What age is too young for Facebook

I recently got a friend request on Facebook from my friends 8-year old daughter. While I like discussing the latest antics of Phineas and Ferb just as much as the next guy, I started to wonder what age is too young for Facebook. It was a sincere gesture by her but she’s way too young and naïve to know just how dangerous the Internet can be.

To start off, Facebook’s policy states that you must be 13 years of age or older to have an account. I asked my friend if she knew her daughter had a Facebook page and she didn’t even know what Facebook was so after about a 2-hour tutorial she finally got her profile deleted. While many kids log onto the site just to play the flash games or write on their friend’s wall, there is no benefit to taking all this for granted.

Here are steps you should take if you do let your child have a Facebook page:

1. The first thing you can do is get your kid’s user name and password so that you can log onto their profile at any time and see what messages and conversations they’ve been sending. If they are not happy with this, then don’t let them have an account.
2. Another tactic to approach when deciding what age is too young for Facebook is to install surveillance software on your computer. Much like a Fortune 500 company tracks every trade proposal their salespeople are sending in Fantasy Football, you can monitor every single keystroke with some relatively inexpensive software.
3. Do not let your child be friends with people out of their age group. For example my 13 year old daughter is friends with my 18 year old next door neighbour, nice boy and all, but is talking about things I would prefer my daughter not to see.
4. The child must personally know the people they are friends with. Not a friend they met online. We all know how easy it is to make a fake profile, and just be aware that anyone can do it!
5. If you’ve tried but eventually decided your little one is too young for Facebook, just block the site on your computer with an administrative password so that you’ll still be able to log on. Here’s how to Setup parental controls in Windows Seven and Vista.
6. And finally, the last step you can take to keep your kid off Facebook is to spend some time with them – even with all the latest advances in technology nothing will ever top a good game of catch or monopoly.

Picture source: Blogging Innovation