Facebook to lift its ban on users under 13: your thoughts?

Very well said, Trill.

My DD had a FB when she was 12. This was set up by us,monitored by us and we have full access to her passwords and account. When she was 13, she thought she could be smart and change her passwords so we couldnt get access as it was "legal". Until she lost her phone and pc time till she handed them over :o

DD has ASD. FB has actually been great for her as she has managed to make friends and interact with people on fb that she wouldn't have the nerve to do so face to face(in school).Means she can think before she types too. Because of this, she has managed to make quite a few friends (in real life natch).

IF an 11-tea-old is not being properly supervised on the internet then this will make very little difference.

If an 11-year-old is being properly supervised on the internet, this will also make very little difference.

Any under-13 who wants to sign up for Facebook right now could do it pretty easily.

"Kids can still get onto unsuitable websites etc..."

Which has absolutely nothing to do with Facebook and is a separate issue entirely.

Surely mobiles are more of a problem as we don't have as much access to those...and most under 10's have them these days!

Cant believe this atall. Bad move and I definately wont be letting my youngest on it.

I don't agree with under 13s having Facebook access... there is enough bullying going on with Facebook / texts at secondary school... surely it's not a good idea to open this up to include primary school children??

I don't think children have a great enough understanding that they can't just speak about anything online. Even with parental supervision.. Kids can still get onto unsuitable websites etc...

I let my under 13s have FB accounts. They are a useful way to keep in touch with friends and family all over the world. I am in charge of their security settings, passwords and friends lists.

I have them both as friends as I don't have anything on my FB account I wouldn't let them see.

Better to learn to use social media with me than without parental support and guidance, which many teens do.

The only issue I have is with advertising, as it needs to be tightened up if the ban is officially lifted, whereas before FB could just claim children shouldn't be on there so they didn't need to censor advertising. This could be a good thing if it gets rid of all the crap down the side of my page.

IMO 16 or 18 would be a better age. Once posted, personal data is out there forever.
FB puts pressure on its young users to present an image of themselves and can create performance fatigue.

I'm ambivalent. I wouldn't accept a friend's request at the moment if I knew the child was under 13 as it is against their policies and US Law.

Which leads me to wonder how they are getting around the US Law aspect. They are a US company bound by that law.

Of course, there is not international law on this.

I do think parents have most of the responsibility here, just as they decide when a child is old enough to run down to the corner shop and/or play out with their friends. And 'I'm not technical' is a lousy excuse for not policing your child's internet use.

Oops, I appear to be in the minority here but I allowed my DD to have a FB account at 11....with strings attached. I sorted the security, I have power of veto over her friends and I am allowed full access to her account. She is also only allowed to use it in the kitchen with me there (though I now need to sort the security on her mobile though with the reception we get here she doesn't use the phone for FB yet). Aside from family (who I have asked NOT to friend her but they insist!) I don't allow any adults. Likewise I don't friend any children myself. I don't think Facebook is the problem per se, it is how it is used and supervised. We have lots of family abroad so it is invaluable for us in terms of keeping in touch with what they are all up to. I must say she uses it very responsibly as we have talked about all the implications...and they do get a lot of this kind of advice at school now.

One reason I let them have then from an early age is because otherwise they would just have set them up without my knowledge. In fact DS2 did, not realising that all the emails came through to one Outlook account. He got a huge lecture about that. This way, I know they have it, I monitor it and know their passwords and can look any time to make suer nothing untoward is going on.

Yes, they could set up another private account but they could do that at any age.

As a foot note, I cringe FAR more at the 13 year olds, who set up their own accounts & whose parents aren't computer literate enough to oversee it - these are also the one IME that use FB obsessively - our friends DD was on my friends list & my God that was an eye opener & IMHO she is very vulnerable - she took me & DH off for telling tales to her Mum, but sadly her Mum doesn't see the dangers :(

they are all on it anyway and more open to things because they lie about their ages.

I personally don't think it's a problem at all IF properly supervised & strict rules of use in place, such as parents vetting all new friend requests - if anything starting young allows you to set the rules in place & teach them safe internet use BEFORE the stroppy teen rears its head.

My own DD is 9, & has had a FB since she was 7, this is because we have family who are scattered, so she gets to keep in touch with her cousins in a way that works for her, lots of photos, plays games with them & swaps odd notes & it's a way for her to keep in touch with friends she's made on holiday, she also loves the games on there, which actually have been very helpful with her learning

I also think because its not something she sees as "big girls only" she's not that bothered by it, she goes on it now & again, but would be horrified at the idea of everyday - amongst our friends with older (teen plus) DCs, the ones with the same take it or leave attitude, are the ones whose parents allowed a supervised account young

You can also tailor who is able to see certain posts IIRC.

"As people say, at the moment some children lie and say they are 13 when they are eg 10. This means that Facebook thinks they are 3 years older, which in turn means that it thinks they will be 18 when infact they are 15 - and will see all relevant adverts accordingly. "

Or they could simply change their DOB.

WRT adult stuff on your own wall, that is simple. If you want to have a monitoring account to be friends with your child just set one up.

Our 2 don't yet have facebook,having just finished dealing with the fallout from - would you bleieve - mobile phone bullying, I'm not sure I want them to.
I also know of people who have 8,9 10 year olds on facebook, with their walls open for all and sundry to see.

I don't think it's a good idea, but it seems they cannot police it

It was a useless and in-name-only ban anyway.

I teach 240x 11 year olds a week. About 20 of them aren't on FB.

I also accept them as "friends" once they are no longer my students (and then hide their inane drivel immediately and make sure anything I put on FB isn't visible to them.

The ones who make me laugh are the parents who say they monitor their kids' FBs.....yes, of course they do. The account they know about. Come on,I mean, we'd have done the same. Far easier to have an open relationship with your child and let them know a) you trust them not to be a moron and b)should they get hit on by a moron they can always come to you.

I don't think it's a good idea. A lot of the stuff I do on Facebook is not at all suitable for children, but I don't want to make it suitable for children. There are other types of social networking for kids, leave adult stuff for adults.

(And I don't mean I just swap photographs of genitalia and sweary jokes with other people or anything... I have a lot of links to assorted political odds and ends, and stuff that it;s important to discuss but which is not suitable for kids - would you want to have to explain the full impact of the I Believe Her campaign to your 9-year-old?)

As people say, at the moment some children lie and say they are 13 when they are eg 10. This means that Facebook thinks they are 3 years older, which in turn means that it thinks they will be 18 when infact they are 15 - and will see all relevant adverts accordingly.

To be honest I think they might as well adjust the age limit - a lot of children or their parents put a false dob in anyway, its not as if there are any checks. Parents can always impose their own restrictions, and I would have no intention to let my children go online without me keeping an eye on what they're doing until they're at least 13 anyway.