MySpace Unraveled: A Parent's Guide to Teen Social Networking [Paperback]

Larry Magid (Author), Anne Collier (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 032148018X | ISBN-13: 978-0321480187 | Publication Date: August 12, 2006 | Edition: 1

Do you know what your children are up to on MySpace? MySpace Unraveled: What it is and how to use it safely discusses the booming MySpace social-networking phenomenon and shows you exactly what you need know about MySpace and how to create a safe online experience for your kids. Written by Larry Magid and Anne Collier of Family Tech Talk, this short and extremely useful guide discusses what children are doing on social-networking Web sites and why they have become so popular. While other books on this subject discuss how to use social networking sites, this is the first guide to address the topics important to parents. With this book parents will learn:

• The basics of online social networking.
• How children are using MySpace.
• Positive and negative aspects of social networking Web sites.
• Internet safety for kids.
• How to communicate with children about what they are doing online.
• What parental controls are available and how to use them.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Anne Collier is an analyst, children's advocate, and journalist who has worked in media since 1980--in print and radio and on TV and the Web. In January 1999, she launched Tech Parenting Group, which publishes NetFamilyNews, the digital "community newspaper" of the tech-parenting and online-safety community. Larry Magid's Web site SafeKids.com is quite probably the world's best-known Internet safety resource. Larry Magid is the author of the earliest and most widely circulated Internet safety guide, Child Safety on the Information Highway, published in 1994 by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Larry is also a journalist and commentator on technology matters.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press; 1 edition (August 12, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 032148018X
• ISBN-13: 978-0321480187
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,075,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well balanced, excellent guide, January 27, 2007

By 

BeanWorks (Jupiter, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: MySpace Unraveled: A Parent's Guide to Teen Social Networking (Paperback)

This stands out as the best of the MySpace books I've read. It is logically organized and well presented, with color screenshots. The authors present a balanced approach to MySpace, without an alarmist attitude, but with very insightful observations and helpful suggestions, backed by cited research. Their approach is based in the reality of the Web and social networking, addressing the issues one needs to know while guiding the reader through setting up a MySpace account and using MySpace resources.

Sprinkled throughout the book are "Key Parenting Points" which speak directly to parental concerns about MySpace features. Their philosophy on dealing with those parental concerns can be summed up by their statement (on page 12), "There is no substitute for engaged parenting...But that engagement...is less about control than it is about communication." Hence the book is about informing for constructive parenting rather than controlling a teen's access to MySpace.

The writing style is informal and easy. The authors speak as parents and professionals who are actively involved with teens, parents, and the Web. Their experience shows. [...].

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Social Networking 101 for Parents, November 8, 2006

By 

Tatiana Platt (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: MySpace Unraveled: A Parent's Guide to Teen Social Networking (Paperback)

Larry Magid and Anne Collier are industry experts on child safety online, and their collaboration here is outstanding. "MySpace Unraveled" explains the social networking phenomenon and the related safety issues in an easy to follow and practical way that is a must read for any parent who has children in today's day and age.

5.0 out of 5 stars A parent's handbook, October 14, 2006

By 

Read Read and Then Read More "An Avid Reader" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: MySpace Unraveled: A Parent's Guide to Teen Social Networking (Paperback)

Larry Magid's book is the first excellent source for parents to figure out what their kids are doing on MySpace. It teaches parents how to get their own MySpace account, not to spy on their children, but to see what this world is all about. It has lots of good advice for parents although I wish the author would have spent less time on telling parents how to pimp their MySpace page and more on how to talk to their children about safety and particularly about online friendships. All in all, though, a good, valuable read.