OTHER TOOLS: INTERNET-BASED TOOLS

MySpace

MySpace is Good for Kids Who Need Help With:

• Connecting with peers (social thinking)
• Sorting information (organization)

What You Need to Know About MySpace:

MySpace is an extremely popular social networking system (the 5th most visited site on the internet in 2007), especially among teenagers today. It began as an internet social meeting place for independent bands, and has grown to be a free system in which users can meet new people, exchange pictures, music, interests, and more with the entire world. Anyone with a valid email address can join MySpace for free. MySpace Mobile permits users to read and reply to mail, post bulletins and send pictures from their cell phones to their MySpace account at any time. It is strongly recommended that MySpace users do not reveal too much information, as this information is accessible to anybody with an internet connection. Privacy settings are available and highly recommended. The recommended age for MySpace users is 14 years or older.

MySpace Can Help Your Child With Social Thinking:

• Child will learn about MySpace norms, and learn how much information to reveal.
• MySpace will help child to develop more social connections.
• Child will personalize MySpace page to fit his/her personality and interests.

Talking Points:

• How is your MySpace page different from your peer’s MySpace pages?
• Who are your MySpace friends and how often do you communicate with them?
• Do you share more information about yourself on MySpace or face-to-face? How do you decide what to share about yourself?

MySpace Can Help Your Child With Organization:

• By creating a MySpace page a child organizes information, pictures, music, mail, videos, blogs, favorites, groups, events, and more.
• Child will develop a personal method to display pictures, information, music, etc. about oneself in an organized fashion. This also allows for child to discover trial and error methods of organization to find what works best.
• Child will observe how other users organize their MySpace pages, and learn that there are various ways that information can be organized.

Talking Points:

• How did you set up your MySpace page?
• Which features on MySpace do you use the most and how do you locate them?
• How can organizing your MySpace page help guide you in organizing and prioritizing information in a school report?