Facebook is an age restricted social website that is increasing in popularity every day. A new fad among some parents is to provide their children with a Facebook account, even though their children do not meet the minimum age requirement. Does this expose kids to dangers like online bullying or child predators? The answer I have found to this question is more startling than I think most parents realize, or are willing to accept. Cyberbullying Research Center released a study from February 2010 in which 6,500 kids from 35 different schools between the ages of eleven and eighteen, at least 20% claim to have been a victim at some point in their lives. Most if not all felt that they have been a victim of cyberbullying more than once.
So what is the age requirement for Facebook? According to their terms of use that must be agreed to before activating an account, Facebook is intended for users who are thirteen years of age or older, and if the user is under eighteen must be currently enrolled in high school or college. While that may seem a little confusing, what it means is that at a minimum you must be thirteen years old and in high school. I researched this because my 11 year old step-daughter came home and told me she wanted a Facebook account because all of her friends had one and she was feeling left out.
This was a little confusing to me. How did all of these kids who were not old enough get these accounts? The answer, which I learned by high drama in my own family, is that some parents lie about their children's ages in order for them to fit in and have a Facebook account. My step-daughter's father, decided that this would be okay, since we decided not to allow it in our house. So while visiting her dad, she was given a Facebook account in which her age is currently listed at eighteen. Even though she is only eleven, she has access to everything Facebook has to offer.
It was all a coolness factor to her until we had to deal with cyberbullying. Shortly after getting her Facebook account she put all of her personal information on the account, with the help of her dad. She also accepted friend requests from everyone who sent requests to her. She was allowed complete unsupervised access to Facebook and could input and converse with whoever she wanted. There just happened to be some of the girls that really didn't like my step-daughter that thought it would be fun to distribute photos from a sleepover making fun of her. They distributed this to all of their friends and all of my step-daughters friends. She was devastated to say the least, and this kind of self-esteem damage is hard to recover from when you are newly in middle school. She has repeatedly had kids say hurtful things and start "text wars" with each other.
If you feel that your child may be dealing with cyberbullying, it is best to try to stop the behavior as quickly as possible. It might take making a hard phone call to a parent who will defend their child also. It is our responsibility as parents to create an environment where our children feel safe and not be pushed around while even at home. If it takes pulling the plug until your child is mentally mature enough to handle the bullying, then I say please for the kids sake, pull the plug.
About The Author
Mitchell Pierce hopes that you found this article helpful. Mr. Pierce runs a website dedicated to providing free information on how to make money at home having an internet home business. To find articles and free advice on Internet Home Businesses, please visit the Internet Based Home Business site today.
(C) Copyright, Mitchell Pierce, Internet Based Home Business Guide, All Rights Reserved World Wide.
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
No comments:
Post a Comment