It
is estimated that there are approximately 7.5 million kids with a facebook
account. This is a classical case, “if you can’t beat them join them.” In my
opinion if you can’t prevent kids from having a facebook account, at least you
can try to control it. There are many things to consider and safety concerns
should be the number one priority. There are predators on line just waiting for
the right opportunity to communicate with our kids. It’s our responsibility as
parents to teach them the rules for staying safe online. We must make sure this is
done right the first time. Communicate and
monitor their accounts and make sure their computer is visible so
you can see what they ae doing on-line.
My 13 year old daughter has a
facebook account. She uses her account
to play games and to keep in touch with old friends and family from Trinidad. If it wasn’t for facebook, she would not have the
opportunity to socialize on such a personal level with her extended family. Whenever we visit Trinidad, it’s so nice to
see her interacting with them. This is partly because of the relationships they
formed using facebook. We have ground rules, I know her password and she is
aware of that. I monitor her account and
whenever she wants to post a picture or add a friend, she has to run it by me
first. She never question my actions
because she knows it’s for her own safety and protection. Kids’ safety is paramount and facebook should
make every effort to ensure that when our kids are using this social media
site, they are protected. As parents we cannot rely solely on facebook to
protect our kids. If grounds rules are not established then kids should not be
allowed to have access on facebook.
On the other hand facebook has an obligation to
their shareholders to keep the company profitable. The fact that facebook is now accountable to
shareholders many decisions may be questioned along the way. Regardless if this
is a ploy to raise the stock prices or not, it doesn’t matter. If this was
indeed a ploy to increase the value of shares it was definitely a brilliant on
their part. It’s a concern that facebook
needs to address.
As a society in general we teach our kids the
value of being honest from a very young age. We teach them not to lie and
always tell the truth. I think facebook has identified a very important social
concern pertaining to values we work so hard to instill in our kids. Facebook can
only win from finding a solution to this issue. This could be a win for facebook
and for parents and kids alike. The question
is how determined is facebook to pursue a solution to this issue.
Facebook broadens our children's
social circle in a way that wasn't quite possible before this technology. When
children are young, we supervise and teach them. As they get older, we trust
them to make good decisions. Facebook is teaching our kids a language that will
undoubtedly be crucial to their future. Today's children are going to be
interacting online with friends and, in the future, business colleagues and
customers. Facebook is what life is about, which is connecting with others.
QUESTIONS:
Should facebook
be accessible to kids under 13?
If Facebook is
going to allow kids under 13 to open facebook accounts, should there be more restrictions
to the privacy settings?
Dean Tsouvalas of Editor – in – Chief
of Student Advisor has 8 Tips to Protect your Kids on Facebook. They are:
“If you or your kids are considering
creating a Facebook account, there are several steps that need to be taken to
ensure your privacy and safety while accessing the site.
1. More than two-thirds of children and teens post
personal information in their Facebook profile. Work with your child to
determine which information is appropriate to share on the Internet and which
is private. Making sure that your child’s information is Internet-friendly will
alleviate concerns about who is viewing it. Relationship Status, Looking For,
and Interested In are good fields for children to keep blank.
2. Encourage your child to use a nickname or middle
name instead of their real name, making it more difficult for them to be
identified.
3. Facebook privacy settings are different for minors
than for adults. By declaring yourself a minor on Facebook, you ensure that you
will only receive messages and friend requests from friends of friends. Minors
also cannot share their posts publicly. When a minor makes a text or photo post
on Facebook, it can only be seen by friends of friends.
4. Parents cannot access their child’s Facebook page
if they are over 13 years old. This means that parents cannot report or take
something off Facebook without their child’s account information. If you have a
young child, make sure you know their user name and password in case you need to
access their account.
5. Don’t lie about your age! If your child’s Facebook
age is 18, but they seem to be friends and taking photos with many 13-year-old
users, Facebook will take notice and likely deactivate your child’s account. By
declaring your child’s real age on Facebook, you can ensure that Facebook is
providing the safest experience for him or her.
6. There have been many cases of cyber bullying and
harassment on Facebook. Make sure to familiarize yourself and your child with
Facebook’s reporting tools and find out how to report online harassment in your
child’s school.
7. Only have your child join relevant and safe
Facebook groups and pages. Pages can be a nice way of showing your interests,
but can also be forums for controversial and dangerous discussion.
8. Remind your child that information that they put on
the Internet will be there forever – when they are applying for college and for
jobs. Anything they post now can come back to haunt them in the future!”
