The New York City Health Department now has a profile on MySpace. NYC Teen MySpace aims to give teens a place on the popular social networking site where they can find information about depression, drug abuse or dating violence.

"The Internet medium was chosen because of its popularity among young people, who will find blogs, music, quizzes, polls, games, fact sheets and more at www.myspace.com/nycteen_mindspace. The MySpace page aims to raise awareness of mental health issues and eliminate the stigma that keeps teens silent."

An estimated 30 percent of teenagers in New York City say they've experienced sadness that interferes with daily activities, and eight percent report attempting suicide in the past year. Dating violence and substance abuse were also prevalent enough to be of concern. Source: Queens Courier

Labels: experts, health, myspace

Should schools provide computer access to social network websites like Facebook and MySpace? Despite the results of a recent study that says such websites can be educational, child advocacy groups and some educators believe it's better to keep them out of schools.

An online survey of 1,277 students ages 9 to 17 years old found that 69% use social network sites to talk about education or homework online.

Some educators and child advocacy groups point out that this study was done by the National School Board Administration, which is partially sponsored by the owners of MySpace and Facebook. The report from the Administration said "social networking sites are deeply embedded in the lifestyles of teens," and recommended that teachers find ways "to harness their educational value."

Labels: myspace, schools, social_networking

Robert Gater's daughter Jodie committed suicide at the young age of 16. The bodies of her and her friend Stephanie Gestier were found in the Dandenong Rages of Australia this past Sunday. Gater says his daughter spent a lot of time online, and even posted a suicide message on MySpace. Adolescent psychologists warn parents to keep their kids from getting lost online.

"Don't let them disappear behind this emotional firewall called MSN,' Dr. [Michael] Carr-Gregg said. 'There are many factors that lead to suicide but parents should make sure they know what their kids are doing online.'"

The danger with kids spending a lot of time online is that troubled kids are able to find each other, connect, and can often feed off of each others negative and/or destructive emotions. Read more at TheAge.com.au.

Labels: myspace, online_safety, suicide

MySpace, the online social community that's wildly popular among adolescents, has joined together with the Inspire Foundation to raise awareness about youth suicide.

"Since Friday, the web community has featured banner advertisements linking to a site with information about issues including grief, depression, alcohol, drugs, and sexuality."

Inspire and MySpace have been working together for about 12 months. Both organizations are excited about the partnership and promise more opportunities for young people to reach and get help in the near future.

Read more at Inspire.org.au.

Labels: awareness, myspace, suicide