Parents help kids lie to get on Facebook, study finds
Many people feel that rules are meant to be broken. That being said, oftentimes they are created for safety and protection. For example, Facebook has a very well advertised rule that children under the age of 13 may not join the site. But recently, there has been a swarm of children under the age of 13 active in the Facebook community. Many of these children are likely sneaking onto the site without their parent’s knowledge, but a new study has found that many parents of children under 13 are helping them get their very own Facebook accounts.
According to the study, “[t[he vast majority (95%) of the parents of 10-year-olds on Facebook were aware when their child signed up for the site, and 78% of those parents helped create the child’s account, according to the study. For 11- and 12-year-olds, the percentages of parental knowledge and involvement were slightly lower.” With the prevalence of cyber bullying and online predators, why is it that these parents are helping their children break the rules?
Many sited circumstantial reasons, explaining that it’s a good way for their children to stay in touch with family members and to stay involved with school-programs.
Personally, I do think it’s beneficial for children under 13 to get exposure to the Internet, and if that comes in the form of Facebook (with parental consent), fine by me. The Internet is being used as an educational tool nowadays, and as long as it is regulated, it could help children excel. With that being said, it’s extremely important that parents are keeping an eye on their children and making sure to teach them about Internet dangers.
What do you guys think? Should children be allowed on Facebook with the consent of parents?
Other Must-Read Headlines this week:
Fun Stuff: Rainn Wilson Caught in $12K Tweet For Pay?
What do you guys think? Is this a case of celebrities making big mistakes on Twitter? Or is Rainn just messing with everyone?
Partnerships: Gaming App Teaches Kids Social Networking Safety
A new partnership between BeSeen and Web Wise Kids is bringing safety to social for kids.
Tools and Technology: Upstart Unthink wants to become the new anti-Facebook
Ready for a new social network? Unthink, the “anti-Facebook” is open for invite-only beta testing, and is promising to be everything that the big guys, specifically Facebook and Google+, aren’t. The main focus of their launch campaign is how they plan to combat the privacy issues that Facebook has had a hard time addressing.
Measurement: Guess What? Social Media Measurement Doesn’t Have to Be Hard
Are we making social measurement harder than it needs to be? I’d be very curious to hear your opinions on this article, so let me know!
Influencers: Sean Parker: Facebook Power Users Have Gone to Twitter or Google+
Sean Parker, the former President of Facebook, has some concerns about the future of Facebook. Mainly, he believes all of their “power users” are branching out to other social networks.
