Facebook anybody?

[HepKitty]

Jezebel that picture of you is gorgeous!

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Imust be fit to commit, I just joined FB with my name Charlie :eusa_doh:

 

[Foofoogal]

I find it incredibly useful now for keeping in touch with family spread out across the universe.

 

[Tomasso]

I just saw The Social Network which is based on the founding of Facebook. An excellent film; highly recommended.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

A question for those of us on Facebook: Do you think it is okay for a nine year old child to have his own Facebook page? I have been doing some searching on there & have found that some people I knew in high school are expecting a child & that child already has a facebook page! What do you think of this?

Thanx!!!
Charlie

 

[JimWagner]

A question for those of us on Facebook: Do you think it is okay for a nine year old child to have his own Facebook page? I have been doing some searching on there & have found that some people I knew in high school are expecting a child & that child already has a facebook page! What do you think of this?

Thanx!!!
Charlie

I would vote no.

I had to deal with a predator situation with one of my kids long before there was such a thing as Facebook and my kid was 15 at the time. Today's social networking sites make it even easier for your kids to come into contact with people they really shouldn't. Unless you're willing and able to monitor all communications, then it's just not worth it.

 

[HepKitty]

I would vote no.

I had to deal with a predator situation with one of my kids long before there was such a thing as Facebook and my kid was 15 at the time. Today's social networking sites make it even easier for your kids to come into contact with people they really shouldn't. Unless you're willing and able to monitor all communications, then it's just not worth it.

Agreed. I won't let my 9 year old children have facebook pages either

 

[Cobden]

It's against Facebook's rules to have a page if you are under 13:

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. If you believe that we might have any information from a child under age 13, please contact us through this help page.

And they have a form specifically for such an eventuality:

http://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=underage

 

[LocktownDog]

No. Just plain no.

My 14 yr old has his own page and gets into a lot of trouble on it. Accidentally downloaded viruses from links there. Trusts everyone far too much.

 

[Pompidou]

Like all new communication frontiers, holding it back from kids will prove a futile endeavor. Jim's right that social networking makes it easier for bad people to meet good people, but I think with some precautions, you can minimize the risk. For example, don't let your kid put your address and phone number in the profile. You can restrict your kid's friend list to people s/he really knows. Whatever worries you might have, in theory, can be compromised on. There are scores of privacy settings you can toggle. The Facebook dilemma is yet another step in the classic parental dichotomy - 100% sheltered from the outside world vs thrown to the wolves. I'm not a parent, and maybe being one flips a few switches that aren't on in my head, but I'm thinking the type I'll be is the one that assumes the kid is going to gain access to anything s/he pleases regardless of prohibitions, and seek to show the kid how to at least do so safely. The Facebook access you know and oversee is better than the secret you can't. If "all his her friends are doing it", that might not make it any better, but it does mean your kid will be messing around on Facebook if s/he sees any of them. Once you get your kid a smartphone, it's hopeless. Just my one cent.

EDIT: Goes to show you the switches that haven't been flipped. I totally forgot/never needed to notice, that Facebook does prohibit accounts under the age of 13. So, that should make it a little easier. A lot of my friends seem to have what amount to family accounts, and one goes on Facebook as his dog. It still won't be easy. After all, there wouldn't be a rule if nobody planned on breaking it. But, at least you'll have official measures to largely undo the damage if your kid does make an account.

 

[HepKitty]

Like all new communication frontiers, holding it back from kids will prove a futile endeavor. Jim's right that social networking makes it easier for bad people to meet good people, but I think with some precautions, you can minimize the risk. For example, don't let your kid put your address and phone number in the profile. You can restrict your kid's friend list to people s/he really knows. Whatever worries you might have, in theory, can be compromised on. There are scores of privacy settings you can toggle. The Facebook dilemma is yet another step in the classic parental dichotomy - 100% sheltered from the outside world vs thrown to the wolves. I'm not a parent, and maybe being one flips a few switches that aren't on in my head, but I'm thinking the type I'll be is the one that assumes the kid is going to gain access to anything s/he pleases regardless of prohibitions, and seek to show the kid how to at least do so safely. The Facebook access you know and oversee is better than the secret you can't. If "all his her friends are doing it", that might not make it any better, but it does mean your kid will be messing around on Facebook if s/he sees any of them. Once you get your kid a smartphone, it's hopeless. Just my one cent.

I agree with that too, but I still want to wait until my kids are older

 

[JimWagner]

. I'm not a parent, and maybe being one flips a few switches that aren't on in my head,

I felt like you right up to the point that my kid was in a predatory situation and the switch got flipped. It's hardwired in the safety position now. At least on this matter.

 

[Foofoogal]

No and double no. Even as an adult many do not seem to have a clue. Check your privacy settings at least once a week as when FB does things sometimes they default.
Main thing is birthday. I was born in 1905 according to mine.
Do not put you are going out of town on such and such date. It is amazing what I see.
Doesn't anyone watch TV? There is actually a site like FB for kids that is supposed to be watched with great scrutiny but I forget the name.
Kids need to be playing outside and staring at clouds in Summer and throwing snowballs outside in Winter.

 

[rue]

My husband, daughter and three sons all have FB accounts. Guess who doesn't? My husband uses it to keep up with family and for work, my children use it because it's cool, but what do I need it for? I just don't get it. I had a blog and people that I didn't want to find me did and I didn't even use my real name (which I'm sure you know I don't here either). I can't imagine all the losers from high school, ex-boyfriends, my husband's ex-wife, etc. finding me. I know you can say no to people that request friendship, but if I want to know about your personal life I will call you or email you and vice versa. If you haven't talked to me in 20 years, there's a reason lol, but to each his own

 

[Edward]

A question for those of us on Facebook: Do you think it is okay for a nine year old child to have his own Facebook page? I have been doing some searching on there & have found that some people I knew in high school are expecting a child & that child already has a facebook page! What do you think of this?

Thanx!!!
Charlie

It's against Facebook's rules to have a page if you are under 13:




And they have a form specifically for such an eventuality:

http://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=underage

As a lawyer, this would be my simple answer. The reason 13 is the age limit they (and MySpace, and others) use is to do with the CANSPAM Act in the US, which places heavy restrictions on what may be done with personal information pertaining to a child under 13. Beyond that, it's up to the parent / guardian - the old 'my house, my rules' standard would apply there. FWIW, I am inclined to the view that modern kids properly educated are far more astute about the online world than we would have been at that age as they have grown up with this technology. But hey ho... I neither have kids nor any intention to breed, so I have the luxury of rather more liberal (small 'l') viewpoints on such matters with no potential of consequences. There is a 'baby' facebook of some sort, but that is something cutesy for parents / expectant parents to do, and is not controlled by the child. No different than me using 'catbook' to post various things in the name / guise of my cats.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I love reading your facebook updates, it's always something fun. I love Facebook!

I'm on. I'm addicted. I love it. But I'd love to come up with some method of filtering comments based on whether after reading them I wished I hadn't wasted my time reading them. They don't have a "Sort by relevance" button. Or "Sort by inanity". The problem is, I find some peoples' inanity more entertaining than other peoples' earthshaking news.

 

[Tomasso]

the CANSPAM Act in the US, which places heavy restrictions on what may be done with personal information pertaining to a child under 13..

I believe you're thinking of COPPA.

 

[Berlin]

Yes I have

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/profile.php?id=100001671889542

Free to add I like meeting new people.

 

[Foofoogal]

http://www.facebook.com/SandysFancyPantsAntiques
I would love some of the FLers to join my fan page. Let me know you came from here. I do have a personal page for all my family mostly.

 

[shopgirl61]

after some 2 yrs of on/off play, I only have 23 fb "friends".

So I guess I really don't have friends [huh]