How soon is too soon for social websites?

Apparently parents will lie to get kids under 13 on Facebook.

Honestly, I'm not sure how Facebook could even stop this, or how the law behind it could be enforced. But there are parts of Facebook, just like any other big website that hosts user content, that children really don't need to see.

It's a complex mess, that much is certain.

I'm sure that social networks staffs are capable of deciding the minimum age of the people they want to allow on their sites, and considering the different aims of each one I'm sure that will differ. If they find out someone's lied about their age about all they can do is ban that particular user and others they suspect of colluding in the lie.

Basically, if the social site has a minimum age of thirteen, then anything under that is too soon for that particular site. And the mods are perfectly justified in banning you and your parent's accounts for lying. (Most sites have an agreement that says this in some language or another.)

...That's... kind of stupid, actually.

At least, it strikes me as pointless...

Makes sense as a status thing. I mean, if you're not on facebook, you're not "with it". Add that to status-conscious parents, and..

In response to the topic line,

30 is about right, IMO. Why so high? Because there are all these security implications, things that even IT professionals routinely FUBAR. Things like basic password security, being aware of who can indirectly access information via your own contacts... These are things I basically expect only security professionals to get right, and they are serious considerations that anyone online has to deal with one way or another. People need time to get even an inkling that this stuff matters.

(of course you can derive social benefits much earlier.. even as early as say, 4. So I regard this as a difficult question to answer, overall.)

Well... if memory serves technically the reason why so many sites have a minimum age of 13 for signing up is because that's the youngest age at which you can legally enter into a contract or other legal agreement (of which agreeing to a website's terms of service qualifies), not necessarily due to appropriateness of content.

Basically, there is an actual law outside of the websites that specifically prohibits people under age 13 from being able to get accounts for this sort of thing.

edited 2nd Nov '11 4:33:11 AM by Jeysie

Yes (personally, I intentionally ignored that with the aim of answering the OP's question accurately)

I meant my post as more of a general response to Ace and USAF, really.

Well, not exactly, Jeysie. As the article itself states, the law is that the websites have to have "verifiable parental consent" in order to allow children under 13 on. This being the Internet, said websites just find it easier to forbid anyone from under 13 from accessing the site altogether.

Although, now that I think about it, a study showing certain parents willing to lie to get their kid(s) on Facebook probably ought to count as "verifiable parental consent"...

edited 2nd Nov '11 7:56:00 AM by TotemicHero

Not really. "Verifiable Parental Consent" doesn't mean "some parents will consent". It means a mechanism that allows them to check and determine (Verifiable) that the permission (Consent) really came from a parent or legal guardian of the child (Parental).

I did know that, Maddy. The icon was supposed to indicate I was joking. Like so:

Foxes these day, they take everything too seriously.

@Totemic Hero

Well, yes, I knew there were possible exceptions (since there's plenty of kiddie-aimed sites out there) and such, just that one, I didn't know what they were off the top of my head details-wise, and two, Facebook and such aren't kiddie sites, so they probably don't want to bother.

edited 2nd Nov '11 8:04:43 AM by Jeysie

To be clear, this isn't an exception for "kiddie sites". This is the law for all sites, and the reason most sites don't even try to allow kids is because collecting that kind of information on the Internet is practically impossible.

This being a forum on the Internet in which we are posting, well...You Should Know This Already.

@Totemic Hero

Yes, I know that. I'm just saying that the existence of kiddie-aimed sites obviously means there are exceptions/procedures to the under-13-thing possible, and they are the only sites that would have a reason to bother. Sheesh.

Can't I just make a general post explaining stuff without writing out an annotated dissertation to prove I'm not a dunce?

edited 2nd Nov '11 8:13:43 AM by Jeysie

Sorry. Didn't mentally process the icon, Hero.

My sister is seven and has a Facebook. She's had it for at least a year. She's friends with my brother, mother, and myself. So far we haven't had any problems. She only uses it to play a few games.

What is wrong with it if the parents don't mind?

I meant, it's stupid that these parents think that the "good" of "Facebook earns them social status!" outweighs the bad of "Facebook is also not really a toy for little kids and what they say there could be on them for the rest of their lives."

I think the parents are irresponsible, in other words.

Again. My sister has been on Facebook for at least a year now. Nothing bad has happened. I'd trust Facebook more than Google.

If you sit your kid down and explain to them certain things about privacy and what is and is not appropriate or prudent to share, then whatever. But other than that, I think we shouldn't encourage kids to spend more time online.

COPPA has always been stupid, IMO, and I believe I turned thirteen before it was passed. As for Facebook, it's privacy kryptonite at any age, and a higher concentration thereof when you get old enough to do unforgivably stupid things.

I pretty much ignored that all the time. It really depends on what the kid is doing on there. My sister got a facebook when she was like 12, and my brother is like 9 and has one, and they're not scarred for life or being stalked or anything. If you raise your kids right, they should have the common sense not to put their address and phone number up online.

I was on Facebook at 11 years old. It wasn't so dangerous back then.