• Is it age appropriate?

  About our ratings

  (Flash is loading. If this text does not disappear you need to install the latest flash version)

  Not age appropriate for kids under 14, age appropriate for kids over 16; suggested age 15.

• Is it any good?

  2.0

• Common Sense says

  Flirtatious site focuses on judging teens by their looks.

Why We Rated This for Ages 15–16

The good stuff

• Educational value:

What to watch out for

• Online interaction:

  Users can rate other members in an impersonal manner. Messages between "matches" are filtered to avoid the exchange of contact information, but by initiating these flirtatious connections, the site is tempting users to want to meet. The site advises users to keep relations casual and strictly online, but then allows users to narrow their search for people close to their ZIP code and says things like "Get new photo profiles of highly-compatible Spinners every time you log in. Kind of like The Bachelor, except your relationship might actually work out!"
• User-created content:

  Users set up a profile that includes information like their city and state, height, ethnicity, status, and body specs. When visiting a profile, you can send notes, gifts and judge profiles.
• Messages:

  While there are a few positive messages on Espin -- the advice column provides relatively sound suggestions -- overall the site promotes judging people on their physical appearance and criticizing people for no reason. The "judge me" poll lets users rate others from "hot" to "not that special." Profile photos are pitted against each other and users can pick which person is hotter.
• Violence:

  Not an issue.
• Sex:

  Some photos are risque, with girls showing off their behinds in shorty shorts. "Do Something" icons take smilies to the next level with various emoticons that range from "chest bump" to "tonsil hockey." Other features include the "Expose Yourself" tool which lets your profile get advertised, and quizzes such as "Which Sexy Are You?" that include multiple choice options like "a midnight tryst in the back of a Dodge Ram." There are references to sneaking a view of mature TV and strip poker.
• Language:

  "Asshole" is used several times and some photos show members putting up their middle finger.
• Consumerism:

  The site is owned by Hearst Magazines and sister sites for magazines like Seventeen and CosmoGirl are promoted and linked to the site. Ads for cell phones and make-up companies are prevalent on the site and many times it's hard to tell these are ads.
• Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

  A quiz question asks "if you found a kitten, what would you name it?" One of the multiple choice options is "Jagermeister," the 70-proof German liquor.

How safe is it?

• Personal privacy:

  The site seems to take privacy very seriously. It states that "no personally identifiable info is allowed in users' profiles." All photos are screened for appropriateness and the site will attempt to delete anything that's not allowed. In addition, no one can receive unsolicited mail. You can also create a filter to block certainb people from contacting you. But the site does ask for some personally identifying information that it uses in creating certain search results.
• Parental controls:

  None.

What Parents Need to Know

About Espin

Families Can Talk About