Rick Robinson, school psychologist at Georgetown Prep, a private all-boys high school in Bethesda, Md., doesn’t think so. Says Robinson, “There would be predators anywhere. If they’re going to the mall, we prepare our kids to protect themselves by saying things like ‘don’t talk to strangers.’ You need to do the same kind of thing with this, by telling them what kind of information not to put on their web page, such as personal information.”

Making friends
Robinson sees benefits to social networking for teens. “I think it’s good, especially for boys, since boys don’t communicate very well, to put things down on the website about themselves. Talking a little bit about yourself and expressing yourself is wonderful.”

“From a psychological point of view, the definition of developing a friendship is the more information you give someone, the more they give back to you about themselves and that’s how you develop a close friendship. This sort of jumpstarts that process, so I see that as a very positive thing.”

Collecting friends is a big part of social networking since each user’s web page tallies the number of friends they have. Teens looking to increase their popularity may become overzealous in admitting new friends to their site and could put themselves in jeopardy by befriending someone who isn’t who they say they are. Robinson urges parents to monitor their children’s contacts periodically.

Electronic boasting
Many teens use their web page to boast about getting drunk or romantic conquests, though this isn’t necessarily cause for concern. Says Robinson, “Teens say things that, of course, they have never done.” Regardless of whether their boasts are more fiction than fact, they have created a public record of themselves on the Internet that more and more college admissions officers and even employers say they are checking up on.

The key to keeping social networking safe, fun, and productive is to monitor what teens are putting on their web page and who they are interacting with. Robinson’s advice to his students is sure to please readers of The Erickson Tribune. “Show your MySpace page to your grandparents,” he says. “And if your grandparents think it’s okay, then it’s okay with me. If they are offended by something, it’s got to come off!”