Steriods for Sale on MySpace

And what else?

Just a quick Friday afternoon entry. The New York Times reported today in Steriods Sold on MySpace, by Thomas Kaplan, that, well, steriods are being sold on MySpace.

According to the article,

For teenagers who flock to the Web site to watch videos and connect with friends, ordering anabolic steroids took no more than a few extra mouse clicks, the authorities said. And with the Web site’s popularity among young people, some coaches in this area described the case as an unpleasant reminder about how easily minors can surreptitiously obtain performance-enhancing drugs.

MySpace users would simply send a message to a seller’s profile, according to Kevin J. O’Connor, the United States attorney in Connecticut.

AG Blumenthal of Connecticut has been applying pressure on MySpace for almost two years, looking for tighter controls, among them, age verification. As quoted in the article:

"Our focus as attorneys general has been on pornography and predators, but marketing illegal drugs is equally troubling and certainly shows the need for stronger controls and verification of age and identity. To put it very bluntly, if a seller of steroids knows that his identity will be checked and his age verified, he is much less likely to use a social-networking site."

It's yet another reminder that the Internet changes everything for your kids, and for you as a parent. As so simply and frankly stated by Tom Brockett, head coach of a top-ranked football team,

"The problem is, kids can get anything online, any day, anything they need. The more it’s thrown in their face, the easier it’s going to be."

Indeed.