Should children under the age of 18 be allowed to join and use Facebook?
Bubble-wrapping the future of tomorrow will create mass ignorance leading to incompetence in dealing with bad situations later in life.
With parents' permission, and close monitoring and security measures taken, why shouldn't 13-18 year-olds be allowed on Facebook? Viewing of vulgarity can only be achieved by acceptance of vulgar people; the simple solution to vulgarity is to not accept the offending people in the first place. As for cyber-bullying, all measures are taken to protect children on this matter. Facebook has a 'Report' button, and measures are took in school to avoid bullying in these circumstances. Children can be bullied anywhere; online, in school, in social groups; what are we going to do? Lock them away until their 18th birthday and then unleash them into the cruel world?
Posted by: AnonymousWhy not?
Before i explain, i am 13 years old and i have my own facebook. So be it! Its not like us teens are going to do something horrible! If adults can then we can! Adults aren't as mature as you think they are. Some are worse than teens. Well they do the worse. Adults do more inaproppiate things than we do. At clubs what all do you see there? Adults. Thats when they have the time to act immature. Who do you see get pulled over for drinking and driving? Adults. See my point? Well Adults think just because they are dults they can do whatever they want, and think us teens cant.
Posted by: AnonymousYes.
It gives children a chance to learn about blogging.
Posted by: hghppjfanYes, they should be allowed
Facebook is a social networking site that is connecting people all around the world. There are several other sites which are inappropriate for children but they are allowed. Facebook can help in connecting to people, friends, relatives who live far places and it is not so easy to connect to them physically.
Posted by: AngaragSandilyaYes, Facebook says you need to be at least 13 not 18!
A long as you have adult super vision, Facebook is just fine! I do not have a Facebook, I am only twelve, but my mom says that when I turn 13, I can have it. She is still going to supervise, but I do not think you have to wait until you are 18
Posted by: AnonymousCommunication With Others
I believe that is okay for children under the age of 18 to use social networking sites. Why? Because of communication, long-distance communication with an old friend or maybe even a family member. As there are things that you need to watch out for, and children way under age shouldn't, the older ones should for communication, to learn about business or maybe even upcoming events.
Posted by: AnonymousFacebook is safe!
Of course Facebook's safe. I'm 15 and have never been sexually abused, bullied, or been offered drugs over Facebook. There are over 1 billion Facebook users. The only reason we only hear about the bad things that happen over Facebook is because the media and news only share bad news. You won't read an article saying, "Today, Charlie had a good day on Facebook". But that isn't interesting and won't grab a reader's attention. The bad things like cyberbullying, sexual abuse, internet stalking, etc. are the only things that we hear about because we are interested in them. The majority of things that happen on Facebook are not harming to children under 18.
Posted by: Legit_Monkey519huh..it already is.
You can join Facebook at 13..
and yes its a vulgar place but when we are not alllowed to do something we want to do it even more. So when I was 13 you ahd to be 18 to join facebook, I still had it..all my friends did. You're just giving kids the challenge to d stuff behind your backPosted by: AnonymousShould it be allowed
I personally think both a few people get very offended but its good communication. Without it, I would have no communication with my family especially with my cousin who lives in Australia and in Liverpool as I love them very much. A bad thing is they can say anything they want to people.
Posted by: Anonymousyes people under 18 can have Facebook
I am 11 yrs and 2 years ago i made my own Facebook account and i don't see nothing wrong on it. My sister she is only 6 yrs and my parents allowed her to have Facebook. So if your less than 18 you can have Facebook . But i think it only depends what you do on it and what you parents say.
Posted by: AnonymousYes!It increases interaction b/w teachers and students.
Facebook is safe. There are plenty of fun games for kids to play. Some of the games can be learning tools.
Social media is an important part of many peoples lives, especially for teenagers. Facebook should impose boundaries on the usage of the site by those who are under 16. Certain words, images and terminology shouldn't be allowed on the Facebook page of a child under this age.Posted by: WisconTeenagers can be mature enough to use Facebook.
I am 14 and I have a Facebook. Yes, there may be a Iot of drama that gets started, but if we can't have Facebook accounts, maybe no one should. Right? Some adults most definitely are not as mature as they should be, so if we shouldn't have Facebook accounts, neither should they .
Posted by: AnonymousYes, but only with boundaries in place to protect them.
I believe that children under 18 should be allowed on Facebook. And, I also believe that Facebook should impose boundaries on the usage of the site by those who are under 16. Certain words, images and terminology shouldn't be allowed on the Facebook page of a child under this age. Certain people shouldn't be allowed to visit the page of a child. People whose pages are explicit, for example, should be blocked from communicating with children. I know that Facebook can put these parameters in place, but they could also create a Facebook for children.
Posted by: gnorknikYes ,if you are mature enough.
I am 10 and I have a Facebook. I wouldn't go on Facebook bullying others. Mostly I would be on there playing games and chatting with friends. Even though some of my friends on Facebook swear a lot, it just matters if you like it or you just don’t mind about them. I mostly just don't use those words.
Posted by: AnonymousYeah, they should be.
It doesn't only shows vulgarities and all that stuff, but side by side, it also helps kids understand importance of their life.It contains pages related to their education, their life.It also contains Facts, general knowledge,inspiring quotes,etc.But on one condition, that they should take good advantage of having internet at home or in their mobiles. It makes us understand life. I don't see any of such vulgarities.Its only Satan that makes us watch such stuff.Its not good for us.Children, we should have interest in G.K. Science, Physics, and all that stuff, because they are the only things that will buy us success. I'm an Indian Guy.But then to I m happy, I also thank my God for protecting me from all that stuff and making me a understanding person.
Posted by: AnonymousChildren under 18 should be allowed to join and use facebook, but there should be some parental controls.
Social media is an important part of many peoples lives, especially for teenagers. Allowing them to us facebook is just one way parents can monitor what their children are doing, or liking, or following. They should be made aware that what they post can have real life consequences, but I see no reason they should be forbidden.
Posted by: HumdrumMilo83Yes under control of a parent
If a child is on Facebook I think they should be supersized by a parent, and only talk to kids or grown-ups they know. If they post inappropriate photos or information about themselves I think they should understand that there are consequences.
Posted by: AnonymousI feel that Facebook is safe to join, if a child is under 18 years old, and if they are monitored by the parent.
I think that, with parent supervision, Facebook is safe. There are plenty of fun games for kids to play. Some of the games can be learning tools. For example, kids learn to take care of and tend to farms and animals. There are also blocking choices, so that only certain people are allowed to view the child's profile page.
Posted by: SneakyBryant
NO!
Facebook is a very vulgar site with very inappropriate ides in it. It must be gotten rid of at once, otherwise our children will become corrupt
Posted by: AnonymousNo, they shouldn't be allowed.
If this actually becomes the law, everyone will be 70% more disciplined and decent. Facebook is an ugly social site where major cyber bullying incidents occur and it has a lot of ugliness and vulgarness to it. Since adults are SUPPOSED to know better, although being a teen I am very intelligent and decent, they can be allowed. But you're right, under 18, no.
Posted by: divyanka2111I like Facebook.
i totally agree with the negative side because little kids like that don't need to be seeing stuff like inappropriate language, pornography, stalking and there is a lot more that I could add on. Kids under 18 should go on websites like "Club penguin", "Kid's biog", "Cartoon Network" act. Websites like that are safe to use for fun not for profanity.
Posted by: AnonymousAbolutely Not!
Young people under 18 should 100% not be on Facebook. The consequences are so large: Kidnapping,Cyberbullying, Sexual Abuse,Stalking,Hacking,Selling drugs,Producing Pornography. . .I could go on. Coming from someone under 18 (me) I don't even want to get involved with Facebook. I don't have one, but so many of my friends do. About 96% of my school has Facebook. This is crazy! Facebook needs to be used responsibly, not negatively. That's the whole point of Facebook; to have fun. But where's the fun in being watched? Seeing the most disgusting things? Being stalked?Tell me. Can you answer these questions? Guess not!
Posted by: AnonymousChildren under the age of 18 should not be allowed to join and use facebook.
I strongly believe that Facebook should be restricted for the age of 18 and over because they will be mature and have better knowledge on what they are doing on a social site. On the other hand, children under 18 are immature and they watch, chat and many other inappropriate things.
Posted by: AnonymousFacebook is unnecessary for children under 18 to use
Facebook is an addictive website and can drive children away form their studies. Facebook also contains inappropriate material which is not suitable for children to view. Their parents cannot be able to supervise their children all the time too, since they have their own things to do and the child may feel uncomfortable if his or her parent is sitting beside him or her all the time, watching what their doing. Furthermore, it is also dangerous to let the child enter a social network that can lead to cyberbullying. I believe that it is totally unnecessary for children to be entering Facebook.
Posted by: AnonymousI think Facebook makes a child free to do things matbe illegally behind the parent
A child below 18 is not fully independent and when such a child is allowed to access this site which he/she confines using his / her password, the child gives no access for his parents to monitor him/her. Nowadays, a lot of crimes are committed online via Facebook and the child may be involved and since the child is not up to 18 years the police will need to see either the father or the mother, thereby leaving the family in jeopardy.
Posted by: AnonymousIn my perspective I believe that children under the age of 18 should not use Facebook.
The reason why I would say this is because people who are under the age of 18 are held responsible to their word whether its in a joking matter or not. The priority for a child under 18 is to learn and get a good education head of them. This can all possibly be screwed up by college admissions. Many colleges check your back round of what you say whether its on Facebook, twitter, or MySpace. This can lead to a downfall of some students because, however, of the bad discussions most people have on Facebook. Not using Facebook until at least the age of 18 can result in a better college that you may apply for.
Posted by: AnonymousToo much interaction is possible between minors and faceless strangers
Is that a valid enough argument? I'm sorry but growing up in an earlier generation we got by in school without the need for Facebook. Isn't the Internet and email enough for use in education and correspondence?
"To a baby with a hammer, everything looks like a nail".
Restrict Facebook to users over 18+.Posted by: ForTheRestrictionofFBSocial media is more harmful then beneficiary, and no child should be exposed to it.
-People forget how to act in real-life conversations. Body language, vocal tone,and eye contact lose all meaning during a digital conversation. And, a warm laugh is much more endearing than a lol.
-Our tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language tell about who we are, and we lose that part of ourselves through social networking sites.
-We are wasting away our lives updating our facebook statuses, twittering and constantly commenting on everything in our friends lives that we are seeing. That time could be spent doing other things, but every waking moment we are constantly at our computers typing away.
-Being constantly in touch with every body else through some giant digital network has its cons. Sexual Predators have a brand new hunting ground, with the natural mask of a screen name, cyber-bullying is now found which is like bullying, except it is constant harassment on the net, and the bullies use screen names and the distance as a mask and shield, making them almost untouchable.
-People’s lives are constantly on display. That wears down peoples sense of identity and self-worth, because people are constantly acting, and eventually they don’t know what they really like anymore! This can cause severe depression and a mental flogging. Suicides are plaguing America, and people are ignoring their jobs because all they ever do is go on these social networking sites.
-There is a high risk of identity theft as well as sexual predators on almost all social networking sites.
-Since people spend hours and hours at a time in front of a screen, at work, they shun their duties so they can see the latest posts. They ignore the gifts of nature so they can see what their friend ate for dinner. THAT’S JUST SAD.
-Social networking sites destroy the natural relationship that occur between people.Posted by: AnonymousI think that they should not let a child under 18 join Facebook.
Sometimes the child will sneak and use Facebook and it is not safe for them as they could add many strangers and talk about him/her to them. Then the stranger could gather up all the information and just kidnap or do many things on him/her. That is why I say it is not safe.
Posted by: AnonymousFacebook must be regulated to the age of 18
While Facebook may connect people from all over the world, it is definitely one of the most major concerns of cyber bullying. Recent data from Macquarie University have shown that a percentage of 16% children aged between 9-18 years have more chances of becoming a victim of cyber bullying as they are naïve. Cyber bullying begins when a child first enters a social networking site such as Facebook. As people below the age of 18 years do not have much maturity, they tend to believe in what people say online, including the nasty comments they make on young teens Facebook information such as insulting their photos and private information. An example of a cyber bullying victim is Ryan Halligan who lived in America and was only aged 13 years old when he committed suicide. Ryan was sadly bullied by his popular classmates online through Facebook because of his low education. They had disgustingly made fun of him, spread embarrassing rumours about him and humiliated him. Ryan was absolutely petrified by this and since then, he had been thinking of suiciding. When he met a pen-pal on Facebook, who he shared all his feelings with, surprisingly the pen-pal supported Ryan that he should commit suicide so that all the bullies would feel sorry for him. When the victim’s dad was out of town early morning, and his family was asleep, Ryan miserably hanged himself in his room under the influence of his Facebook pen-pal and the pain from the bullies. This is the most outrageous effect of cyber bullying. If Facebook was regulated to the age of 18 years plus, then there are fewer risks of young teenagers such as Ryan Halligan committing suicide.
Posted by: xxpriyaxxDefinitely not! Who knows what your kid would do. Many children are involved with hacking and older people could get them to do stuff. Have you never watched Dr.phil?
People I know of have had their children molested by internet users. They tell them good things about your kids, and your kid eventually thinks the person they're talking to is some what around there age, when really they are child molesters. Would you want people to take your child's photo and do something with that?! Our future won't revolve around studies and school, it will than revolve around Facebook and social networking sites . Man people are crazy
Posted by: AnonymousNo, as in most cases, juveniles are primary victims of sexual predators and bullies.
If you watch news on TV or read articles on newspapers, you can find tons of sexual abuse and bullying stories of children. Social networking has become a perfect tool for sex predators. Most children are naive and innocent, who just can't differ a bad from good. Children may post any revealing information and photos. According to a statistics, 40% of Facebook users set their privacy settings to "everyone." That is real bad.
Posted by: AnonymousTrouble
Kids can get into all kinds of trouble. Parents cannot always be watching kids. Society has changed so much and both parents working there is little time to be watching them. The time used on Facebook should actually be time for the family to spend time together and Facebook is not quality time. There is less and less time now days of families spending time together. People are to consumed with social websites. That is not quality time.
Posted by: AnonymousI feel that Facebook is unsafe to join,that, with parent supervision, Facebook is safe. there are plenty of fun games for kids to play. some of the games can be learning tools. for example, kids learn to take care of and tend to farms and animals. there a
That, with parent supervision, Facebook is safe. There are plenty of fun games for kids to play. Some of the games can be learning tools. For example, kids learn to take care of and tend to farms and animals. There are also blocking choices, so that only certain people are allowed to view the child's profile page feel that Facebook is safe to join, if a child is under 18 years old, and if they are monitored by the parent. I think that, with parent supervision, Facebook is safe. There are plenty of fun games for kids to play. Some of the games can be learning tools. For example, kids learn to take care of and tend to farms and animals. There are also blocking choices, so that only certain people are allowed to view the child's profile page. Yes sneakybryant children under 18 should be allowed to join and use facebook, but there should be some parental controls. Social media is an important part of many peoples lives, especially for teenagers. Allowing them to us Facebook is just one way parents can monitor what their children are doing, or liking, or following. They should be made aware that what they post can have real life consequences, but I see no reason they should be forbidden. Yes humdrummilo83 yes, but only with boundaries in place to protect them. I believe that children under 18 should be allowed on facebook. And, I also believe that Facebook should impose boundaries on the USAge of the site by those who are under 16. Certain words, images and terminology shouldn't be allowed on the Facebook page of a child under this age. Certain people shouldn't be allowed to visit the page of a child. People whose pages are explicit, for example, should be blocked from communicating with children. I know that Facebook can put these parameters in place, but they could also create a Facebook for children. Yes gnorknik voice your opinion no0% of users please explain your stance email address required by submitting your response you agree to our terms of service no responses have been submitted. Voice your opinion related debates would it be beneficial to switch to a resource based economy? Do you think it is possible to stop bullying in schools? Is the average ceo paid too much in the united states? In general, would progress come faster with the elimination of traditions? Is it ethical to use unborn animal fetuses for scientific research? Is a master's of business administration a value that is clearly overrated as so many executives have enjoyed stellar careers without the benefit of one? Is a student's score on his or her college admittance exams (sat and act) a good predictor of his or her collegiate and post-collegiate success? Does plea bargaining undermine the criminal justice system? .
Posted by: AnonymousNo, ages from 13-16 are not mature enough to interact on a public site.
Facebook should require a college ID which must be verified to create an account. A 13 or 14 year old has no business posting pictures of themselves for the public eye, this opens the door to strangers with the wrong intentions. Facebook was intended for a mature age group, Facebook is not myspace and is far more advanced and should eliminate under agers from ruining that aspect.
Posted by: AnonymousNo
I don't think children under the age of 18 should be allowed to use Facebook. I think there is so much going on social networking sites that children under the age of 18 do not need to be a part of. They can communicate in school and over the phone. They do not need to be on the internet where people can pretend to be someone else and befriend them.
Posted by: AnonymousMinors are often unaware of the dangers
Social networking sites like facebook are one of the fastest growing industries in history yet they are relatively new in terms of the impact they have on our lives.
Few minors have shown the maturity to use these sites safely and responsibly. Young people are very social animals and many have become addicted to these sites, unable to go more than 30 minutes before checking their news feeds and updating their status's. The amount of time they spend on these sites is detrimental to other activities such as homework, study, exersize, participation in sports and real social interaction. Most need adult maturity before they are able to regulate their use.
Young people also do not have a sense of the long term imapact of their actions. Many post innapropriate things which allow them to become victoms of bullying, suspension or explusion from school or jeapodise their chances of getting a job.
It is very easy to falsify identity and young people are also in danger from predetors.
Under 18's could perhaps use facebook on a family type page until they are old enough to handle the responsibility/.Posted by: Anonymousnot good .........
according to me joining facebook below the age 18 is very harmful. at that age the students are not matured. they can do misuses , which can create problem at future . it is a lot of wasting time.......... i think the people who are free and don't want to study engaged in this. they simply waste their time in doing chatting and using bad words. i don't understand whether the telephone and e-mail are not sufficient to talk....
priyankaPosted by: AnonymousFacebook increases social pressure to an unacceptable level.
Minors are already vulnerable to peer pressure and many do not have enough contact with adults. Facebook extends social contact with immature peers beyond the schoolyard into the home, evenings, weekends, and even the future. Facebook gives bullies and minors with poor judgment and undeveloped empathy the ability to ruin someone's reputation and apply a 'digital tattoo' that may never go away.
Posted by: Anonymous