Kids reveal a lot about themselves online

A new study shows that more than half of teenagers mention drugs, alcohol, sex or violence on their MySpace pages.

Yet getting these kids to clean up their sites is easier than many might assume, researchers say.

More than 90 percent of adolescents have Internet access, and about half of these use social networking sites, such as MySpace or Facebook, according to the study of 500 18-year-olds published in last week’s Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

For all their Internet savvy, however, teens are still immature and impulsive, which can make them targets for online predators or bullies.

Kids also could be rejected by college or business recruiters who see coarse language or photos on their profiles, says the study’s lead author, Megan Moreno, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Online boasting also can make it seem as if everyone is drinking and having sex – which can pressure other kids to take risks, Moreno says.

She notes that kids whose profiles mentioned church, sports or hobbies were less likely to mention risky behaviors.

Moreno motivated some teens to clean up their profiles with a single e-mail. She targeted 190 teens in the Anacostia section of Washington, D.C., which has high rates of poverty, crime and HIV infection.

In her e-mails, “Dr. Meg” noted her concerns about content on the MySpace pages, Moreno writes in another paper in the Archives.

“You seemed to be quite open about sexual issues or other behaviors,” she told the teens. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? After all, if I could see it, nearly anybody could.”

The e-mails also gave information about sexually transmitted diseases.

Three months later, 14 percent of those who received Moreno’s e-mails had eliminated sexual references from their profiles, compared with 5 percent of those who didn’t get the e-mail, her study shows.

Those who got the e-mails also were more likely to make their sites private.

Moreno says such messages are a promising way to reach high-risk teens, since these kids typically don’t see a doctor for regular medical care.

Michael Rich, director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children’s Hospital Boston, says that such e-mails are more likely to succeed if they come from anonymous experts.

Parents, principals or pastors who sent the same e-mails might be perceived as spying, he says.