be very, very, very afraid.

I just hopped around on the links on MySpace.com, as we have a good young friend who has a weblog there. He's also a cyclist, and I found myself going through a few "friends" links (not just his, but friends of friends and the like) until I came across the page of a young woman track racer of whom I know. I don't know her personally, but in junior track cycling circles, her name is well known.

My eyes grew bigger as I witnessed the progression of the download... a dozen or so pictures of this woman, some with friends, some just her by herself - perfecting what I thought was a Christina Aguilera look, and Phil thought was a Paris Hilton stance. Of those with others, most of them were guys. She was almost always in high heels (when not in cycling shoes but not precluding cycling clothes), and was often scantily clad.

Some further investigation of the MySpace teen clientele demonstrated to me that I was already out of touch with the generation halfway behind me, and led me to fear what my own daughter's might embark upon as teenagers.

Strange to me, this site was actually a demonstration of a "good girl". This young woman is a senior in high school, and from what I understand, does well. She has a sport, a job, and isn't into drugs or stealing, (although I wouldn't be surprised at all about sex), she has a healthy self-esteem (as evidenced on the website), and is clearly well-liked.

*sigh* This was the moment our parents warned us about when we were teenagers, isn't it?