As the days of “Can Jimmy come out to play?” give way to “Can
I invite Jimmy to be my friend on MySpace?,” social networking sites are faced
with an obligation to protect youth from predation and inappropriate content. Following
in the footsteps of MySpace, Facebook has agreed to implement increased
protections for young users. From now on, users under 18 must affirm that they’ve read safety tips when they
sign up; a “report abuse” icon will be prominently featured throughout the
site; users will not be able to change their age from over 18 to under 18
without being reviewed by Facebook staff; and material flagged as inappropriate
will be removed within 24 hours. Facebook is also working on developing
behavioral technology that will make it easier to identify when a user is lying
about his or her age.
Naturally, no matter how “safe” Facebook becomes, it’s up to
parents to make sure their children fully understand the importance of Internet
safety. How have parents out there dealt with this issue? What age is it
appropriate for a child to join MySpace or Facebook? Do you monitor your
children’s online interactions?
There’s also the simple danger of youth wasting far too much
time on the computer. Call me old-fashioned, but I miss the days when a “friend”
was someone you built a fort in the backyard with, not someone you gossiped with
while sitting in front of a computer screen.
Photo: srenrique.com
