Are Kids Safe On Social Networks?
By admin • Apr 13th, 2010Being a parent can be worrying at the best of times, but with children spending longer periods of time online, and in particular on social networking sites, how can mums and dads know that their kids are safe?
While many children may sign up with social networks in order to keep in touch with their mates or continue chatting with their friends once they get back home from school, it is difficult to know exactly who they are talking to without closely monitoring their online actions - which could lead to rows.
Similarly, banning kids from using the internet altogether once they are home could also lead to heated arguments and may be difficult to enforce, particularly if children have their own computers in their room or internet access through their mobile phone.
So just what exactly is being done to ensure that children are safe when they go online?
Parents may be pleased to hear this week a number of reports suggesting that Facebook is in talks with the head of a British child protection agency to discuss safety measures on the site.
According to the media, executives from the social networking site have met up with the agency, after the Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre criticised it for not installing panic buttons on every page.
The group claims it has received 252 complaints about Facebook during the first three months of 2010, with 40 per cent of the complaints relating to the alleged grooming of children.
Now, Facebook has announced that while it has no plans to introduce the panic button initiative, it will launch a 24-hour police hotline, redesign its abuse reporting system and conduct a campaign to educate people on the risks of using the site.
While parents may be pleased to hear about the steps the site has taken, they may have felt better if they had known a panic button was also available for their kids to use.
Commenting on the idea, Tony Neate, managing director of Get Safe Online, said: "Because people aren’t that computer literate I think it’s important that there’s something like this. If this can save one child from any form of abuse, then it’s a good thing. I think that giving easy access to people to be able to record this type of problem is crucial."
According to the Daily Mail, Facebook has 23 million users across the globe.
And according to the BBC, Richard Allen, Facebook’s head of policy in Europe, said the site is one of the "safest places on the internet".
Meanwhile, director of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre Jim Gamble said he was now looking forward to seeing the plans turned into actions.
Do you worry about your kids going on social networks?