Myspace, an online shelter to millions of users, is claiming some new space of its own, opening a new office in San Francisco. Although it will be closer to home, many SF State students find themselves feeling increasingly distant to their new online neighbor.

While the reasons people join may seem apparent -- access to friends, networking, and dating -- the effects that Myspace has on users are still a bit fuzzy. Some experts say that websites like Myspace and Facebook help young people gain confidence and friends. But some SF State students say that the website has passed its heyday.

"I do not think that MySpace or Facebook or any of the other social networking websites are, by their nature, causing negative social effects on teens and young college-age adults," said Professor of Psychology at Dominquez Hills State University Dr. Larry Rosen.

Rosen is the author of the book "Me, Myspace, and I: Parenting the Net Generation." In a summary of a study of 1,256 Myspace users in Los Angeles, one of the conclusions Rosen comes to is that the website can help teens and young people develop important parts of their identities.

Still, some users don't see real identity development in anyway relevant to Myspace.

"It's like no one is themselves," SF State freshman Georgie Ferris said as she and a group of four other students sat outside of cafe Russo and discussed the Myspace world.

"I think it's definitely unethical and misleading." Ferris recently deleted her Myspace page but decided to keep her ties to Facebook.

Facebook, she said, is more "personal." The rest of the table agreed. All four students at the table had Facebook. Half had both Myspace and Facebook. Myspacers, Ferris said, "definitely try to be the alter ego that they want to be in real life."

Faris said that her ex-girlfriend went on a date with someone she met on Myspace. The mystery date apparently showed up as a very different person than she portrayed herself to be on her Myspace page.

Pictures are posted all throughout websites like Myspace and Facebook. Visitors can enter a web of pictorial connections, read, and post greetings. Or they can simply explore the hand tailored visual and often audio lives of people, whether or not they have ever met in-person.

"It's kind of stalkerish," SF State junior Rob Abercrombie said.

Abercrombie said that he only subscribes to Facebook, which as Ferris said is more personal than Myspace, "I usually hate these things. I don't have time for them," Abercrombie said.

He said that although he thinks the voyeuristic nature of the social networking websites is "1984, George Orwellish" they do serve purposes. "In some ways it's good," he said. Ferris, an exchange student from England, said that he uses Facebook to network within his interests and keep in touch with friends from home.

"There are some potential negative aspects including Internet addiction and potential depression but these results are merely correlational and not very strong correlations at that, " Rosen said.

Myspace attracted almost 69 million visitors last month, according to ComScore, a global Internet information provider. Facebook had a little less than half the visitors of Myspace.

"In addition, we don't know the direction of the relationship. Does someone become addicted to the Internet because he/she is on MySpace or does being addicted bring someone to MySpace, or neither?"