For students at BYU-Idaho, Rexburg is a cold place, a friendly place, a place to grow and a place to learn. But when students sit down at their computers, for many it becomes ‘MySpace’.

Membership on www.myspace.com has jumped from zero to more than 50 million users in two years, making it the most popular peer-networking site on the Internet, according to www.msn.com.

Its popularity with teens has grown, as has its popularity with sexual predators. In 2005, the Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported over 2,600 cases of adults using the Internet to entice children. Many of these cases have ended tragically.

Majalie Cajuste of New Jersey, mourns the loss of her daughter Judy. The 14-year-old told her friends that she was meeting a man she’d met on Myspace who was in his late 20’s, according to the CMEC.

In another case in northern California, friends and family grieve over the loss of 15-year-old Kayla Reed, who also met her abductor through MySpace, according to the CMEC.

“It’s up to the individual person whether they accept friend invites and communicate with possible predators on MySpace,” said Camille Cook, a senior from Ririe, Idaho, and MySpace member. “You have the option to block someone at any time,” Cook said.

MySpace’s owner, News Corp., is well aware of the problem and has extensive safety rules posted. It employs one third of its work force to review sites for sexually explicit material.

MySpace “regularly works with law enforcement to investigate and prevent potential criminal activity,” according to an official press release made in Febuary.

According to MySpace there are currently over 3,000 BYU-I students with MySpace accounts. This number doubles when including Madison High School, junior high students and other locals. With so many members will Rexburg become a potential feeding pool for possible predators?

Many MySpace users never feel under attack. “I never worry about predators, but my mom’s always telling me to quit using Myspace,” said Sarah Avila, a freshman from Snohomish, Wash. “I’m careful about what information I share and I only accept friend requests from people who I already know.”

Although MySpace potentially puts its members at risk by providing personal information to the public, many BYU-I students eliminate that risk by using caution.

“I could see parents being worried about their younger children who try to get as many friends as possible by adding strangers,” said Seth Lucas, a sophomore from Rexburg. But Lucas has seen his friends find love online using the site. “But I just don’t know about that,” Lucas said.