Facebook access for kids has always been a point of contention, and we all know that pretty much as soon as older kids get their advanced claws into something, young teens want a go as well.
As we reported yesterday, Facebook access for kids under 13 is now being considered, which kind of shows you how far we’ve come in regards to keeping kids safe on the web- as of yet, Facebook hasn’t allowed kids on the social network technically, and as of yet there are no firm plans to do so.
But as we also pointed out, this does not mean that kids are not using Facebook with their parents’ blessing – what greater tool exists to allow younger generations to interact with the older ones? Think for a second on how much better you may have gotten to know far-flung cousins and aunts and uncles, just because of Facebook?
It’s a beautiful thing, man. And Facebook access for kids is something that we really should be considering now that the Wild Wild West scene of the internet is over.
I’ve often wondered why kid accounts are not allowed as an extension of their parents’ accounts- one where the mom or dad attached to the child’s Facebook login could approve all friend requests, where privacy controls allowing for G-rated posts to slip through onto a kid’s feed are allowed.
Copies of all incoming messages could be copied to a parent’s account, games access could be had to boost Zynga’s Facebook reach- and perhaps most importantly, Facebook could heavily reap the benefits when it comes to advertising to the lucrative under 13 demographic.
As far as we know, Facebook access for kids is just a consideration at this point- but when it comes to teaching kids how best to use social media, does anyone else think we really should be starting them earlier, with training wheels?
