MySpace study reveals drug, sexual content

By David Kessis
The Collegian

Nudity, profanity, alcohol and drug use, sexual and gang-related images were just some of the themes commonly found among young teenagers on MySpace, a Fresno State professor found in a recent study.

According to Tamyra Pierce, a Mass Communication and Journalism professor, adult themes are all too common among 14- and 15-year-old users of the popular social Web site, MySpace.com
“Sexual content is most pervasive on the Web site, and the 14- and 15-year-old age group is the one with the most nudity,” Pierce said. “There are a lot of pictures of profanity, drug and alcohol use, gang activity, weapons and comments about illegal activities.”

Pierce first became interested in MySpace in the past year when she surveyed 300 high school students in the area who had posted risqué material. Curious to find out more, Pierce randomly searched 700 MySpace accounts across the country, sorting them out by zip code in different regions of the country.

Of the 700 random profiles searched, 100 each came from the North East, North West, South East, South, Midwest, West and Hawaii. Half of the profiles came from large cities, while half were comprised of mid-sized cites. Pierce went on to select every 15th profile she came across, which resulted in 274 males and 426 females, ranging in age from under 14 to over 40.

After finishing her survey, Pierce put together some startling statistics about MySpace. Sexual poses were found in 59 percent of the sites, and 28 percent of the males had partial frontal nudity, compared to 17 percent of females. Six percent of females had full frontal nudity.

In addition, 54 percent of the sites included profanity, 16 percent showed photos of alcohol, and six percent of the profiles showed graphics of illegal drugs.

“It is disturbing that young people themselves are posting sexual poses on MySpace,” Pierce said.

“Research shows that sexual predators may seek out and find them.

“It is important for young people to realize that while MySpace can be fun and innocent, it has its dangers. They need to be street smart about who they talk to and what they’re doing on there.”

Another worry Pierce has about MySpace is that members of the pornography industry are setting up their own profiles, which anyone can easily gain access to. “It [MySpace] is full of nudity and links to other pornographic Web sites. It is easily available to 14- or 15-year-olds any time they want it.” Pierce also noted that young females were being recruited to send in their own pictures to adult sites.

Around Fresno State, MySpace has a great popularity, and it is common to see students checking their profile during class or in the library.

Diego Mendoza, a 21-year-old biology student, thinks the social Web site is a helpful way to communicate with friends. “I’m from Burbank, so I mostly use MySpace to keep in touch with old friends from high school,” Mendoza said. “Sometimes I post bulletins for parties and other events on there.”

While Mendoza believes adult themes can commonly be found on MySpace, he thinks the Internet harbors similar profane content.

“I think you should be at least 16 to be on MySpace, but there is no way to regulate that,” Mendoza said. “My 12-year-old cousin is on there and he just lies about his age. It really should be up to the parents to regulate.”

Lupita Jimenez, an 18-year-old anthropology major, said she has never encountered any sexual content on MySpace. “I just use it to talk with friends,” Jimenez said. “Whoever is posting nudity should be blocked from using MySpace.”

While MySpace can be a helpful tool for friends and family to keep in contact with each other, Pierce believes it needs to be better controlled.

“MySpace can’t possibly monitor 60 million users,” Pierce said. “Parents and authorities need to teach their children about who they talk to and what they do on there, or any other social networking sites.”

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