Facebook Age

red_devil

8 is awful. Dosent suprise me though.

hazyjo

red_devil wrote: »

Things dont change for the better. Its extremely pressurising for parents today to provide every child with a smartphone possibly on contract,

todays kids are screwed up with everything they must have.

To be fair, you'll probably find most of the parents (and those without kids) share that view in this day and age. Nearly everyone I know has a smart phone and they get replaced every 1-2 years. Even me! And I'm not at all techie.

And that's not going into the electronics/gadgets at home/on the move...

Just the way of the world.

Jx

amandagreen82

I think you people are over exaggerating, Facebook is not that bad as you might think it is, it is not a !!!!!! site you know, so why would anyone want to set a limitation of use for their child?

red_devil

hazyjo wrote: »

To be fair, you'll probably find most of the parents (and those without kids) share that view in this day and age. Nearly everyone I know has a smart phone and they get replaced every 1-2 years. Even me! And I'm not at all techie.

And that's not going into the electronics/gadgets at home/on the move...

Just the way of the world.

Jx

Dosent have to be. Why dont parents say to their kids you can have a phone when you can buy one yourself.

morganedge

amandagreen82 wrote: »

I think you people are over exaggerating, Facebook is not that bad as you might think it is, it is not a !!!!!! site you know, so why would anyone want to set a limitation of use for their child?

No, it's not a !!!!!! site.
Although, there is a fair bit of !!!!!! on there, some of which is 'worse' than anything i've seen on normal '!!!!!! sites'.
I'm sure you're aware of the incidents of blatant child !!!!!! that have been uploaded onto facebook in various 'groups'. These vids spread like wildfire when they are 'shared'.

But that's not even the real concern that most seem to be alluding too. The potential implications of young girls sharing pictures and sensitive information with adult strangers should be obvious, as should, as you say, ''why would anyone want to set a limitation of use for their child''?

jackomdj

My children are too young, but at 15 I would let the lad have an account.

When my niece first got her account (13) I refused to let her become my friend, because I did not want her reading what my friends wrote. Nothing too bad but swearing etc.

claire16c

At 15 hes going to go on facebook in some way or another so you may as well let him rather than turning it into a big secret.

When I was 15, we used to go on msn and chat rooms and talk to random strangers. I think facebook is better than that! At least the people on there will most likely be people you know!

If a teenager wants to do something they'll find a way. Bit like when my Mum banned me from watching something I really wanted to see on the tv. So I borrowed a video tape off a friend and watched it when she was out. I remember thinking this isnt even that bad? I think my mum was more sensitive than I was!

fluffnutter

meer53 wrote: »

The OP's son at 15 must feel like he's being treated as a small child. I feel a bit sorry for him.

He's not her son, he's her nephew. He's recently come to live with her because of problems at home. She doesn't have children of her own, isn't particularly familiar with facebook and is trying to find her way as best she can in the crazy world that is looking after teenagers. I think it's great that she's thinking about all this stuff - it shows she wants the best for him.

fluffnutter

amandagreen82 wrote: »

I think you people are over exaggerating, Facebook is not that bad as you might think it is, it is not a !!!!!! site you know, so why would anyone want to set a limitation of use for their child?

If you have to ask why people need to limit/control/monitor - call it what you will - children's access to facebook, then I hope you don't have children. Anything and everything is on facebook, you can see people being beheaded if you like. Do you want kids seeing that? It's a world accessible by anyone and if you don't set a child's profile to be secure then everyone who uses facebook will see that child's page. Would you send a 13 year old down the pub on their own and just tell them to 'get chatting to the people in there'? That's exactly the same as letting a child use facebook without limits.

retromother

I think it's important to ensure top privacy settings for anyone, but especially kids. As a teenager when the initial dial up yahoo chat type stuff was around, one thing I remember having pounded into my head was not to give out personal info such as your name, email or home town on chat rooms. I'm a cautious FB user, limited to having only people I see or contact frequently on my friends lists. I have fewer FB friends than my mum!

When mine are older (and the conversations hubby and I are starting to have with my 10 YO stepson) I will cover all the bases. I mean everything. Types of photos, and what to do if they receive an inappropriate photo of someone, privacy settings, caution surrounding the 'online persona' and so on. It might sound OTT, but I think it's better to be upfront than dismissive.

I would recommend the OP check out websites like Kidscape. I think an FB account may be inevitable. However I'd be tempted to research other social networks such as Instagram and Twitter too.