If your kids are among the 13 gazillion youth checking out friends or playing Farmville on Facebook, you can breathe a little easier now.
Kids’ social networking will hopefully become even safer since Facebook just announced the formation of a Global Safety Advisory Board. The Board consists of leaders from five major organizations in North America and Europe, and will explore technical and educational issues to protect children’s safety online.
This is part of a push to prove that Facebook is committed to creating an online space that’s safe for kids. Last week, they “unfriended” and disabled accounts for 3,500 known sex offenders in New York state, which is a great step …. although that’s just a drop in the bucket for a state with 35,000 registered offenders. Facebook has had relationships with the Attorneys General of 49 states since 2008, and they may continue to do the same for other states as asked. If you’re a concerned parent, you might consider contacting your state’s Attorney General’s office to see what efforts they’re making to monitor sex offenders on social networking sites.
Facebook also participates in the Internet Safety Technical Task Force, and has partnerships with MTV and the BBC to promote awareness about cyberbullying.
The safety of online social networks has improved dramatically from the wild, wild west it was just a few years ago. I used to be scared to visit MySpace even as an adult, because you never knew what shocking image you might find one click away. All the sites are much cleaner now, like somebody turned on the lights and the cockroaches scattered. All the sites have added tools for reporting inappropriate content and pages full of safety advice.
Although parental involvement is still a must and children need to be smart, savvy internet users, all in all the world of youth social networking CAN be a safe and fun place … and it’s great that online giants like Facebook are trying to make it better.
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