Social media and social networking websites have become increasingly popular over the past decade and it doesn’t seem to be fading out anytime soon. Social networks were highly used by high school and college aged kids. Then the fad grew to be used by adults and even senior citizens. With the growth in popularity, many new websites developed to satisfy different target audiences.
Everyone is Joining In
Even though more and more people between the ages of 35 to 50 have started jumping on the social media bandwagon, younger generations have started joining also. For years kids under the age of 13 were not allowed to join most of these sites. It is easy for children to stumble across inappropriate content or be targeted by an online predator. Age restrictions were placed on websites to protect the users.
Age Restrictions
There may be an age limit on most social networking sites, but that does not mean that young children are not using these sites. It has been proven that children under the age of 13 are utilizing Facebook and MySpace and other sites similar to that. Many parents are aware of it and some even help their children set up an account.
Lifting the Ban
Recently, Facebook has decided to take the age limit off of Facebook. The reason is simply because these children already have an account. Many parents fear that this will encourage their children to join when they are too young. It may be difficult to monitor their child’s internet use to make sure that they are safe.
Parental Hesitations
For parents that are afraid of Facebook lifting the age limit ban, there are steps they can do to get some piece of mind. Rules can be established for their children. Let them know what is appropriate and what is not appropriate to post. Let them know the dangers of online predators and how to spot suspicious users.
Sites like Facebook for Kids
For some it may not be an option to let their children join Facebook before the age of 13. If this is the case, parents can find kids social networking sites that are similar to a Facebook site for kids. These sites are more secure because they are monitored and most of them allow parents to check in to make sure there is no inappropriate content.
Keeping it Safe
Social networking sites are supposed to be fun and not a danger to children. There are tons of sites out on the web that allow kids to use social media and parents can be assured that they are safe. Parents should do some research before choosing the best site for their kids to use.
Parents will receive piece of mind on Kids Social Network knowing their children are on the safest kids social network site by having access to the lock down browser and big brother features.
