This week, Facebook changed it’s privacy policy (again). Yes, I am on Facebook but my daughter is not because is not. Technically, she is not allowed to have an Facebook account until she is 13 but as we know from recent cases like the 12-year-old Florida girl, Rebecca Ann Sedwick, who committed suicide as a result of being was bullied on Facebook and other social networks.
So what has changed with Facebook’s privacy policy. It now allows teenagers to post their status updates, videos and images to everyone not just friend and people they know. If you know anything about Facebook, most people barely pay attention to the privacy policy changes and certainly teenagers are not watching the news or reading newspapers to know this change even happened.
Teenagers live in alternate universe where they have no idea the consequences of what they post online will do to their reputation in later years nor do they think they will ever be bullied. Facebook is a place they can interact with their “friends.”
Yes, it’s a parents responsibility to monitor their children’s access but like the mother of the girl who committed suicide and closed her account, the bullying doesn’t stop if you close your account. And now that a bully’s comments is there for all to see and all the world can see your comments, whose to say situations will get worse. Plus because Facebook makes you sign up with your real name, kids will now be searchable. You see where I am going with this. Kids don’t realize that bullies, and predators can now track you from your posts.
What responsibility does Facebook have towards an age group that has no clue in order to garner what more page views, more money, more profits? I think it has a lot.
This latest privacy move is in completely disregard of the impact of bullying on this nation’s youth. I am actually shocked at the fact they are even doing this now given the latest incident and because every day, every minute some kid is being bullied on Facebook (and other social networks) but Facebook thinks it’s okay that children should be able to have their status open to the entire world.
Sadly, there will come the reckoning for Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg are sued for reckless endangement of child of their privacy policy.
What do you think of the Facebook Privacy Policy change? Do you monitor your child’s Facebook activity?
This is scary… my two oldest children both have Facebook accounts, but I make them give me their passwords so I can log in and keep an eye on things. If they change the password on me, I change the wifi password on them. 🙂 I’m reconsidering allowing the younger of those two to have a FB account anymore, though, given this new information. (He has autism, so he reacts to things differently than my older boy, who’s 17).
Same here. Nearly word for word. ONLY my youngest is a girl and she also has a form of autism.. Right now she has little to no interest in Facebook.. TG.. My two oldest are Grown and out of the home so I no longer have to watch what they do now, I wish they would pay attention to what they are posting though.. My Nieces are very bad about what they post.. (also young adults, barely)
its hard to keep up with all their changes and it seems to happen faster and faster. Good for you that you have their passwords
Once Mark Zuckerberg has kids, I am sure the policies will change.