I know Facebook is all the rage. I myself signed up primarily to keep track of my niece and nephews, and I have actually reconnected with a classmate from long ago years past. But there’s a dirty little secret that many parents are missing about Facebook – it is NOT kid-friendly!
Parents – do you really know what your kids are looking at on the computer? I am absolutely shocked at the sheer number of children (elementary school through high school) who have their own FB page. In the short time I’ve been on FB, I’ve seen ads that are completely inappropriate for kids (or adults for that matter), plus there are any number of “quizzes” you can take which have profane language and other vulgarities in them. (Example – one of the most recent that I’ve seen is a quiz you can take to see “which %itch are you?”)
Yet – I have yet to hear any parent or child complain about the content on Facebook. All I have ever heard is how much fun it is, blah, blah, blah.
I am not trying to be a stick in the mud, but I don’t care to read or see profanity and ads that are bordering on pornography, and I don’t feel it is appropriate by ANY stretch of the imagination for kids!
Have we sunk this low as a society? Can it really be all that bad? It appears so.
I don’t think there is anything inherently wrong with the Facebook concept, but there should be parental controls to limit some of the areas of content.
I know parents who are careful about what their children are exposed to on tv, in books, etc. but they have no problem letting them get on the computer and mess with Facebook.
WAKE UP, FOLKS! Wipe the cobwebs from your eyes and protect your kids. If you don’t instill YOUR morals and values in them, the world will do it for you.
Ok – I’m off my soapbox…for now. 😀
Arkansas Soaper 