Facebook for under 13s

Amelia Wade in the Herald reports:

Parenting and internet safety groups have welcomed Facebook’s move to alter the site’s regulations to permit children under 13 to join.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg told an education forum in the US that he wanted to allow 10 to 13-year-olds to use the social networking site as a “study tool”.

He assured that the company would take a lot of precautions to make sure younger kids were safe.

NetSafe chief executive Martin Cocker welcomed the move and said many children in that age bracket were already using the site.

“In a way, Facebook specifically acknowledging that those children are there is probably a good thing because that then means Facebook needs to think about the environment being suitable for children of that age.”

He said children under 13 were already using the site by using a fake birthdate. So when Facebook formally allowed them to make profiles they could set restrictions for pre-teens.

“It’s quite responsible of Facebook, really.”

 I agree it is a good idea. Millions of kids are already on Facebook. I know a seven year old who has her own Facebook page, and she has around 60 friends, all pretty much her own age.

Better to realise the reality and create a kids-friendly area for them, than pretend they are not there.