Editorial: Mark Zuckerberg has it wrong!
by Marje Monroe and Doug Fodeman,
Co-Directors of ChildrenOnline.org
On May 20, CNN reported on a conversation with Mark Zuckerberg in which Mr. Zuckerberg said that children under age 13 should be allowed to use Facebook because Facebook had educational value. [See Zuckerberg: Kids Under 13 Should Be Allowed on Facebook by Michal Lev-Ram]
What follows is our editorial opinion submitted to the New York Times on May 21, 2011.
Mark Zuckerberg has it wrong. In a recent interview in CNN Money, he stated that Facebook was a good place for children under age 13 and it held great educational potential. Facebook as we know it today, is not a good place for children and has a long way to go before it has significant educational value.
Today, children and young teens face numerous risks on Facebook including bullying, humiliation, identity theft, loss of privacy, threats from scammers, computer infections, phishing attacks that capture personal and financial information through fraudulent means, and over-posting of provocative or inappropriate material that could pose a risk to future employment or education. The privacy settings on Facebook demand a level of vigilance and cognitive understanding that children under age 13 may not be developmentally ready to handle. With major changes happening on Facebook every few months, safe use of Facebook demands constant checking of privacy settings. According to Facebook's own statistics, 80-85% of current Facebook users NEVER check their privacy settings. This may favor Facebook marketers and advertisers, but can be very risky for young people who leave their information open to strangers, marketers who misuse information, software bots collecting data, potential future employers or vengeful "friends".
The often seductive and competitive culture of Facebook among young people encourages posting of inappropriate photos, mean language and humiliation. For an angry child or teen, Facebook can be a weapon of choice. In the heat of the moment, impulsive and emotional young teens and children have posted mean and harassing comments that caused real pain and suffering. We have all heard stories in the media of suicides resulting from cyber bullying, or of predators who have stalked their prey online, but we rarely hear from the many thousands of kids who get bullied, hurt or lose friends because of an impulsive Facebook posting. Kids make mistakes; that is part of growing up. Mistakes made on Facebook, however, may remain for months, years or decades. While Facebook says that they have made it easier for users to delete accounts or address cyber bullying, our experience is that it can still take too long to remove a hateful page with mean, racist or bullying language.
Social media tools do have great educational value. Facebook, however, has yet to put young users' safety first. Until they are willing to make significant improvements to making Facebook a safer place for our children and young teens, Mark Zuckerberg has it wrong, Facebook is not a good place for children.
NOTE: For a much more detailed article on this topic, click Why Facebook Has It Wrong About Our Kids.
Marje Monroe
Doug Fodeman
**This editorial cannot be reprinted without written permission from the authors. Originally published May 21, 2011.