There has been a lot of talk lately about the appropriateness of kids being online. Facebook, twitter, blogging, texting… what age is just way too young?
First Lady, Michelle Obama, has recently commented on her daughters and social media. Basically, she has said that she would not allow her girls to have a Facebook page at their young age. I believe Facebook itself doesn’t “allow” you to register unless you are officially 13. Of course, as we all know, there are many kids who just lie about their age.
So what age IS appropriate to start with social media?
My biggest fear in the world is something happening to one of my kids. I’m not alone in this… I’m willing to go out on a limb and say that 99.9% of parents on this planet feel the same way. We’ve had run-ins with not-so-appropriate social media interaction. My daughter was contacted through Skype by a total stranger who wanted to know her name, where she lived and asked her to send him a picture. Disgusting, I know. I’ve also had a friend of my 11 year old daughter want to follow me on twitter. I blocked her at the first blink. Completely inappropriate. My children are not old enough to legally be allowed on facebook and twitter, but they soon will be. My 11 year old has her own email address and Skype name. My 8 and 6 year old’s don’t. They also don’t have cell phones.
My feeling about the whole thing? While I know that there are not enough safety regulations in place to provide for their complete safety online, I also know that social media is not going away. Ever. Our kids hear about it all day, every day. I am guilty about bringing it all into our home. I blog. I tweet. I facebook. I text. Every day. If this is the reality of our world, why not use it as an opportunity to teach our kids from this young age how to handle social media responsibly?
My children are not allowed to have a cell phone until they are 12. Now that my 11 year old is on the upslope to that age, I’m getting a little nervous about it… but, I think that at 12 she will be allowed to hang out with her friends more, she will be doing a little babysitting, and she will be going on more school trips. I admit, I WANT to be able to keep in touch with her. I consider her having a cell phone and texting capabilities a way for us to better keep track of her and have better communication with her as to what she’s doing and what is going on when we aren’t with her.
My 11 year old sees me blogging every day and I allowed her to set up her own blog a few months ago. She doesn’t write often, but the things she has posted has given her (and us) a chance to sort out some feelings she’s been having. It helps with her writing. And I monitor it very closely. The only people allowed to follow her are friends and family. That’s it. For now. As she gets older, I hope I have taught her to choose her followers wisely.
The same goes for other social media… when she reaches the allowable age, I will assume she will want to be all over the internet. I’m okay with that. It’s our source of communication. Older generations may not be okay with email thank-you notes or personal telephone calls, but that is our reality today. I want my kids to be on the forefront - not steps behind.
If I teach them about social media and how to use it responsibly, they will be ready when they jump aboard.
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