“MySpace: A place for friends.” That’s what it reads on the popular site’s logo located at the top of the page but many insist it's a breeding ground for predators.

MySpace has quickly become the latest communication craze among teens. It is a virtual community website that allows users to meet people from all over the world by browsing users’ profiles.

“I used MySpace to keep up with friends, to share what I’m feeling, and to make announcements to people,” junior Lynden House said.

Just two years after its creation, MySpace went from zero to more fifty million members. Media Matrix ranked MySpace as the eighteenth most viewed site and when measured by the number of pages visited, it beat eBay and Google, taking fourth place.

Founders Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson, though still CEO and president, sold MySpace to Rupert Murdoch’s New Corp. They have enforced extensive safety rules posted and are always on the lookout for any inappropriate material or members who may be under the age of fourteen.

MySpace was in the news, not long ago, when 14-year-old Judy Cajuste went missing. After finding her body in a dumpster, authorities discovered Cajuste had met her murderer through her MySpace account. Since then many parents have become increasingly concerned about the welfare of their children who interact on the website, all the while teens insist that they’re perfectly safe.

“I do my research and I know what happened to that little girl,” House said. “Of course I got the big speech from my parents about how scary chat rooms and MySpace are, but Helen Keller could see it’s not logical to meet a total stranger on MySpace because, unfortunately, people aren’t always truthful.”

Junior Bailty Thigpen said her parents taught her at an early age to be wary of strangers.

“I feel bad for that girl but it’s basically her fault,”  Thigpen said. “You don’t just go off and meet a total stranger that you met on the internet. I learned that in like fourth grade.”

The majority of teenagers generally seem to be very cautious and even revolted at the prospect of meeting a complete stranger from MySpace. While some teens flat out denied that they’d let something like that occur, some said there would have to be some sort of middle ground.

“It would all depend,” junior Monica Wilkerson said, “I would have to know someone that knew them. Otherwise, it’s just not happening.”