MySpace Replacing Email for Some Teens and Tweens

Posted on March 3, 2006

We mentioned earlier that most MySpace users aren't going there to read blogs. Most don't use the blogs -- they use the profiles, friend's comments and photos. The Citizen-Times has another article that covers this same ground. It discusses the addictive world of MySpace with a quote that says MySpace is sometimes called "MyCrack" because it is so addictive.

Welcome to a world that, if you're older than 25, you likely know little about, and if you're older than 35 you almost certainly don't.

But if you're part of the legion of users - some 41 million at last count for MySpace.com alone - it's the center of your social existence, and people who have hopped the train can't imagine life without it.

"I've had my MySpace page for about a year," said Harmony Johnson of Hendersonville. "I probably check my MySpace page at least three times a day - it's very addicting. Some people call it 'MyCrack.' You want to see who's posted a new blog or a new photo or left a comment on your page or sent you a message or sent you a friend request."

And this comment makes email sound like an out-of-date tool that is still used only by senior citizens.

Jack Stewart, an eighth-grader at Rugby Middle School, laughed when asked if he still used e-mails, now that MySpace and Xanga are on the scene.

"The only reason I use my e-mail is because my grandma sends me e-mails," he said. "She lives in Florida and she'll send me pictures. ... That's about it."

MySpace is extremely popular but not all kids adore MySpace. There is also an anti-MySpace crowd of teens and young adults that intentionally avoid the site. Danah Boyd touched on this some in her in-depth MySpace article.