Guilty of joining MySpace

Since MySpace has existed, the media, as well as a majority of my colleagues, have brushed it off as something for "kids." It reminds me how my grandparents talk about Elvis and rock n' roll. Crazy, crazy youth.

What's more, in focus group after focus group, most adults won't admit to belonging to MySpace either. Yet look at the numbers. 41 percent of MySpace users are between the ages of 35 and 54, and there are well over 100 million MySpace users. That means that a healthy majority of 35- to-54-year-olds are on MySpace.

So why are people so hesitant to admit it? My guess is one of two things.

First, I think that most adults are fearful of how they will be perceived if they have a MySpace page. It's peer pressure at its best.

Second, this culture's aversion to age mixing borders on paranoia. From August's Wired magazine (p. 46): "We are becoming a society that is paranoid just because kids and adults happen to be in the same public space"(Larry Magid, codirector, BlogSafety online forum).

Why hide it? If you're between 35 and 54, you're most likely a member of MySpace. So don't be a wimp. Say it loud and say it proud "I love MySpace!"