Email this page to a friend with a personal messageMany parents are turning to their child's MySpace profile in order to keep tabs on what their child is doing. The world of MySpace can be a good, safe, harmless thing, but it's also full of sex and drugs and even violence. It's a sort of wide-open journal for everyone. People put their most intimate stuff on MySpace—with pictures. Therefore, it might behoove you as a parent to know what your child is doing, whom he or she is talking with, what he or she is looking at, what he or she is buying, etc.
Now, the Internet seems like a complicated thing, of course, and finding one MySpace profile amongst millions might seem impossible. But it isn't, thank goodness! It's actually quite easy to find and monitor your child's MySpace profile. First, however, you've got to find it, and then we'll have some other tips for you.
To find your child's MySpace profile, you've got to first set one up of your own. That is, you've got to go to MySpace's site and sign up to be a member. Again, this is quite an easy thing to do, but we'd suggest that you use a fake name and keep your email address private. That way, your child won't know that you're keeping tabs on him or her. You're doing some detective work here, so be creative!
Once you've got your own MySpace profile, you simply click on search and then find a friend. The friend you're looking for is your child. You can find your child's MySpace profile by entering your child's first and last name, email, or state and zip code. Chances are that your child is using a fake name, just like you are—so the next thing you'll want to do is try your child's email address. Chances are that your child has kept his or her email private, just like you did, or that they're using an email address that you're unfamiliar with. This means that you'll have to search by state and zip code—but luckily, MySpace allows you to enter your state and zip code, and then enter in a search radius—say, ten to twenty miles from where you live.
This will really narrow the list down, and make finding your child's MySpace profile much easier. Now all you have to do is scroll down the pictures until you come to your child's picture, click on it, and presto!—you've found his or her MySpace profile. Usually, MySpace customers use at least one actual picture of themselves to identify themselves, but there are rare cases wherein someone will use only their favorite cartoon character, for example. If your child is one of those rare cases, you'll have to know something about them in order to find their MySpace profile, but you'll also be able to look up their friends. Using a combination such as this means that you'll find your child's MySpace profile eventually.
Once you've found your child's MySpace profile, you'll want to monitor it—that is, keep track of it daily. That way you'll be able to know what's happening on a more or less consistent basis. Remember, though, that the whole point of this exercise is to keep track of your child's online activities without his or her knowledge. Ideally, you would do it with his or her knowledge, but the fact that you feel you must do this implies that your child may be up to something that he or she would like to keep secret. When you monitor his or her MySpace profile, then, you've got to make sure that you erase your tracks afterwards. Monitoring your child's MySpace profile means that afterward you'll need to go to Internet Options and press Clear History.
By following these simple steps, you can both find and monitor your child's MySpace profile. By finding and monitoring your child's MySpace profile, you can know what your child is up to online and help him or her to avoid any danger before it's too late.
