Plugged-in party patrol

A constantly ringing phone on a Friday night used to tip parents off that something big was being planned by teens.

Now end-of-the-year parties — often featuring underage drinking — get publicized through cellphone text messaging, computer instant messaging and MySpace bulletins and postings.

"Unfortunately for parents, it's really hard to monitor that," said Lyn Porterfield, co-president of the Ballard High School PTSA.

They can't casually walk by an open door and eavesdrop a bit of information. Since there's no phone to answer, they don't know which friends are going.

Parents can still find some of the chatter on MySpace. Parents, school officials and law-enforcement officers sometimes use the social-networking site to track underage bashes and what went on.

"This is the first year that MySpace has gotten big enough that I suspect a lot of information about parties and who is hanging out at whose house will be on that forum," said Sgt. John McSwain, head of the King County Sheriff's north precinct party patrol.

On MySpace, users can send out a bulletin to everyone on their friend list — potentially hundreds of people — that shows up on all their friends' home pages. Students also post messages to each other that may mention parties.

The Internet's most popular networking site, MySpace saw a 367 percent jump in visitors from April 2005 to April 2006, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. It boasts 38.4 million users a month.

"It used to be flyers that people would copy and hand out," said McSwain, dad of a teenager. "Now it's all text messages and cellphones. It's a much faster way. Everybody's all about getting connected these days."

MySpace and IM help teens stay in touch with casual friends they know from clubs or sports, but wide contacts also make it easier for parties to get out of control when the host doesn't even know kids who show up. "They do have a real network," said Janet Suppes, president of the Newport High School PTSA and mom of two teenage daughters. "There's a lot of communication between schools. They can get hold of a lot of people in a hurry."

Ninety percent of teens and young adults instant message, with more than half using it to set up weekend activities, according to a 2005 survey by America Online. Two-thirds of teens who own a cellphone also send text messages, noted a Pew Internet & American Life Project survey in 2004.

Porterfield's son, a sophomore, bought a cellphone only recently. Before that, he "got cut out of the loop on a lot of communication about things that were happening," she said. "Text messaging is sort of the social lifeline in high school."

Yes, the Porterfields own a home phone, but many teens don't want to have to talk to parents or leave a message with them, she explained. "Everybody just wants to punch up a cellphone number."

Her son isn't a MySpace fan, but after listening to Internet safety talks, Porterfield occasionally surfs his friends' sites "just to stay in the loop."

So far it's been innocuous, and she's upfront about it: "I'll say, 'Hey, I was checking out your MySpace page — nice picture.' " If they protest, she'll remind them that profiles are public; she finds them through a Google search.

Parents also need to monitor social networking sites such as MySpace after parties are over, said Nancy Willard, director of the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use, in Eugene, Ore. "In this era of cellphones with digital and video cameras, the greatest impact [of technology] may be post-party," she said. "Your teenager has no control over what others post, including pictures and names. These images can be disseminated on any of the social networking sites."

Pictures of illegal activities or provocative dress "could come back to haunt your child when they apply for a scholarship or job," she said. "The best advice is to just party safe."

Bellevue Police Officer Greg Mills, school resource officer at Newport High, browses MySpace once a week "to see if anything big is going on," and he recommends parents do the same. He called several parents earlier this year after finding pictures of students drinking and using drugs on MySpace.

His intent isn't to make arrests but to suggest parents talk to their teens. "I treat it more as a welfare issue," explained Mills. Many parents didn't realize their child had a MySpace profile or thought it had been shut down.

Word spread, so "a lot of kids are more careful now," he said. Some made pages private so only approved friends can view their profiles. "They're more aware that anybody can look, so they're not putting up sensitive information."

Snooping — low-tech by checking pockets or high-tech through the computer — is a time-worn parent tactic.

Only a third of teens who log on at home say parents monitor their use — but nearly two-thirds of parents with online teens report checking up on their child's surfing habits, according to the Pew survey.

"Anything they post needs to pass a 'What would my mother think?' test," Willard said.

"If it's something they wouldn't want parent to see, that's a clue they're posting things they shouldn't be."

Stephanie Dunnewind: sdunnewind@seattletimes.com

or 206-464-2091.