[kerry4sam]

What are ages of the youngest people who you genuinely know have a facebook account?

At work recently these 'kids' approached me as they were having trouble with a pay-per-use pc so I accompanied them to solve the problem. I asked what it was they were trying to look up and they said facebook. A few questions later and it turns out they were 7/10/11 and all had facebook accounts

Their parents, lovely folks, but told me straight out they weren't computer savvy but said all their friends had an account so they helped them set one up.

It angered me that people could not see the dangers of allowing youngsters having a facebook account and to allow them use a public pc with no child protection enabled and without supervision

I'd more children before wanting me to pull up you-tube for them, but I just couldn't justify it to myself to open the link for them, knowing I couldn't monitor their viewings. I convinced them the pc wasn't working right, refunded them their monies & turned it off until they went to bed.

In my youth, their wasn't half as many dangers online as their are these days and a lot more HAS TO be done to educate all ages about online dangers.

Any suggestions by folks reading this on ways to educate people to the above?


kerry4sam

[28064212]

Analogies are good. Parents going with the "not computer-savvy" nonsense as an excuse is the same as them saying "I'm not very savvy about how cars work, but I'm going to let my child play in the middle of the road"

Real-life stories from the web will help with both kids and adults understand some of the dangers. There's obvious ones which end up in incredibly serious and tragic consequences i.e. rape and murder, but "less serious" ones like the Jessi Slaughter case can be even more effective. Lots of parents think "oh my child would never be stupid enough to go off with a stranger if they were messaged online", but cases like Jessi's show there can be real-world consequences for online actions.

For parents, it's a good idea to illustrate the absolute permanence that is inherent in the internet. For a relatable example:

1. Post up a Facebook picture from their account that you've friended
2. Copy it to your local machine
3. Delete it from Facebook

Show them how you can do anything you want with that photo. Lots of non-techies think they still have control after they put it up, without realising it can be effortlessly reproduced and distributed. Now impress on them what could happen if it was their child's account and it wasn't such an innocent photo.

I don't think any child under the age of 13 should be allowed use the computer unsupervised. Any computer they use should be in the main living room where a parent can look at the screen at any time. After that, they should be slowly inducted into unsupervised usage, after they've demonstrated actual knowledge of the dangers of online usage. They most definitely should not be given a laptop and told to enjoy.

[biko]

Good question but better suited for Parenting as Blogs/... is more a technical forum.
Youngest I know is 12 on facebook but is friended by the parents.

There is a real risk with kids on the net, not only grooming but also the chances of cyber-bullying or themselves saying things that could stay on the net forever and cause issues when they get older.

[irishbarb]

Well for one, Facebook do not allow children under the age of 13 to have a Facebook account. When entering the date of birth if a child under 13 enters their age facebook won't let them proceed with the rest of the sign up. However, I have seen some of these kids are putting up fake ages so they can register. If Facebook finds out they'll delete the page. Thirteen seems an ok age for a child to have a Facebook page, but parents should educate themselves on the dangers of it and pass that on to their children. Also change the settings on their page so all their personal information is only available to the people they are friends with on it. I'd also insist that my child was friends with me on it, so I could keep an eye

[WhiteRoses]

One of my friends has a fb for her 2 year old son, he obviously can't use it himself but she always updates his status saying things like "I love my mummy" etc

The youngest I know that actually uses their account is 10. She's constantly online, doubt the parents monitor her activity either.

The above advice is very good. I'd probably insist on having their passwords, that they have a parent as their friend and that the parent regularly sign into the account to check what's going on. I'd also reign in on any personal info being posted. People definitely overshare on the internet these days, and people pick up info more than you'd think.

[Morag]

http://www.theparentsedge.com/