older. Also, ask any teenager (I teach high school), it's not too difficult to access someone's information on MySpace even if their page is set to "private". It's a pretty easy hack. Facebook seems to have better security.

  5. Compared to MySpace, privacy is better in Facebook since viewing profiles especially private albums is more difficult in Facebook. In MySpace, even if the page is in private settings, people can still access your profile. Furthermore, Facebook updates its system to counter view private picture codes out in the open today. So, Is Facebook Safer than MySpace?

    Definitely so! 😀

  6. Social networks have been around for longer than most people think. My first account activation for a social network was not for Myspace or for Facebook, for these two giants didn't’t even exist at the time. It was a social network called MiGente. The layout of the site was identical to that of any social network available now just without the perks of endless video and/or picture uploads. One would state their likes, dislikes, favorite movies, favorite books, nationality, etc. The only difference between this and the social networks available now was that it was strongly community interlocked, meaning most if not all the members of the social network were of one common social factor. The factor in MiGente is obviously to be of Hispanic descent. Not to say there wasn't’t people of other races enrolled in the network, but the majority was Hispanic. This website still exists today but not as prevalent as it was in the past. With the creation of Myspace and Facebook, this and other smaller concentrated social networks begin to diminish.

    According to the Pew Research Center studies, 73% of wired teens use social networking sites and 47% of adults do so too. Therefore, it is needless to say that the overall online community who take part in these sites is potentially diverse.

    The question becomes, if this is what a social network is suppose to provided for those who engage in it, why are there so many issues present within these digital community? Why does cyberbullying ensue, potentially leading to cyberbullicide? Instead of using these networks for what they were originally intended for, individuals have began to use it for means of rumor spreading and identity theft. My theory behind the excessive misbehavior within these networks is that Myspace is the cause of it all. Like I stated previously, before Myspace grew to popularity, the majority of individuals active in networking were part of small online communities. Whether what divided these individuals into separate networks was race, political affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, etc., it didn't’t matter because people within that community shared that common factor. The Republicans had their network, as did the sex addicts, as did the latinos, and the list goes on. Though this seems like a form of segregation, its vile aspect becomes nonexistent once it becomes voluntary, and this was the case in social networking at the time. Even Facebook was a separate network at one point. When Facebook first emerged, it was only accessible to college/university students who could provide a legit .edu email address. This was more intricate than other social networks because it had a restriction against people not in college, making the common factor of its network mandatory. Cyber complications at this time weren't’t as severe as they are now and most conflicts were individual and easily resolved because the common factor provided a sense of respect and comfort, or at least so I felt in my personal experience. Then Myspace came about.

    Myspace was the first social network that acted as a melting pot for all social networks. It didn't’t request an age limit, ethnicity, gender,etc., and it put every single network user into one place. So what was once a digital world with separate communities spread throughout, became an overpopulated major city. And like any city in the real world, overpopulation leads to more crime and this concept can be linked with cyber violence. Soon after Myspace exploded, Facebook removed its regulations in order to keep up and the rest is history. In my opinion, it can never go back to the way it was.

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