By Laura Frykberg
A United States survey of more than 1000 parents has found that more than half of children under the age of 13 are using Facebook – in violation of the site's own age limit.
Experts says it is a trend that is being mirrored in New Zealand, which raises concerns that children could be exposed to situations they are too young to handle.
Facebook's new timeline makes it easier for users to look back on their earliest posts, which are increasingly being uploaded by account holders younger than the social networking site allows.
Andrew Long of Know Social Media says millions of kids under the age of 13 are signing up for Facebook and often with the consent of their parents.
The survey asked parents with children between 10 and 14 if they had accounts and found:
- 19 percent of ten-year-olds have Facebook
- 32 percent of 11-year-olds do
- More than half of 12-year-olds are on the social networking site
- 69 percent of 13-year-olds and 78 percent of 14-year-olds
Mr Long says parents need to know what their children do online.
“Usually you've got adults connecting with adults, and adults have the kinds of conversations that adults do, and those conversations might not be appropriate for kids,” he says.
Vanessa Eldridge's 12 and 10-year-old, Lewis and Fin, are both on Facebook
“We just say that we're like 40 or something, or some really old age, I said I was 23,” says one.
She does not believe banning the site will stop them using it, but she wants them to be safe online
“I thought it was inevitable and it was going to happen, so they have to be satisfied I’m going to be their friend, their dad's going to be their friend, and their grandfather's going to be on Facebook with them.”
Facebook does not legally enforce the age restriction, it relies on public information to track down and delete around 20,000 accounts operated by under-13’s daily.
But with two million New Zealanders on Facebook and that number increasing, Mr Long recommends parents should keep the computer in a communal area where they can monitor children's online movements.
3 News