Should a 13 year old have a Facebook account?

Proc

No, if your son gets a Facebook account he will almost certainly be going on dates with a plethora of nonces before the end of the month.

Stop reading the Daily Mail and other tripe.

Set him up a Facebook account, if you're that worried use your own email address and a password that you both know so that you can have control over the account. I'm not saying you should go snooping, but he's more likely to abide by some simple groundrules if he knows you have access and can cut him off at any time. Just pay interest in what he does on Facebook, and help him set up the privacy settings etc. You know, spend some time with him once in a while and pay interest in what he does.

Gemsgalore

thriftlady wrote: »

No I haven't, as I said I don't know anything about it, otherwise I wouldn't be asking here;) It seems you have to create an account before you can look at it, or have I got that wrong?

Well from watching Jeremy Vile and Tricia it seems to be the new way to find long lost family for free

sneezyboots

my mum doesn't know anything about facebook so when my brother (just 12, was 11 at the time) asked for an account my mum asked me if it was ok and could i set it up and keep an eye on it. tbh he doesn't use it very often but one instance he swore on a photo comment. as it was one of those general photo tag things all his friends and family were obviously notified he had commented on a photo. thankfully i am on it so much myself that i saw it pretty quick went into his account and deleted it. called our mum and she banned him from facebook for a week. it was a useful lesson to him that if he wouldn't have said that to my face or our other family members he shouldn't write it on there. given the internet way the world is turning the more access and 'training' chidlren can be given on things like this the better. just make sure it is under control and that you or someone you trust has password access and monitors what they are doing.

tiff

I know what you mean, but its what they are all doing which is why he wants to do it. He might see his friends every day at school but Facebook is different. There are lots of games on there that people get addicted to, all harmless ones and he wants to be included (you can play them together). My 12 year old DS has an account as do most of his friends. They tend to add lots of people from school, in different years too.

My DS has been told not to add anyone he doesnt know. If they join FB groups you tend to get people wanting to be added due to certain games they are playing (the more friends you have the more money you virtually earn in Farmville, Happy Island etc)

Janepig

I've got a couple of friends' children on my list of friends, the youngest being 7 :eek:.

Most of the people I know who allow their (very) youngsters to have an account do it so they can play Farmtown, Cafe World, etc...... My DD hasn't got an account though - I don't think she knows about Facebook yet.

Jxx

mossymoss

thriftlady wrote: »

All his friends have them apparently. I know absolutely nothing about Facebook beyond the fact that it is a social networking site.

I'd be grateful for any opinions or experiences regarding kids and Facebook.

Sorry, I know it isn't to do with moneysaving but a Google search didn't really help.

I personally believe that it is safer than normal 'chat rooms' as they can choose who they want to be friends with. I dont know your son but I do know that when I was a child if my parents wouldnt let me do something I would have just done it behind their backs (bad I know!!) So maybe you could allow it but only on your terms.. eg you can check who his friends are etc?? Just an idea

xmaslolly76

My DD has a facebook account i set it up (so i have her password) and have put all the security features on so only people on her friends list can view anything. She has only added people that we know and some friends from school. She spends most her time on yoville. If anyone strange sends a friends request she asks me to look at it first although she has only ever had one from someone she doesnt know and i told her to ignore it as they didnt know any of her friends either.

Gingernutmeg

You could always set up your own account and add him as a friend so that you can see what he's up to It might also be useful to get him to have a look at a couple of online safety quizzes, like this one. It's surprising what teenagers don't know about being sensible online, despite being pretty computer savvy. Thinkuknow is a good site too (although there's a fair bit on there about grooming etc so I'd have a quick flick through first to see if it's suitable for your situation )

thriftlady_2

Proc wrote: »

No, if your son gets a Facebook account he will almost certainly be going on dates with a plethora of nonces before the end of the month.

Stop reading the Daily Mail and other tripe.

Set him up a Facebook account, if you're that worried use your own email address and a password that you both know so that you can have control over the account. I'm not saying you should go snooping, but he's more likely to abide by some simple groundrules if he knows you have access and can cut him off at any time. Just pay interest in what he does on Facebook, and help him set up the privacy settings etc. You know, spend some time with him once in a while and pay interest in what he does.

Did I say I was worried?


I don't know anything about nonces being on Facebook and don't read any newspapers, but if I did it certainly wouldn't be the Daily Mail. I haven't heard any bad things about Facebook, I genuinely don't know anything about it beyond what I stated in my OP.

And, yes, thank you very much for your advice for me to spend time with my son and take an interest in what he does. I rather thought researching Facebook and canvassing opinion before letting him open an account was doing just that. What makes you think I don't take an interest in what he does? Do you actually know me and my son?

Zazen999

delain wrote: »

How uninformed can one person be?

Incredibly?