As part of a technology-driven generation, Tweens are logging on to Facebook at a growing rate.
A growing number of pre-adolescents are becoming a part of this social-networking phenom, despite the fact that many of the sites have imposed age limitations. Facebook requires users to be at least 13-years-old, but many children will just pretend to be older in order to sign up. Social-networking sites have no feasible way to confirm anyone’s age, and these young users have realized how to take advantage of this.
Pew Internet Research (http://www.pewinternet.org/) reported two surveys of 700 and 935 teens, respectively. They found that 38 percent of the 12 to 14 year olds who responded said they had an online profile; 61 percent of 12 to 17 year olds said they use social-networking sites to send messages to friends and 42 percent said they use these sites every day.
There has been much debate over whether the use of social-networking sites in pre-adolescence is detrimental to a child’s emotional and physical well-being. Some therapists have been able to link such early Internet usage to Internet addiction among adults.
However, many other experts stress that there is no solid research to back up any of these negative claims, and they maintain that it is the minority of the children that are using the Internet in an inappropriate way. These experts say that most pre-adolescents appear to use social-networking in moderation and have been positively affected by this activity.
Today’s generation of pre-adolescents have grown up with computers and they are drawn into the world of Facebook and other social-networking sites because this is where their social world is..
{ 0 comments }
