Facebook May Allow Under 13 Children to Join the Social Network

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Facebook May Allow Under 13 Children to Join the Social Network

Facebook wants to expand their market to include the under-thirteen crowd with limited access and strict parent controls. The company is currently in the testing phase.

Some of the new features that are currently in the testing phase include linking up child accounts to parent accounts and allowing parents to limit who their child can “friend” on Facebook and their activities. But is this move too late? According to a recent report from Minor Monitor, about thirty-eight percent of kids on Facebook are twelve years of age or younger and four percent are six years old or younger. Clearly, Internet savvy kids (with perhaps the help of their parents) have already learned how to get around these rules.

Will Facebook be able to launch this new policy without a hitch? Probably not. Common Sense Media(a website for parents that was designed to educated them about the media) reported that Facebook has no value or educational benefit for young kids. They also compared the social media giant to large tobacco companies claiming that they utilize the same advertising tactics.

The Wall Street Journal released a special report on Monday about Facebook’s bold new move. Facebook already has over 900 million users across the globe but it seems as if they want to expand their market to a younger crowd.

I doubt Facebook’s attempt to win over a younger user base will fail to allude parents. I think most parents probably don’t want their kids on Facebook and the families that do are already on Facebook. That said, it’s still a nice attempt at trying to offer something for the younger crowd who may feel a left out. I think it might be a better move if Facebook launched a special social media-based website for the young-set. A website that would focus more on safe socialization and virtual gameplay.

This looks more like a desperate move for Facebook after their disastrous IPO.

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