In two related studies, researchers have found that 54 percent of adolescents frequently use social networking Web sites (SNSs) like MySpace as a platform to discuss high-risk activities including sexual behaviour, substance abuse or violence.

The studies, 'Adolescent Display of Health Risk Behaviors on MySpace', and 'Reducing At-Risk Adolescents' Display of Risk Behavior on a Social Networking Web Site', were led by research fellow Megan A. Moreno, MD, MPH, MSEd, and Dimitri Christakis, MD, MPH, of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children's Research Institute, and the University of Washington.

As SNSs like Facebook.com and MySpace.com are getting increasingly popular, parents and those who work with teens fear that these sites might expose teens to ill-intentioned online predators, cyberbullies and increased peer pressure.

They are also concerned that university enrolment and future hiring decisions also suffer by the content posted online by adolescents in their personal profiles.

In the first study, the researchers collected information directly from 500 randomly chosen MySpace profiles of self-reported 18-year-old males and females from the United States.

They examined the extent to which high-risk behaviours were reported in the profiles, as well as any correlations that suggested that certain behaviours may be influenced by other items, interests or activities.

It was found that 54 percent of the MySpace profiles contained high-risk behaviour information, with 41 percent referencing substance abuse, 24 percent referencing sexual behavior and 14 percent referencing violence.