Usually for this section of “On the Web,” I do a short feature of a website which comprises of a short list of features and what they’re mostly used for. For this month, I decided to do a short feature on the differences between the two biggest social networking sites available, Facebook and MySpace. As I dug out on the Internet for information, I found out very quickly that the supposed “feature” differences between the two were not the features itself, but the supposed “social cliques of the users” of the websites. Most of the information that I found was outdated and consisted of scary hints and statistics against the other website (most of which are untrue).

At first I thought that this kind of article might be over my head and I was wary of even writing it this way but, after becoming slightly aggravated by the fact that most of their information has been presented on the news, I decided I must shed some fresh light on this subject. The outdated information is the same information that reaches everyone and makes a bad name for these social networking sites when, in fact, it’s not as bad as what the reporters say. Those “problems” are isolated experiences of users that may be avoided through parental supervision.

Having compiled a list of different questions --asking users to list the reason of why they use Facebook or MySpace or both, how often they logged in, how they felt about different features of the site, as well as others-- I have come to see that, more often than not, MySpace is put in a bad light… just as much as Facebook. Shocked?

Facebook: a website where, nowadays, a teenager must have a profile to be popular at school… or so they say. It has a simple, minimalistic, clean and uncluttered template that is used throughout the entire site, so there are no annoying flashy graphics or unwanted page layouts here. (Which is the total opposite of MySpace, which allows subscribers with a bit of HTML knowledge to customize their profiles and blog pages.) Facebook is filled with tons of applications that can be used to entertain friends (…or not so much). A person’s profile can be viewed only by their “friends,” then, depending on what the user chooses, it might only display a limited profile. MySpace is somewhat different. Any profile of any person in the site can be viewed unless they have specified “private” or “friends only.” Seems like a good social networking site for teenagers, right? Wrong… or so the users say.

When asked about the main template being used for Facebook, most surveyed answered that they thought that though it shows cleanliness, it put a damper on their freedom to express their personality and individuality. 80% of respondents claimed to also have a MySpace account because it allowed users to express themselves. (We all understand the need to express ourselves. We’ve all gone through it. Those feelings of angst, anger, bewilderment, as well as many others are often released through being able to express ourselves. Hence, the often “strange” ways of dress, music, hairstyle and other things that might raise an eyebrow.)

When asked about the applications used to entertain themselves and their friends, the result is mixed with the subject of phishing or spamming a complaint on Facebook. Those using an application have the “option” to invite at least 25 friends to use it once they have installed it on their profile. (Yes, I said install. I was amused at this. Are we using a social networking site or an online virtual computer? And what Facebook doesn’t mention is that the application has to be installed by the subscriber in order to use it.) Most surveyed expressed that installing and uninstalling these applications are fun once they figured them out but are rather pointless and a waste of time. They didn’t like the fact that they had to install them on their profiles even use them on someone else’s. They felt that sending these “optional” invites to their friends was just as bad as the spamming on their MySpace accounts. A few expressed that it just cluttered their profile with useless junk and have started to reject these “invites.”

I asked about the difference in drama levels on Facebook versus that of MySpace. There was very little difference, though Facebook is considered to be a more “mature” website. One survey respondent felt that, whenever they logged into Facebook, there was a new picture of someone getting drunk or a comment to someone else about their latest one night stand. Though this is also seen on MySpace, the targeted age range of those who use Facebook (“supposedly”) are in high school through college while all ages use MySpace. Posting pictures of them and their friends at last night’s frat party and them helping drink away the huge keg was there is something that is expected on both sites. This is often viewed as worse on Facebook because of the famous “Notification Feed.”

Facebook’s Notification Feed, like MySpace’s “Friend Subscription,” is a list that tells all of their friends when a new picture has been added, when a user becomes “friends” with someone else, when a comment on another user’s profile (on Facebook) or when new music or a video is added to a profile (on MySpace). Asked about how they felt about this, they said that though it was quite useful as to knowing when a friend updates their profile, they felt that it was an invasion of their privacy. Privacy settings can be reset to stop these notifications, though few users of either site have changed them, so when they are confronted about something, they claim that it’s invasion of privacy. (I ask how it is invasion of privacy when someone uploads anything to the Internet and then have something notify all their “friends” of what they did. They are going to see it. If they don’t want anyone seeing something or reading their most intimate thoughts, then they shouldn’t post them online! It’s that simple.)

Speaking of friends, and I must say I was quite surprised when 60% of those surveyed stated that it was harder to find someone on Facebook than of MySpace (though people on MySpace often don’t use their real names). The searches on Facebook are not flexible.  First and last names are required in order to find them on Facebook then the searcher has to be accepted as a friend before seeing their profiles and interact with them (which is the same on MySpace, except for sending messages to people who aren’t “friends”). MySpace offers a variety of different searches that can be simplified through details. Though a user can be hit by a lot of strangers, there is that chance of meeting someone new… (Common notion of mistaken identity?)

Meeting new people means being introduced to new and unfamiliar “stereotypes.” When asked about stereotypes on the two websites, respondents reported that there was no “stereotypical user” for a specific clique for either site. Since Facebook has been perceived in the public eye as being the “cleaner” version of MySpace, the rumor has it is that only the social butterflies, jocks, cheerleader types and other “good kid” personas are on Facebook while the Goths, Emos, punks, burnouts and other socially unaccepted high school cliques are on MySpace. I had to laugh when I was told that someone would show me what a Goth profile looked like on Facebook. Clique differences on these sites are so like totally not true! (Insert apology for bad joke here.) Most users of either site will be on both, while spending more time on the site most of their friends use; if their friends are Facebookers, they’ll use that. If they use MySpace, find them there. Some have different friends on both sites so they bounce back and forth between the two, having little or nothing to do with social cliques or age of the user.

When asked about the oldest person on each site (if they were a member of each site and also the relation of that person) the answer was higher than expected. The age of the respondent’s “friends” were, on the average, over 50, most of whom are related in some way; so the perception that just teenagers and “twen-teens” (early twenties) use these sites has been blow out of the water. A wide variety of people use these sites – to keep in touch with friends, family, loved ones, “extended families,” such as those in clubs such as 4H groups, school groups and more.

With this idea in mind, , I am strongly encouraging parents to find out if their children are using these sites (more often the answer is yes) and join these sites as well. If parents want to play dumb and gain their trust a bit (alternative motives notwithstanding), ask them if you have heard of MySpace or Facebook. When they say yes, just tell them you want to join because a friend from work is on there. Parents can always ask them if they have a profile posted and, when they say yes, not freak out. Ask them to help set up an account and help pick out a layout (for MySpace) and show parents how to use a few things. Have them show how to find people and add them as friends, then ask to add them because it shouldn’t seem like their parents don’t have ANY friends. (Then don’t say anything about it past that.) Once added, parents will have access to view their account. Using Facebook, comments and their replies, as well as their recipients, will be visible. (Even though these profiles are still “off limits,” parents can still keep track of what their children are doing.) Using MySpace has the option of being able to see what they post, blog, bulletin and possibly visiting their friend’s profile and seeing what they posted (unless, of course, their profile is private).  If parents have already done this then I will send kudos, if not, then I would encourage parents to do so.  

If parents do end up seeing something on there that they don’t like, I would strongly recommend not yelling at them, but explaining that the type of behavior is not right and tell them why. As a result, they may block access to their profile or start doing things secretively and that’s how trouble gets started. (And I really wouldn’t dig into their profiles unless you know they are asleep or aren’t around to catch you “snooping”.) Don’t think it’s a good idea? Think again.

When asked how many times they log into their Facebook or MySpace profiles on a daily basis, one respondent claimed to have checked their profile once 20 times in one day! These social networking sites are quite addicting (speaking from personal experience of my own, from other office employees and from our own statistics) and your children are on these sites 80% of the time they are on the computer! Unless otherwise stated, most of this time spent is unsupervised. (Do I really need to tell you to watch ‘To Catch a Predator’ on Dateline NBC?) You have no idea who they are talking to, what is being said or what they are viewing unless you monitor their time online.

If you are taking this article as a “Why You Should Monitor Your Child Online,” don’t. Go to your local bookstore and get something of that nature. This article is to remind you that not everything you see on the news about Facebook and MySpace is true for our area and to give parents and idea on how to keep an eye on their children when using these two sites. Use your own judgment when it comes to these two sites – do your own research.

Facebook is a good communication and party site while MySpace is a good site to watch videos, find new music and to express oneself creatively. These sites, though fun, can be dangerous if precautions are not taken but should not be seen as a “bad” or “malicious” thing.

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