Parenting in the world of Facebook

social

I read an article on CNN recently about Facebook considering opening the site up to children under the age of 13. Facebook has so far banned kids under the age of 13 from having an account, but that does not seem to stop many young kids from having one.  Consumer reports last year revealed 7.5 million children under the age of 13 were using Facebook and 5 million of those kids were under the age of 10.  So, the question might come to mind how are these kids starting an account? A study sponsored by Microsoft found 36% of parent know or helped their kids join Facebook. This could be for many reason including parents feeling pressure from society or their kids, parents being unaware of the ways kids use Facebook, or feeling Facebook is a safe site for kids to use.

The increase in social media has brought about a new era of parenting that has many unknown areas. It is important with many difficult parenting decisions to step back and think through the possible impact on the child. Here are some of the possible pros & cons of allowing young kids on Facebook to help parents think through this difficult decision:

Pros:

  • Parents can monitor their kids page and learn of possible relationship difficulties or other problems their child might be facing
  • Child could feel more connected with friends and classmates

Cons:

  • Child will receive the message it is okay to be dishonest about their age to get something they want
  • Child could experience ongoing bullying or be a part of bullying others on the site
  • Child could be more valuable to inappropriate interactions with older kids or adults

This is by no means an exhaustive list and I encourage you to think of more pro and cons as you make this difficult parenting decision. Regardless if you decide to let your children on Facebook or not it is important in this new era of parenting to monitor the kid’s interactions with others and their choices.

 

Jennifer Wilmoth, LAMFT
Jwilmoth@ GROWcounseling.com