Myspace ads are charged by how often they are clicked on (information from Michael Arrington of TechCrunch). The more hits an ad gets, the less the advertisers will pay. So connectivity is key in Myspace advertising. As I log into Myspace right now, on the right hand side is an ad for Toyota yet the picture is not of a car but of a four-guy band named Phoenix. What does Phoenix have to do with selling an automobile? Well, if you click on the ad then you have the option of downloading free music, courtesy of Toyota. Chances are many teens are not going to get a new Toyota to drive but who doesn’t like free music?

So how does all this advertising that is just a click away affect teenagers? Some ads are easier to determine is actual advertising than others. 20-year-old Kate has a Myspace account.  On her profile she says that she runs track, she listens to Elvis Costello, and she watches to O.C. She seems like your average American 20-year-old right? Wrong. Kate is a character from the movie John Tucker Must Die. Her top three friends are other characters from the movie. Most teens would probably know it is an advertisement but if taken too far, it can become hard for teens to determine what is real and what is not? Brittany Snow is the actress who plays Kate – perhaps Brittany does not really like the O.C., Elvis Costello or running but yet her profile page is set up like it is a “real” profile. In fact, there isn’t even any mention about the movie. 

Researchers from Kaohsiung Medical University have found in a study of 9,405 adolescents that teens can become addicted to the Internet (25% of males and 13% of females). In this particular study, the researchers found that “chatting online, playing video games and visiting sexually oriented Web sites could provide opportunities for teens to ‘observe, experience and try aggressive behaviors resulting in positive outcome, such as identification in a group, being a hero or winning in games.’” While this specific example might not apply directly to Kate from John Tucker Must Die, the study shows that teens can be sucked into another world; they can create a different reality and Myspace can be a confusing place for teens who do not realize the difference. Teens who get lost in Myspace world could suffer in the real world just like “people with poor social skills don’t have any friends, so they spend a lot of time on the Internet” (quoted from Kaohsiung Medical University researchers).  As Kenneth Musante, a writer for Adotas explains, “The lure of friendship is a strong one; everyone wants it” – perhaps even in the form of a fictional character from a movie.