Our lives don't leave much blogging time lately, but I would say I'm MUCH more of a Blogger than a MySpacer. I've appreciated MySpace for its quick and easy connection to friends I haven't seen or heard from in YEARS. However, I could never get over the ads that I find on everyone's sites. I have told few people about my MySpace because I'm not proud of the ads. (In fact, I joined just to stay in moderate contact with my brother.) I e-mailed the imfamous "Tom" about the singles ads, but I never heard back. I could find no way to block them. Then it happened.
One night when I had just submitted a message, a confirmation page came up, on which was displayed a singles ad. Natasha walked in the room and asked, "What in the world are you looking at?" I told her I was on MySpace and explained the advertisement situation. She said she trusted me, and we were fine.
That really ate at me. My wife trusts me a lot. A whole lot. She loves me unconditionally. Yet, she came in the room when an ad from my own website was showing, and she wondered if that were about to unravel. Why do I want to give my wife any reason to suspect me, even if that comes through a seemingly innocent site? How innocent is a site that allures people to looking at covered women, only to tempt them to go the next step, then the next, then the next? Why am I hosting a website with images I don't condone and won't send people to see? Why do I want to remain part of a site that is likely to reproduce the scenario above the next time Natasha walks in the room and sees an ad she's not seen before? I have a marriage free of self-defense. We are, in a sense, naked and unashamed before each other. I have no desire to see that destroyed.
Moral: I'm leaving MySpace as soon as the bulletin I just sent reaches all of my friends (or within 72 hours, whichever I feel like doing at the time).
7 comments:
I am in complete agreement with you and affirm you for protecting, and guarding your marriage. Smart move!
I respect you for that, Lynn. It has been a tricky situation for us, since it is an awesome way to keep in touch with the youth group, but the ads are so ridiculous. Morgan only ever uses it to communicate to the teens adn see what their day to day lives are looking like, and he's shown me a couple times when girls have "invited" him to become their friends and they end up being porn sites. Not to mention the awful suggestive ads. How can teenage boys stand up against that stuff? This world makes me so mad- no irrate really.
Where do we as youth leaders find a line between entering their world to be a light and yet not condoning it. It's such a HUGE thing with the teens. it's how they communicate. You can't tell the "fringe" teens atleast that they shouldn't be on there b/c of the ads. They'd laugh at you and walk away. But yet it's just a good place to connect with them. It's quite a debate amongst nationwide youth leaders right now and we've read some good articles on it. Not sure where to stand yet.
I like the word kristi used and I too "affirm" you for protecting your marriage. Things like that Satan really can twist and use to cause us women to doubt and worry. You're a good husband. I too am blessed, as natasha, to have a husband I never have to worry about...anyways I could go on about this. Like I said it's a tough call for youth leaders.
I'm agreeing with Lynn! I don't like MySpace and haven't used it for all of the reasons you've mentioned. Go Blogger.
Lynn, I had a similar situation with Adam. I came in and said to Adam "What are you watching!" and it ended up being a geico commercial. It was the one where they were pretending it was a soap opera and then said switch to geico blah. Anyway, it was nothing bad however it was suggestive.
I haven't had problems with myspace ads I don't beleive. However, Ringo got raunchy so I stopped that. I also emailed as well. But money speaks and so nothing happened.
However, myspace has been great because I found two highschool BF's. My one just opened up a blog in blogger which is nice. Whatever the adds, it has been uniting people. But I don't blame you for closing yours down.
I haven't had problems, either, but upon much discussion with several friends (and a bulletin I posted yesterday), I found that if you select "female" you don't get those ads. If you select "Male" you get bombarded with half-naked women. Can you not select gender, maybe?
I way prefer blogger.
just thought you should have a post from a guy. lots of estrogen on this one...
follow your heart.
love.
Thanks for the support, everyone. I'm not really trying to make a huge stink out of this, but it is nice to know that many wives and a husband think marriage is worth choosing over networking. (Please, I know there are many more who think this; you don't have to comment to prove it, though you're free to do what you'd like.)
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