Social Networking and Kids: New Fears
Recent reports that Facebook is considering opening the site to kids under age thirteen raised a lot of eyebrows among parents. Are tweens just too young for the site?
Social networking can leave parents conflicted. On one hand it’s new territory. on the other hand, it’s a medium their kids will use for the rest of their lives. Among fears about kids jumping on sites with adults are the usual safety and privacy issues.
Professor Kathryn Montgomery of American University says another concern is kids facing another source of advertising. “We’re talking about viral marketing, we’re talking about marketing that’s woven into social networking and games, that you don’t even know it’s marketing.” That speaks to a chief criticism of the Facebook reports, that the site was seeking another target for revenue, as their stock struggles.
Stephen Balkam is CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute, a tech industry group. he also serves on Facebook’s safety advisory board. “This is not about the IPO. This is a discussion that’s been going on for over a year now. “
He says regardless of Facebook’s decision, parents should have a conversation with kids before they log on to any site, even if it’s kids-only. Among the crop of kid-friendly sites: scuttle pad, whats-what-dot-me, and everloop all boast of safety protections for tweens only.
