Facebook...how old?

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  •   #31  
    FrouFrou's AvatarFrouFrou , 12-12-2010 04:36 PM
    If I had younger children they wouldn't be allowed until about 15 maybe...I was a strict mother, what can I say. I have an eleven year old grandson who wanted to add me and I wouldn't. I know DIL was a little angry over it but I don't think FB is a place for an 11 year old. I don't want him reading stuff that I say or others may say...it's adult conversations for the most part. And now he wants a cell phone, ugh! Not sure he will get it, not sure why he needs one but he thinks he does. Son said no but the mother, ugh...sometimes lets them (3 children) do what they want and have what they want.
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  •   #32  
    HartLover23's AvatarHartLover23 , 12-12-2010 06:18 PM
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by pipernoswiper
    lmao, sigh............i also said my child, who is now 14, wouldnt have a cell phone until absolutely necessary.... YEAH, since 7th grade her schedule is insane, i don't know if i'm coming or going taking her to and from school activities. 4 sports she does now. AND her social activity is just as ridiculous. her cell phone died, and she went for 4 weeks without one, just so i could prove a point to her that she isnt ENTITLED to a cell phone. i think it was harder on me than her. for instance, instead of her calling me and saying she was done at practice, and come pick her up, i would go and wait for 45 minutes because practice went over!
    also worth mentioning, when i was in school, we didnt NEED the internet. books were all we needed for reference material. NOW, unless you are planning on spending hours at the library to use their internet your going to want to have internet by the 5th grade, my daughter's school started them doing research papers in the 5th grade and they usually require two website references.
    just something for everyone to think about because living life internet and cell phone free, is easier said than done

    almost forgot, she is a freshman now......things are just getting more crazy by the day. but it is peace of mind knowing that she is just a phone call away.
    But the thing is, if my kid had a hectic schedule like that, I'd get them that cell phone with two or three numbers programmed in, mine, home, and 911. It's just this whole "sexting" has me really freaked out (even though I don't have kids yet) and I can't imagine if something like that happened to me. There is a good reason for a cell phone, but there is no good reason to let a kid have a phone with texting, video, and a camera. Just like there's no good reason to give a kid a computer with internet in their room. I managed to do research papers on our family computer in the family room (or on my dad's computer in his office).

    I just think that kids are so much more vulnerable now than they were 15 years ago.
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  •   #33  
    HartLover23's AvatarHartLover23 , 12-12-2010 06:21 PM
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Eliana
    What a breath of fresh air. You sound like me. I can tell you it may be a little idealistic, but stick to it if you can!.
    Oh I'm totally idealistic. My mom just tells me "Good luck" since I want five kids. LOL I'm crazy, huh?
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  •   #34  
    pipernoswiper's Avatarpipernoswiper , 12-12-2010 06:57 PM
    outside influences are always going to be a threat.......unless you are planning on homeschooling, i send my daughter to a private school, doesnt matter i cannot believe what goes on in school, so i'm going to say it again

    either we teach our kids right from wrong, or we don't, facebook or cell phones, or internet, isn't going to change a good upbringing and open communication with our kids.

    quite a few of my daughter's friends have parents with the same mindset as i am seeing here, there kids arent as innocent as they would like to think.....they (the parents) just don't know what is going on.

    i guess to each their own, but you won't really know how you will handle the technology until you actually have kids, you might find it is not so cut and dry and black and white as you may think.......
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  •   #35  
    Ciao's AvatarCiao , 12-12-2010 08:03 PM

    Since I'm 16, I can probably shed some light
    on some of the things kids my age post.

    Recently our school district has had a problem.
    Some high schoolers made an inappropriate
    page, something like a "Burn Book". They were
    posting everyones' deepest secrets, rumors,
    etc. The school district had to contact facebook
    and have them remove the page.

    Things like that are very inappropriate.

    I'm not going to lie, I once was very irresponsible.
    (I know, shocking, right?) I would curse like a trucker,
    post my feelings, etc. I was an embarrassment to
    my mother and I never saw it.

    I eventually came to terms that I needed to make
    a change. I no longer curse (both on and off the
    internet) and I don't post personal matters.

    I enjoy facebook a lot more now that I am responsible
    and clean. I love talking to my family who are miles
    away and I love reconnecting with old friends when
    I moved. I do not, however, like it when my 12 year
    old friend is talking about lust, drinking alcohol, etc.

    But who am I to talk? I'd be the biggest hypocrite, for
    I once did all those things (not at 12, but you get
    the point.) Facebook can be both good and bad. Now
    that it is the "in" social network, there's going to be
    more spam now and it'll eventually become the new Myspace.
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  •   #36  
    Kitsey's AvatarKitsey , 12-12-2010 11:31 PM
    Oh Facebook, how I love thee <3 Then again, I'm 27 :* I'm one of those crazy Mafia Wars people that adds strangers by the dozen because it's needed for the game. Happy to say that after 1.5 years I've never had any issues. I did have a devastating experience once on a site called Neopets, had a 'friend' that I was terribly close too for nearly 3 years, come to find out everything they ever told me was a lie. And we spent *hours* each day talking. If I had children I don't think I'd want them to use the internet without supervision-ever. I was an adult when this happened but it took me almost 2 years to get over.

    As for cell phones, I've never had one. Amazingly-I've survived-lol I don't believe anyone needs one until they start to drive. I suppose I might want one someday, but I LOATH the idea that people will think they can get a hold of me 24/7. :P
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  •   #37  
    shcirerf's Avatarshcirerf , 12-13-2010 01:29 AM
    Ahh, Facebook, cellphones, texting, email, etc. a double edged sword, a love hate relationship.

    Personally, I love all of the above! I love technology. I have several internet businesses.

    But, when it comes to the kids, well that's another story. Facebook, texting and email, and the internet in general can be very dangerous territory for the young and unsupervised.

    What it really boils down to is, parents should be parents. My children are grown, married, one has a new baby and the other will have a baby in Feb.

    The one thing they told me, after they had grown up, was, they hated it when I said, "I'm the Mom that's the only reason I need", but they also said that they were thankful that I said that and now they understood.

    On another note, my oldest son is a State Patrolman, DOT officer and SWAT sniper. Those guys LOVE Facebook. They catch more dumbs**ts than you can shake a stick at due to Facebook.
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  •   #38  
    HartLover23's AvatarHartLover23 , 12-13-2010 01:58 AM
    Argh, I had this long post and 3FC logged me out.

    The gist of it was that I don't think it's a good idea to completely shield kids from everything, but technology can be dangerous for them now. i heard about kids being arrested for possession of child pornography because of an illicit cell phone picture (one girl was arrested for having a nude photo of herself). Kids don't realize how their internet usage and cell phone usage can haunt them in the future. I think cell phones for teenagers is fine, as long as they don't have texting, a camera, photos, and video. There is simply no reason for those things until they're 18. And same with Facebook, I'm not really worried about what my kids would do on FB, I'm worried about what other people do on FB. I recently made a comment on one of my friend's status updates, and one of his friends whom I don't know disagreed, and started cussing me out. I really believe kids can be responsible on the internet, but it's what others do that I worry about.
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  •   #39  
    SpaceCoconaut's AvatarSpaceCoconaut , 12-13-2010 08:21 PM
    13 years old. And that's if they only add classmates and people they know in person. Plus, I'd make them put their profile on the highest level of privacy so that random people just can't come by and snoop.

    They can add whoever they want after 18 though. I wouldn't care.
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  •   #40  
    lauralyn's Avatarlauralyn , 12-14-2010 05:31 AM
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpaceCoconaut
    13 years old. And that's if they only add classmates and people they know in person. Plus, I'd make them put their profile on the highest level of privacy so that random people just can't come by and snoop.

    They can add whoever they want after 18 though. I wouldn't care.
    My oldest is going to be 20 tomorrow and I still care about who she adds....a parent never stops caring.
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