MADISON, Wis. -- A new medical study is linking the popular social network MySpace to some risky behavior among teenagers.

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Researchers said that they hope the findings of the study lead teens and parents to talk about personal information online.

"I don't really use MySpace anymore because in high school, most people use Facebook," said local high school freshman McKenna Meuer.

But MySpace is a well-known place to log in and make new friends. The online social network has 250 million users.

Like many teens, Meuer said that she stays well-connected to her friends, but sometimes, she sees more than just a funny post on Web sites like MySpace.

"There are pictures of them with their friends but they're drinking, sometimes. I mean, not everyone but some people are," she said.

These behaviors led Dr. Megan Moreno to study how teens present themselves in cyberspace.

"MySpace is a place where teens are feeling comfortable talking about these kinds of behaviors and displaying them," said Moreno.

As part of a study conducted by Seattle Children's Hospital, Moreno helped analyze 500 MySpace profiles from teens across the country.

"What we found is that a little over half of the profiles displayed a reference to either substance use, sexual activity or violence," said Moreno.

Cindy Moubry said that she hopes these findings lead to more parental vigilance.

"You can have a page or you can be on the computer, but I need to be checking it weekly randomly and it can't be anything that you do without my knowledge," said Moubry.

Meuer's parents stay connected by having their computer in a public area.

"My parents trust me so they don't really feel like they need to see it, but if they wanted to see it, I would show them. I don't really have anything to hide on it," said Meuer.

In the end, Moreno said it's up to users who are logging in for everyone to see.

"For teens, it's time for them to stop for a moment and think about who's looking at your profile, who has the potential of looking at your profile and how do you want to present yourself," said Moreno.

The study looked at users whose profiles said they were 18 years old, but Moreno said many of these teens are actually younger, WISC-TV reported.

Experts said when it comes to the bottom line, it's up to parents to talk to their children about their profiles or use programs that help control or monitor computer use in the home.