Social Networks
The Internet is an ever-changing source of information. Inevitably, some of the links below will stop working. We will do our best to keep links current and remove broken links. Below you will find just a sampling of the hundreds of online resources and articles related to social networks.
Our Advice
The topic of social networks, children and teens is quite broad with opinions spread widely apart. Children Online always chooses to err on the side of caution and recommend what is in the best interest of the child/teen. Our research and many years working with students and parents has demonstrated that most are not aware of the inherent risks of social networks. We strongly recommend reading our articles published during the last few years:
"Why Facebook Has It Wrong About Our Kids" [pdf]
EDITORIAL: Mark Zuckerberg Has it Wrong!
"The Impact of Facebook on Our Students" [pdf], which was published on the National Association of Independent Schools website and also in a 2009 issue of the Journal for School Library Professionals.
We do not recommend that teens under 16 have social networking accounts with adult sites such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and BeBo. We know, all too well however, that the majority of children age thirteen and up have social network accounts. We strongly recommend that parents have access to their children's accounts and regularly check on them, as well as have discussions about issues related to social networks.
Social networks are certainly not evil. There are, of course, many positive and valuable outcomes to using them. However, children and teens are most vulnerable for a wide variety of reasons (read the above articles) and anyone using social networks can assume the following:
- There is no such thing as privacy, even with accounts that require a login and password.
- The information we post in our social networks is scrubbed for data valuable to others including scammers and marketers. Our safety is not their first or second priority!
- Teens' "private" pages have been viewed by school administrators, teachers, parents, police, summer camp direcctors, college admissions officers, employers, and others, sometimes resulting in serious consequences for the teen.
- Social Networks such as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn attract a great deal of scams, fraud and theft.
- People are not always who they say they are and do not always have our best interests in mind.
- Social Networks are the weapon of choice for teens intent on hurting, humiliating or embarssing someone else.
- Even in "moderated" social networks designed for younger children and tweens, such as Webkinz, Club Penguin and WeeWorld, children are subjected to bullying, harassment and sexual solicitation.
- Children and younger teens regularly using social networks are more likely to be exposed to content and behavior that is not age-appropriate.
- Many Add-On applications (sometimes called widgets or apps) for social networks such as Facebook and MySpace are disguised adware, spyware or designed to steal our personal data for sale or identity theft.
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