There have recently been several debates about Facebook and age restrictions. One can hear both on the radio and on television that many people have strong opinions about this topic, both for and against why kids should be allowed to have profiles on Facebook.
The guidelines on Facebook state that one should be over the age of 13 to create a profile, however there are many kids younger then that who have already created their profile. Why is there an age restriction when it's so easy to avoid it? Is it too easy to create a profile?
The guidelines on Facebook state that one should be over the age of 13 to create a profile, however there are many kids younger then that who have already created their profile. Why is there an age restriction when it's so easy to avoid it? Is it too easy to create a profile?
The fact that it is too easy to avoid the age restriction is obvious. It shouldn’t be so easy to ignore the age limit when they have made rules stating the age restrictions. You can simply change the year of birth to one that states that you are old enough and you have successfully created a profile.
In the beginning Facebook was for the slightly older population while the younger crowd preferred Nettby and other similar social media. But nowadays the younger adults and kids seem to gradually shift to prefer Facebook, a tendency which can be confirmed by the increased number of kids creating profiles on Facebook. Why this tendency when the rules state that one must be over the age of 13 to create profiles? Adults, especially parents, must take some of the responsibility. After discussing the problem with some of the kids, many of them new, young members on Facebook, they said that their parents had helped them create a profile. The parents then set as a requirement that they have to be friends so that they can monitor what their kids do on Facebook. But is this right when the age restriction is there? What signals are they sending to their children?
In the beginning Facebook was for the slightly older population while the younger crowd preferred Nettby and other similar social media. But nowadays the younger adults and kids seem to gradually shift to prefer Facebook, a tendency which can be confirmed by the increased number of kids creating profiles on Facebook. Why this tendency when the rules state that one must be over the age of 13 to create profiles? Adults, especially parents, must take some of the responsibility. After discussing the problem with some of the kids, many of them new, young members on Facebook, they said that their parents had helped them create a profile. The parents then set as a requirement that they have to be friends so that they can monitor what their kids do on Facebook. But is this right when the age restriction is there? What signals are they sending to their children?
There are not a lot of people who are aware of the guidelines on Facebook which states that profiles of all kids under 13 years of age will be deleted if they find out that the profile belongs to someone that young. It also states that those who are older may provide information about any such profiles they see, but this is something very few do. Why is it so? This is something we who are older should acknowledge and think through.
But why is it there age limit on facebook?
The only reason I can mention right now for why there should be age limits on a social media such as Facebook, is to prevent older people to easily get in contact with young adults and kids. You hear all too often about adults, particularly men, pretending to be far younger then their real age to establish contact with much younger girls.
To conclude I would say that it is unnecessary to have an age limit when it is so easy for those younger then the limit to create a profile anyways. It would be better if everyone could have a profile with their correct age, so that children who are 8-9 years old don’t have to pretend that they are older then they really are.
But why is it there age limit on facebook?
The only reason I can mention right now for why there should be age limits on a social media such as Facebook, is to prevent older people to easily get in contact with young adults and kids. You hear all too often about adults, particularly men, pretending to be far younger then their real age to establish contact with much younger girls.
To conclude I would say that it is unnecessary to have an age limit when it is so easy for those younger then the limit to create a profile anyways. It would be better if everyone could have a profile with their correct age, so that children who are 8-9 years old don’t have to pretend that they are older then they really are.
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