Common Sense Media Review
By Dana Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
MySpace gets users involved in the 2008 election.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
What's It About?
MySpace's MYDEBATES.COM offers Web surfers a way to get politically active without ever leaving their laptop. Users can watch debates live, discuss political views on multiple forums, read more about the issues, take a quiz to find out who they most agree with, and more. When the debates are actually airing, viewers can also answer poll questions that pop up on their screen and visit an area of the site that presents the candidates' opinions on the subject at hand. The site provides links to the candidates' Web sites and MySpace pages and lets users register to vote, print out position papers, submit questions for future debates, and more.
Is It Any Good?
This comprehensive, easy-to-use site will likely motivate many teens and college students to get involved in this year's presidential election who might otherwise never have tuned into a debate or read about the issues. It's hard to keep political discourse civil in a relatively anonymous Internet setting, but overall MyDebates.com is a good place to get a sense of what other people are thinking and voice your own opinions.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why it's important to get information about political candidates from a variety of sources. Why is it important to watch candidates debate? Why should you check the "facts" that people post on the forum with another source? What sources should you use? Talk about why voters should always look at political information with a critical eye. If your teen isn't old enough to vote, discuss other ways to be politically involved.
Website Details
- Genre : Civic Engagement
- Pricing structure : Free
- Last updated : October 26, 2022
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate