Well to start out, social networking has exploded over the past eight years. Ranging from using instant messenger to the very popular sites Facebook and Myspace. Focusing mainly on these two sites the way they work are very simple.
These are web pages where you post simple things about yourself, what you like to eat, your favorite movie and so on. You also post pictures of yourself for people to know who you are, and you can post other pictures of you and your friends for people to see them. Now after doing all this, you can look up your a good friend who has a page, or a friends friend, and so on.
Personally I like to use Facebook, because I believe that its less childish than Myspace, but that is up to the users opinion, Lately Ive heard many older people talking about how they set up a Facebook page and were able to connect with high school friends whom they lost touch with. In some cases setting up meeting times with them and reconnecting a long lost friendship.
When you review these sites in that manner you like to think "hey that's a great site" but like everything in the world, there is a dark side. Many child molesters and sex craved people use these sites to their advantage, making themselves seem like they are people whom are nice trusting people, but really are not.
The dangers of posting all of your personally information on these sites is a great risk to those who are not aware of the security options. Many of these sites are cracking down and letting the user block whomever they like, and to limit an outsider from seeing their page at all. Though these security options are getting better people still find ways to prey on those who do not take full advantage of these.
Just last year over 90,000 sex offenders were found and kicked off of Myspace
http://techcrunch.com/2009/02/03/thousands-of-myspace-sex-offender-refugees-found-on-facebook/
Many sex offenders are using these sites to sometimes find younger women, or men to fulfill there urges, others may be trying to fulfill normal lives, but the danger is still out there for those who are not aware of how they can protect themselves. The problem with this particular situation is that when kicked off, these people are been said to just find another social networking site, i.e Facebook. In the article they believe that many of these offenders just move to Facebook and try to elude the authorities trying to rid them from these sites.
Many states are setting laws in place limiting sex offenders from using these sites, a few months after 90,000 offenders were found on Myspace, New York found another 3,500 offenders, and preceded to kick them off the site, according to
http://mashable.com/2009/12/01/facebook-myspace-sex-offenders/
Though Myspace and Facebook are the center of discussion there are many more social networking sites that are being looked at for sex offenders, and to keep them out of their sites. But the lesson to be learned from all this is to keep yourself out of the position to be lured in by a predator, and in the wrong situation. So use the privacy options to its fullest and make sure that you know exactly who you are talking to or befriending on these social networking sites.
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