The Great MySpace Experiment (Sept. 06) [Op-Ed]

I usually try to tune out the background noise as I pass through Cal-Hi’s crowded halls, but for some reason, there is one phrase that I can always discern, even over the noisiest crowds. Not a single hour at school has passed by without me hearing somebody mention the infamous Myspace.com.

Myspace was created by the now-famous Tom Anderson, with the intent of being a place for young adults to hand out, and maybe make a few new friends in the process. Look at Myspace now… It’s become the wild, wild, wild web!

I first joined Myspace back in the eighth grade. Back then, you had to be at least sixteen years old, but like many others my age, I entered a random number… and thus, I became a twenty-seven year old middle school student, and not the only one at that. One of the girls in my English class was one hundred years old… I wonder how many people of such an advanced age have color photographs of themselves wearing the miniskirts and skimpy tops that have become so popular among the young ladies of this generation. Then again, they could have just photoshopped the outfits on their old black and white photographs.

After about a year, I finally asked myself what the purpose of having a Myspace was. I was tired of having to wait two and a half hours (with a DSL connection) for a single page to load. I began to wonder if all of the self-taken photographs with the awkward angles and idiotic faces were really worth my time. After all, I could be out reading the dictionary or thesaurus, which would probably be just as interesting as reading all of the narcissistic, mile-long biographies that, for some reason, have to be WrItTeN oUt LiK dIs. How is it that many of these students complain about having to write essays in class, when they can write something ten times as long on their Myspace? Perhaps it’s the fact that they have to use actual English, or that they can’t ‘decorate’ their writing with the ever-so-popular kRaZy KaPz. Who knows?

I could probably go on without ranting about Myspace, if it wasn’t for the fact that some people think that they have to be on as long as humanly possible. I vividly remember trying to work on my Freshman Mythology project (not as hard as the Senior Project, but requiring a great amount of research, nonetheless). A good few times, I found the computers in the library taken by the time I arrived, and more than once, my eyes just happened to wander and notice that somebody was on the forbidden Myspace… but how? Doesn’t the online filter block Myspace?
I soon learned that there are many different ways of slipping around the filter, and thus being able to access Myspace on school computers. So I decided to investigate. Arming myself with a notepad, pen, and teacher’s permission, I tired to find as many different ways on to Myspace as possible. I quickly succeeded, learning that there are a great many ways to get onto Myspace, and that finding them only requires some time, and a bit of cunning.