How young is too young for social networking?
Despite age minimums for Facebook and other social networking sites, kids are finding their way on there. Often it's without the proper guidance or preparation from parents.
While experts say that can lead to trouble, so can making social networking a complete taboo for a youngster.
You must be 13 years old to access Facebook. With 600 million users and counting, it seems like everyone is on Facebook.
Just like other things their older counterparts do, tweens aged 8 to 12 are eager to get on too, despite the site's minimum age requirement.
Reports say Facebook is booting about 20,000 underage users everyday. A percentage that might seem small, but the implications for those youngsters can be big.
"The conduct they have online and offline affects their future, it affects their reputation, it affects what jobs they might get in the future," said Hemanshu Nigam, an internet consultant.
Like anything else, experts say parents should decide when their child is ready to have a social networking presence. Parents should also monitor the level of involvement they'll have in their kid's "social" life.
Some parents choose to share a password with their kids, or even have them "friend" mom and dad.
Despite age minimums for Facebook and other social networking sites, kids are finding their way on there. Often it's without the proper guidance or preparation from parents.
While experts say that can lead to trouble, so can making social networking a complete taboo for a youngster.
You must be 13 years old to access Facebook. With 600 million users and counting, it seems like everyone is on Facebook.
Just like other things their older counterparts do, tweens aged 8 to 12 are eager to get on too, despite the site's minimum age requirement.
Reports say Facebook is booting about 20,000 underage users everyday. A percentage that might seem small, but the implications for those youngsters can be big.
"The conduct they have online and offline affects their future, it affects their reputation, it affects what jobs they might get in the future," said Hemanshu Nigam, an internet consultant.
Like anything else, experts say parents should decide when their child is ready to have a social networking presence. Parents should also monitor the level of involvement they'll have in their kid's "social" life.
Some parents choose to share a password with their kids, or even have them "friend" mom and dad.
