PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE via COLLEGIATE PRESSWIRE)--July 21, 2006--With the teen hangout MySpace.com ranked the nation's most popular Web site, and facebook.com regarded as one of the top teen online communities, Drexel incoming students and their parents are getting a lesson in the potential dangers of these sites during this year's new student orientation. More than 2,400 students will enter Drexel this fall. The University's goal is to get to these students, most of whom already have profiles on these sites, before predators do.
Drexel's department of Student Life is using the help of a video scripted and produced by 19-year-old Drexel student Dylan Steinberg to warn about the daily dangers of online communities. According to the video, harassment, stalking, sexual harassment and even identity theft are among the dangers of "facebooking" and MySpace. The video also offers tips on how students can protect themselves from potential dangers online.
A quick search on facebook reveals information about a student's hometown, and often an address, birth date and plenty of photos. According to Robert D'Ovidio, a Drexel professor of criminal justice, all that a criminal needs to steal someone's identity is a birth date, and a photo. If an address is also available, that's an added bonus.
With more than 94 million registered users, 20 percent of whom are under 18-years-old, MySpace.com is currently under scrutiny from angry parents and the legal community. Many attorneys are calling for online social networking sites to improve age and identity checks. Drexel's method is much simpler: get to the users early. The Drexel community alone has more than 12,100 registered facebook users.
Compromising potential careers is yet another disadvantage for students who post their funniest and most daring photos on facebook and MySpace. It rarely occurs to them that employers are also watching. Drexel's Dean of Students David Ruth is making it his mission to explain to parents and students that many employers have started screening candidates from their facebook profiles.
The video was produced for the West Philadelphia Campus Community Consortium, which includes Drexel, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, to reduce crimes against women on campuses.
