MySpace Mania
Love it or leave it, IVCC students know
MySpace
By Maggie Rhynes
IV Leader Staff
It seems MySpace fever is sweeping through Illinois Valley
Community College. The online phenomenon began in 2003 but recently exploded
with popularity. According to a Wall Street Journal article published in
February, MySpace was the eighth-most-visited website in January and its traffic
doubled in the last six months of 2005.
The popular site allows users to create an online profile,
complete with custom backgrounds, music videos, photos and blogs. The main draw
on MySpace is the ability for users to gather “friends,” other MySpace users who
are then linked to each other's profiles. A MySpace user can ask another user to
add them as a friend and once they are approved, friends can leave comments on
each other's pages, send private messages and leave comments on blogs.
For many IVCC students, the draw to MySpace seems to be
two-fold: show off your creativity and keep in touch with friends. Kalie Judge
of LaSalle is an avid MySpace users. Judge said, "MySpace is a great way to show
your personality with the ways that you set up your background and the different
ways that you can put photos and make slide shows." Judge also uses MySpace to
make new friends and keep in touch with old ones.
"MySpace is a great way to keep in touch with people that you
don't always get to see and don't always get a chance to talk to." She said.
For Brian Eller, a student from Earlville, graduating with
only 31 students in his class, college meant a time to make new friends and
MySpace proved helpful. Eller now has 89 friends on MySpace and says it was an
easy way to meet new people.
Megan Denton, a freshman from Ottawa, also uses her MySpace account to keep in
touch with friends, and stay on top of her classes. "MySpace has allowed me to
meet many different kinds of people from all over the world and from IVCC. Not
only can I keep in touch with my friends that have went away to college, I can
contact my peers that I have in certain classes to find out what assignments we
have due for the next class period." She explained.
For those who swear by MySpace, what my have started out as
following a trend quickly turns to an addiction. Judge said, "When I first got
an account, I never wanted to go on it. Now, it is like an addiction that you
just cannot cut."
The thrill of seeing the red "New Message!" or "New Comment!"
memo that appears on a profile when a user has received something from a friend
is enough to keep Denton checking her space frequently. "Getting new comments,
new friend request and new messages makes my day!" she said.
Brenna Jackson, another student from Peru is also hooked. "I
use it everyday and I love it!" she said.
Heather Huffaker of Seatonville has also caught the MySpace
bug, "I have a MySpace account which I'm on pretty much everyday. The reason
behind my addiction to MySpace I haven't figured out yet. Honestly, there isn't
anything that's overly great about the whole program, yet I can't stop logging
in."
For others, the use is more moderate, like John Wallaert who
says he likes MySpace, but usually only uses it during breaks between classes.
For all those who love MySpace, there are just as many who
seem less thrilled with the invention. For most IVCC students, the avoidance of
MySpace has to do with time limitations. Ashley Kimes of Ottawa said, "I do not
have the time to even create and keep up with a MySpace account."
Denise Hyan from Marseilles agreed: "I don't have enough time
to sit and do all of that (send messages and post photos). I'm either at school
or work. I'm not really home a whole lot."
Kimes also noted that few of her friends use MySpace, making
it an unworthy investment of her time.
Like many others, she also mentioned safety. "There is just
something unsettling about having my pictures posted for anyone out there to
view," she said.
Adam Stefko of La Salle said he doesn't worry about his
personal safety because he doesn't post any type of material that might be
considered inappropriate to a school or employer. But then, he says, there are
those who post "pictures of themselves drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana or
nearly nude pictures," and Stefko wonders if such practices won't come back to
haunt them.
Dawn Bachman of Toluca has the same theory. "I myself am not worried about
security because I don't post pictures of anything personal. I really hate to
say it, but I believe MySpace is a great way for online predators to find their
next victim(s), to be honest," she said.
Wallaert said he wasn't as concerned. "I am not really
worried about security for the fact that I don't put enough personal information
on the Internet for people to 'steal' or anything. I just have a few pictures
with friends and that's about it."
Jackson also doesn't worry about her privacy with MySpace.
"As far as security goes, you hold the option of whether or not you want to
accept the person as a friend. My advice is simple, don't accept somebody if you
don't know them" she said.
Jackson also noted there are ways to protect your privacy.
"If you are truly worried about it, set your page to private. To be quite
honest, people can find things out on the Internet if they truly want to. If
people are that psychotic, they will do what they can do [to get information]
and MySpace isn't the main source of that."
Available on the MySpace home page are tips and warnings
about use, such as "Don't forget that your profile and MySpace forums are public
spaces." The warning advises against posting anything "you wouldn't want the
world to know," such as location information and how to be contacted. The site
also warns that people can be deceiving and meeting people, in person, that a
user doesn't fully know is a bad idea. Further, users are warned against lying,
particularly about age. "Don't mislead people into thinking that you're older or
younger. If you lie about your age, MySpace will delete your profile," the site
warns.
While some shy away from hosting Internet profiles for
privacy reasons and others avoid MySpace for a lack of time, a few clicks around
MySpace shows that plenty of IVCC students and alumni have jumped on the MySpace
bandwagon.
Users can choose to add their schools to their profiles,
listing both current and previous schools. Links to a specific school can then
be followed to view all the MySpace users who list a particular school on their
profile. As of press time, MySpace IVCC homepage lists 796 current students and
405 alumni.
Another advantage of listing a school on a user's profile is
the ability to then "grade" professors at that school, anonymously of course.
There are currently 138 IVCC professors, both full and part-time, graded on
MySpace. Students can search professors by name or by department, aiding them
when it’s time to register for classes.
Clearly, MySpace fever has become an epidemic on campus, with
few students immune to the Internet craze. Whether the craze is just another
phase, like GigaPets and Pogs in the 90s, or a here-to-stay addition to our
culture, like instant messaging and cell phones, only time will tell. But with
well over 50 million members world wide, it doesn't look like MySpace will be
going anywhere any time soon.