Teen sex, drugs and violence abound on MySpace.com site

In a search of 500 publicly accessible MySpace profiles, 54 percent had items on risky behavior, such as sexually explicit images, text about killing people, or hobbies that included marijuana use and alcohol, said the authors of the research, released today in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescents.

Teens often don't realize that such information may attract sexual predators or ward off employers, said Kimberly Mitchell, a researcher at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. One in seven kids is sexually solicited online and those posting sex information about themselves run a greater risk, she said.

“There is a high correlation between kids' engaging in risky behavior online and their increased risk of sexual harassment or solicitation,” said Mitchell, who wrote an editorial published with the study, in a telephone interview. “I've also certainly heard anecdotally of how there could be long-term ramifications, and more and more universities and employers are starting to look at MySpace pages.”

MySpace is a so-called social-networking site, akin to Facebook.com and Friendster.com, where people can create a profile page with biographical information, photos, status updates, and an online journal.

A MySpace spokeswoman, Jamie Schumacher, declined to comment on the study, since she hadn't reviewed the full findings.

MySpace — owned by News Corp., the media company headed by Rupert Murdoch — said last year that it would work with law enforcement officials to crack down on inappropriate postings and bar known sex offenders from having pages on its site. MySpace said it reviews all content and takes down any pornographic, violent or “hateful” material.

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