I started using MySpace briefly almost two years ago, when it was still pretty desolate in terms of high school kids. I signed up, looked around, and quickly dismissed the site as being as trivial as other sites around at the time, such as Friendster.com. Little did I know, even early last year when a friend reintroduced me to the site, what a phenomena it would become.

But, what is MySpace?

MySpace is "a place for friends," or that's how the creators describe it. It is a "social networking site," which is a site devoted to the connection and interaction of people with friends and potential friends. People sign up for a free MySpace site very easily, which has contributed to the large membership. After sign-up, the person is able to create their very own MySpace page.

A MySpace page can be very simplistic. The typical MySpace includes the following elements:

- a main photo of the author, which is linked to more photographs
- general information (name, age, location)
- a blog
- interests and favorites section (music, movies, television shows, and books)
- the About Me and Who I'd Like to Meet sections
- the Top 8 Friends, with a link to the full Friends List
- the Details section (relationship status, hometown, occupation, smoking/drinking preferences, zodiac sign, etc...)
- schools attended
- Friends' Comments

These elements may change. Simple html codes can alter the appearance of MySpace and are often used (most times incorrectly). The layouts can become quite complex. Entire websites are devoted to pre-made MySpace layouts that with a few alterations can easily be formatted to your own personal site. Many people also add video and music clips. As one friend explains, "Honestly, what other webpage can you personally customize the layout AND add music - your own personal theme song that plays every time someone visits your page?"

Nevertheless, the most important parts of a MySpace are the photos and the Friends List.

The core of every MySpace user is their main photo. This photo appears publicly on their MySpace page, on every friend’s Friends List, in search engines, and in comments. This main photo is a link to several other photos the user can also upload, and on which your friends can post comments. The main photo is a little 200x200 pixels or so representation of you. It is the persona you take on while on the site.

The main photo is the persona of the MySpace users. This Myspace belongs to Tom, the creator of MySpace, and everyone's "friend." He is the generic example of a MySpace.

The Friends List begins when you first sign up for the site. Each user starts off with one friend, Tom, the site's creator, who is often mistaken by uninformed parents as "that creepy 30-year-old man" on their daughter's page. From Tom, one searches for their friends in the real world, and begins to add people to a list that is linked to your MySpace page. Over time, you accumulate your friend's friends and other random people who decide they think you are worthy of their recognition, or just think that you seem cool.

Your friends are the audience for your MySpace. Friends send personal messages to one another, comment on each other's pages in the sort of guestbook at the bottom of every MySpace, and comment on each photograph.

The MySpace Friends List begins with your Top 8 on the front page of your site. The Top 8 is meant for only your eight best friends. It can become pretty excessively exclusive.

Besides friend-to-friend interaction, there is a lot more to do on MySpace. There is a database of bands and musicians, who post their most popular songs, videos, and tour dates. There are videos hosted by the site. There is even a classifieds section. All of these features are completely free to use and share. MySpace also has sponsored the release of a record, which can be bought on the site. The site even hosts MySpace parties at clubs and concert venues in major cities.

So, now that we know what MySpace is, why does it seem to have such a hold on today's young people?

Metaphorically speaking, MySpace is like a teenager's room. When being in your room meant more than sitting at your computer, a teenager's room was like their shrine, their haven, and their hangout. We decorate our rooms ourselves. We put up the posters of our favorite bands, line the bookshelves with our favorite authors, and frame photographs of our best friends and ourselves. Away from the pressures of schools and our parents, our room is a free-range expression of ourselves. It is a safe place where we can close the door and shut away the "real world." It is where we take our friends to listen to our music, watch our movies, and just talk.

MySpace works in the same way; this is why it has become so popular among teenagers. It is a place where we can express ourselves freely and be with our friends. It's our shrine.

We post photographs of ourselves to revel in the comments we receive. We comment on friends' pages, so they comment on ours. We send messages to receive messages. It's an ego boost for many – someone is looking at you, someone is commenting on you. It is a haven, because it is outside the realm of the "real world" of our parents and our teachers. With a majority of the MySpace membership being young people, we do not have the fear the judgments of older generations, like in so many other social situations.

MySpace, most importantly, is our hang out. All our friends are on MySpace, and thus so are we. It's an easy way to communicate with friends, even if we have not seen them in a while. You can speak with multiple people at once or leave little notes for someone to read later. You can meet friends of friends and expand your social network that much further.

It's like going to the mall and looking to meet new, interesting people.

Friends' comments are the main interaction on MySpace. The average comments section on a MySpace is a collection of "You are so awesome," "I love you," and "What a great party last weekend."

It is also a source of free, easy-access entertainment. We're all voyeurs, or else we wouldn't enjoy a good reality TV show. MySpace is a little clip into the lives of our friends, our enemies, our classmates, and our coworkers. You find out things you'd never have known in reality. It's fun and interesting to see what someone you don't know very well is truly like.

There are, however, many arguments against MySpace. Yes, there is the possibility of sharing too much information. Yes, there is the possibility of talking to the wrong person. Yes, some people use obscenities and post objectionable content on their pages. But, MySpace is a much safer place than it seems. Most teenagers know what limits to put on shared information and presentations of themselves. Most teenagers aren't trying to get into trouble on the site.

The details section. This section provides the only section on the site to enter personal information. What a user enters is their choice. Knowing what to reveal and what to keep secret is essential to safe use of MySpace.

Knowing what MySpace is is the key element in understanding why so many of today's teenagers are addicted to it. Misunderstandings have led to a lot of headaches at high schools for both teachers and students. MySpace use has been banned in most schools, networks blocking the site from school computers. At one friend's school, a student was suspended for the content of his MySpace, which was neither threatening nor explicit. At my own school, the senior class got a surprise when several students' MySpace pages were printed out and faxed home, due to "questionable" content. Actions such as these cause parents to become nervous and upset, which is only compounded by articles about young people being attacked while meeting strangers over the site. That is very worrisome, but if parents would talk to their children, rather than ban usage of the site, it would be more likely that these risks would be lessened, and everyone could use the site for what it is intended.

MySpace really shouldn't get as much controversial attention as it does. It's simply the place teenagers have found they are able to express themselves, get a little bit more attention than they might in high school. It's a place where they connect, without the restrictions they feel school or their families put on them. We're not trying to exploit ourselves and others. We're not trying to cause trouble. We're just trying to find ourselves and hang out with our friends.

Liz Petow, 17, is a senior at St. Mary's Academy, Bay View, in Riverside, R.I. She is co-editor-in-chief of its student newspaper, The Bengal Beat.