There Is No Such Thing As “Too Young” for Facebook
An Argument For Our Generation
My drive into work today was much longer than normal since I had to drive the opposite direction to drop my cats off at the vet. (Yes, that's cats. As in plural. Which, according to some sources, qualifies me to be a "Crazy Cat Lady". So, bring it!. But keep in mind, I'm "crazy"...) This gave me a little extra time to listen to my favorite morning radio talk show The Mikey Show on FM 94.9. This morning's topic was whether there is such a thing as "too young" for a Facebook account.
One M1 (as listeners of The Mikey Show are called) wrote in that his 9 year old daughter had a Facbeook account and that it was a regular point of contention between him and his wife. She, for it. He, against it.
Her claim: She maintains control of the privacy settings and who the child can and cannot friend on the network.
His claim: Who the heck does a 9 year old need to be friends with online?
Her claim: She uses the network to keep in touch with her classmates and family that lives at a distance
His claim: Doesn't she see her classmates at school...Everyday!? Updating family members is the responsiblity of the parents and should not be left to a child.
Her claim: The child's use of the social network is under adult supervision.
His claim: It's exposing her to content that is inappropriate for a 9 year old. You must be 18 to be on that site for a reason!
I have to admit, I could argue either side here - although that's probably because arguing is what I do best.
While the age requirements on Facebook are loosely (to put it nicely) enforced their privacy policy reads:
No information from children under age 13. If you are under age 13, please do not attempt to register for Facebook or provide any personal information about yourself to us. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under age 13, we will delete that information as quickly as possible.
Parental participation. We strongly recommend that minors 13 years of age or older ask their parents for permission before sending any information about themselves to anyone over the Internet and we encourage parents to teach their children about safe internet use practices.
Seemingly, even Facebook is telling us that 13 is the youngest acceptable age. I certainly have my own opinions on this matter, but...For the sake of this blog post, I'm going to play Switzerland and let our loyal readers hash it out. What do you think?
Lindsay, Campaign Manager
Lunch Today: Chicken and bowtie pasta, goldfish crackers, and string cheese
Comments
| charity
January 19, 2011 |
i everyone should use facebook!! its amazing (: |
| Sarah
February 02, 2011 |
I spend a lot of time with youth and I’m always amazed at how quickly some kids seem to grow up and how much they are exposed to. I really can see either side of this Facebook argument. My initial thought would be agreement with the father; who does a 9 year old really need to be online with? And is it really safe with the amount of online predators we hear about in the news? This being said I know a few families who have set up facebook accounts for their children, some as young as 6. These kids get so excited to get a comment or to send me a message. In these cases, the kids facebook accounts are heavily monitered and the parent is usually with their child when they are using their account. Really I think this depends on the family situation and the parent involvement. Whether its facebook, television, media in general, parents can have a huge influence on how their children learn about culture and society. Ultimately, do kids need facebook accounts? Probably not. Is it ok for them to have them? With supervision, sure. |
