Facebook: Now More Popular than Barbie and Ben 10
Parents are regularly informed of the dangers that the internet can expose children to but concurrently, kids are absorbing the ideology that Facebook holds much importance socially – the online phenomenon is constantly discussed amongst peers (both young and old) and is increasingly referred to within newspapers and on television.
Despite the fact that the social network’s own ‘Help Centre’ states that no one under the age of 13 years of age is allowed to construct a Facebook profile, this hasn’t stopped thousands of children around the globe from doing exactly this. Many parents have actually helped to create accounts for children too; a survey (included in a recent academic journal as part of a study entitled Why Parents Help Their Children Lie to Facebook About Age: Unintended Consequences of the ‘Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act’) discovered that 76% of parents aware of their children’s underage Facebook-ing had involvement in the creation of their kid’s profile.
You might think that it is pressure from peers alone that is seeing members of the next generation signing up to Facebook before hitting the (less than) big 1-3. There are many parents who feel that using the network is beneficial for children who are growing up in a world that is increasingly driven by computers and online advancements. Read More







