Seabron Ward, 19, a student at the University of Colorado at Denver, said that many students consider it a status symbol to build a big friend list. "This one guy on my list has a thousand," she said, a bit enviously. "I only have 79."

The time-sucking potential of MySpace became an issue at the small record label where Ms. Ward works, Suburban Home Records, at least in the eyes of her boss, Virgil Dickerson. He said he started worrying when he noticed younger employees spending hours surfing through MySpace. "It was a drag on productivity, for sure," Mr. Dickerson, 30, said. "They were always goofing around, seeing if such-and-such added them as a friend or whatever."

In the winter three of his single employees got into relationships around the same time, meaning they could all graduate from the "single" designation on their MySpace pages. It was a big deal, and Mr. Dickerson gave an office party, complete with an ice cream cake with the message in frosting "Congrats Kyle, Joey, and Naomi on your MySpace Upgrade!""

As a man who makes his living from youth culture, he had to make peace with MySpace. His company has responded to a slow period in the record business by selling T-shirts on eBay that read, "MySpace ruined my life." "They're doing pretty awesome actually," Mr. Dickerson said. "I'd say, as far as a cultural phenomenon, MySpace is as important, if not more important, than MTV."

Like MTV, it is starting to create stars that glow brightly within its own universe. The band Hollywood Undead, which did not exist three months ago, has achieved celebrity thanks to MySpace. "We were just a bunch of loser kids who sat around our friend's house all day, and we started making music and recording it on computer," one of its vocalists, Jeff Phillips, said.

About two months ago the group posted a page on MySpace decorated with pictures of all seven members disguised in hockey masks and other forms of concealment. They also included a few original songs, a fusion of heavy metal and hip-hop. "In a matter of weeks it got huge, and it kept on getting bigger and bigger," said Mr. Phillips, whose left earlobe was splayed open enough to accommodate a hollow ring the size of a wedding band.