We all know that teenagers, young adults, adults and the elderly use social networking to interact with each other online. But now children from the age of 5 and upwards are starting to join the social network trend.
It is a controversial subject. This is because of the amount problems that us, as users already, have had experience with the social networks of today, no matter how little the problem or not. Should our children be allowed to use the social network at their age? And yes taking into consideration that it is the parents’ decision what is good and/or bad for their children, but still is it right?, and it has developed a growth for companies to create particular websites for children, as stated by Weeks (2011), “the need is undeniable; the market potentially huge and lucrative. Companies are gearing up for this gold rush by creating websites strictly for children, and websites that allow parents to create profiles for their kids.”
At the moment there are specific social network websites for children. To name ten, as listed by Weeks (2011), they are:
1. ScuttlePad
2. Togetherville
3. WhatsWhat.me
4. Yoursphere
5. Franktown Rocks
6. GiantHello
7. GirlSense
8. Sweety High
9. Imbee
10. YourCause
These websites have begun to surface since 2009 and continue to do so to the present time, the age range of these sites begin from 7 years old to 13 years old. It is understandable that children are curious about social networking but some of these websites do raise some concerns.
Firstly, Togetherville, that is suited for users aged 7 and above, as stated by Weeks (2011), is a “Kids' social site connects to parents' Facebook friends”, this is debatable, for instance what is to say that one of the parents’ friends is not who they say are and possibly target the parent’s child via the Togetherville profile connectivity with the Facebook profiles? We all know the scrutiny that Facebook has come under come with regards to its users and profiles in the past. Secondly, Sweety High mainly aimed at girls aged 11 and above, is a social networking website that allows girls do their own thing online. However, it has been said, by Weeks (2011) that it “is strong on privacy”, a statement that can be an understatement, what is to stop a fully grown male to create a fake profile and join the website so that he can target the website’s users?
These websites may have good intentions for our children but they will be targeted by people all over the world, just as social networks that we are all using today have been.
For more on this please follow the external links to read the full article about the ten social websites by Weeks (2011) and to watch a brief video about social networking for children.
External links
Ten Safe Social Networking Sites for Kids - http://www.npr.org/2011/07/11/137705552/ten-safe-social-networking-sites-for-kids
Is social networking for five-year-olds a good thing? - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/world_news_america/8835678.stm
Reference
Weeks, L., 2011, Ten Safe Social Networking Sites For Kids. NPR, [online] 11th July. Available at: http://www.npr.org/2011/07/11/137705552/ten-safe-social-networking-sites-for-kids [Accessed 11 December 2011]
In my opinion I dont think kids should even have access to social network sites at such a young age. That is the age in which to learn the basics of life whereas using these social networks would just become such a huge part of their life and would deny them having a good childhood and growing up doing physical activities. It is big jump and also parents would not want their children to come across something obscene or inappropriate over the internet at that age.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised that Club Penguin (http://www.clubpenguin.com/) was not on the list, as many sources consider it to be a social web product, if not directly a social network.
ReplyDeleteOwned by Disney (http://on.wsj.com/ud7XD2) Club Penguin allow youngsters (6-14) to hang out online, similar to Second Life, in a safe and friendly environment. Players take the form of colourful penguins and explore the snowy cartoon environment of the island, design and upgrade their igloo and perform an array of predefined actions.
The focus, here, is on both games and safety. The entire system is monitored and moderated by Disney personnel and users can be limited to either strongly censored user-to-user chat, or alternatively, "Ultimate Safe Chat" where the players can only see and send pre-defined messages (http://bit.ly/9a1KKB).
Club Penguin also allow parents to set time limits for their children, both number of hours per day and only allowing play between set times (http://bit.ly/i36aly) - ensuring that children will have to resort to going outside, having fun, and engaging in traditional childhood experiences.
Unlike some alternative platforms, even when used as a "set(-up) and forget" service, parents can be assured that their children are using a site that is both appropriate and will remain so, through moderators the site employs. This mash-up of virtual world and social network, specifically tailored to children, provides an interesting and safe environment, backed by a well respected brand, which can only help improve the view parents have of these sometime secretive and frightening interactions.
Personally I think it’s a good idea for children to have access to social networking sites, it gives them a head start on learning about social media, interaction, and keeping up with technology which I think is vital in this world.
ReplyDeleteAlso I do believe children should be members of a well recognised children social networking site, such as Club Penguin, because it is created by Disney, and I do agree it is a well respected brand and gives parents the extra trust that club penguin will keep children safe because of its reputable brand.
I agree with safwan, that having social websites for kids is a good idea. Social websites for kids have a great adavantage to enhance young peoples knowledge. Children would gain expierence on technology and social interaction through fundimental social websites.
ReplyDeleteIm not to sure about the idea of a social network for kids which has just the sole purpose of kids interacting with others because they should just lower the age range for young people to join Facebook. I think social networking aspects can be added to things such as learning environments such as learning games for kids where they can message friends and help each other. Instead of having social media for kids there should be online kids resources which just have some kind of social networking capability, that way it can also be kept under a more controlled online environment.
ReplyDeletePersonally I think having sites like these (for kids) is a good way for them to learn about many things, but there is a fine line being in the virtual world too long. As Karan stated, he believes kids that tend to use websites stop their growth within the 'real world' which I agree with him to a certain extent. However, we all know how essential technology can be in our everyday lives, the sooner the kids understand how the internet works the better it is for them in the future.
ReplyDeleteIt is fair to say that kids should have a healthy balance between the virtual and the real world, in my own experience, my best memories were in my childhood days, and I was fortunate enough to learn things that I may not of learn if I was sat 24/7 in front of the monitor. But like i said, with technology growing it needs to be part of the younger generation and having a fair balance between the two can only make the kids grow in the way they want to.