Facebook might open itself up to kids

Facebook is currently mulling over whether to be more open and inclusive, taking in those who are younger than 13 years old under their wings. In order to do so, they will need to work on a new kind of technology that will enable kids under that particular age group to enjoy the benefits of the world’s largest social network – albeit being under parental supervision, of course. This is seen by some as a move that will help Facebook hook onto a new group of users, getting them young which is always a good strategy to tap them in the future in terms of revenue streams – once Facebook successfully monetizes their site, of course.

There are detractors to the idea as well, where privacy concerns could be a huge poser. Hopefully the safety mechanisms that are being tested such as connecting children’s accounts to their parents’ while enabling parents to decide on just who their kids can “friend” virtually will be able to alleviate such privacy concerns. This again, lets the onus fall onto parents, and if one has dysfunctional or irresponsible parents, it might lead to some untoward incidents down the road. What do you think – should Facebook be opened to those under 13 with a supervisory eye cast on them, or should the current age ceiling be maintained?

Bear in mind that there is no surefire guarantee and safe method when it comes to online matters, it all boils down to due diligence, so I guess either way, there will be pros and cons. The bigger question is this – what does Facebook ultimately want to achieve with this new demographic?

Edwin Kee
Categories: Computers
Tags: Facebook