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1still_waters
Guest
Honestly...... I think a parent should view facebook like they'd view a dark alley at midnight. Don't let your kid go there in the first place. No one asks for kid safe monitored dark alleys at midnight. Why? Cuz parents know enough not to let their children there.
If you mean "children" then I agree. However if you mean "teenagers" when you say "children" I start to wonder if you're really "protective" or "controlling". Secretly monitoring teenager's internet conversations really isn't any different than listening to their phone conversations or reading their diaries.I think teens have a right to be disgusted by parents that do any of the three. Oops, guess I just revealed my immaturity because I can't help but to still side with teenagers on many of these issues.
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francina
Guest
As long as they are under age they should have the freedom to be on facebook, have a phone with super supervision. I mean the stories out there should make any parent cautious to a fault. We must allow them to learn & earn more & more freedom. I have been on facebook for a while & had one problem after joining a certain site that asked for access to facebook account. I suddenly started getting pornographic picts! Well, I prayed & came across a site very shortly that warned that this site was owned by Penthouse! I deleted my account & have had no problems. You have to be careful about everything you are linked to because they have those advertisement cookies that lead to who knows what. This was a site for Christians mind you, not owned, obviously by any christian group.
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francina
Guest
& sorry Dallas, I just saw what the original question was. I have heard of an application which is discussed on Focus on the Family for monitoring everything that your kid does on the computer & blocks what you don't want, like child predators. Check out Focus on the Family.
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DallasChad
Guest
Well there arent that many fb dangers for teenagers 
its pretty non offensive and you can check their friends and stuff.
its pretty non offensive and you can check their friends and stuff.
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NodMyHeadLikeYeah
Guest
Im gonna second this...
I was gonna reply with something along these lines. Children shouldn't have anything to do with facebook
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dmdave17
Guest
The problem with most social media, in my opinion, is that it is established and run by secularists. The subtle messages contained in these media are not necessarily things we want our children (of any age) exposed to. Let me give you an example from my recent experience. My daughter was channel surfing and came across one of those "Bring It On" movies on MTV. For those of you who are not familiar, these stories are built around high school cheerleading competitions. The characters are mostly teenagers, and the stories deal with teen issues. Cute, harmless fun, right?
Well, in the short time my daughter had this movie on our TV, I heard the following (I apologize in advance if anyone finds this offensive) ... "*****", "sucks", "blows" and "crap". All uttered by teenagers in the normal ebb and flow of their conversation. To me, anyone watching this movie who is of impressionable age (remember, it is MTV) will be left with the impression that this is the way all teenagers talk; and that it is acceptable.
This is why I believe that parents must be extremely vigilant in monitoring what their children see and do; on TV, on the internet, on all the various media outlets that are available today. The enemy is working hard to win their minds, and he never lets up. As parents we must work just as hard to counteract his influence.
Well, in the short time my daughter had this movie on our TV, I heard the following (I apologize in advance if anyone finds this offensive) ... "*****", "sucks", "blows" and "crap". All uttered by teenagers in the normal ebb and flow of their conversation. To me, anyone watching this movie who is of impressionable age (remember, it is MTV) will be left with the impression that this is the way all teenagers talk; and that it is acceptable.
This is why I believe that parents must be extremely vigilant in monitoring what their children see and do; on TV, on the internet, on all the various media outlets that are available today. The enemy is working hard to win their minds, and he never lets up. As parents we must work just as hard to counteract his influence.
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violakat
Guest
This is the way most teenagers talk, and in fact the way many parents talk around their children. And in fact, most do not even consider it swearing. It's possible that a lot of it has to do with tv, but I think the majority of it has to do with the lack of morals.
@ Dave, you can try safekids.com and see if they suggest any apps. I'm sure there is a website out there that will help you find the tools you need to keep your children safe.
Also, this is a direct link for the site to the guidlelines of parents with teens. Guidelines for Parents of Teens | SafeTeens.com
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TDWP22
Guest
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TDWP22
Guest
one of the responsibility of parents is to teach their kids about the dangers there are in the world, no matter how offensive or disturbing it is...Yes there are many pedophiles on fb, as well as chicks who will want to add you so you ll go to their "private chat-room" (yeah it happens to me all the time)..a stupid program and "ultra supervising" isn't going to work because you are not always with them...i always say what they dont learn from you, they will learn from the streets, and in ways that could put their lives in danger...yeah my mom does this; thanks to the information i ve gotten from her, ive been able to make good choices that i wont later regret
I have to agree with 1stillwaters as far as children of all ages. You are the parent, it is your job to protect your kids. My rule of thumb for Facebook would be: kids under 14-15 absolutely not, above that age only if YOU are on their friends list so YOU can monitor what is going on.
To join Facebook you have to be 14 yrs old. If any youth on it is under that they have lied about their age when they registered for Facebook in the first place.
It is difficult to monitor as a parent, but, you could allow them to have a profile if you are on their friends list too so you can monitor it. Having said that, there are many sneaky ways to hide things on FB too.
I guess, my own view aligns with Stilly. Social networking is a minefield. Without adequate privacy settings a young person could be adding lots of random people they don't know or their profile could potentially be viewed by ANYONE in the world.
I know one of my friends would not allow her daughter a Facebook page until she was 17 years old. Granted she was a mature Christian young lady and was responsible anyway, but that was the rule applied in her house. Sad to say that they can secretlly make a profile anyway and update/view it from their mobile phone these days.
So the verdict? Some kids will rebel if they are told they cannot have one and create one anyway. On the other hand it may be good if you can sit your teen down and talk to them about the dangers and if you think they are responsible enough, sit down with them and look over ALL the privacy settings on their Facebook page and make sure that you are added as your childs friend so you can monitor it.
To be honest, I am not sure which option I would apply but, you know your child and how much you can trust them. You are also the parent and while they live under your roof they need to abide by your rules.
All the best, it is not easy with the technological age these days!
It is difficult to monitor as a parent, but, you could allow them to have a profile if you are on their friends list too so you can monitor it. Having said that, there are many sneaky ways to hide things on FB too.
I guess, my own view aligns with Stilly. Social networking is a minefield. Without adequate privacy settings a young person could be adding lots of random people they don't know or their profile could potentially be viewed by ANYONE in the world.
I know one of my friends would not allow her daughter a Facebook page until she was 17 years old. Granted she was a mature Christian young lady and was responsible anyway, but that was the rule applied in her house. Sad to say that they can secretlly make a profile anyway and update/view it from their mobile phone these days.
So the verdict? Some kids will rebel if they are told they cannot have one and create one anyway. On the other hand it may be good if you can sit your teen down and talk to them about the dangers and if you think they are responsible enough, sit down with them and look over ALL the privacy settings on their Facebook page and make sure that you are added as your childs friend so you can monitor it.
To be honest, I am not sure which option I would apply but, you know your child and how much you can trust them. You are also the parent and while they live under your roof they need to abide by your rules.
All the best, it is not easy with the technological age these days!
I mean the people they might meet on facebook are no worse than the people they might meet at the mall. The best thing to do is to teach your kids to be careful and protect themselves online. I mean 14 might be too young but 16 is fine to have a profile on facebook. Eventually they won't be under your roof anymore anyways you cant protect them forever. Besides if you're this worried about facebook...how will you handle them going off to college?
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Tobby17
Guest
J0Y had it pretty much right. Establish a good relationship with your children and they can show you their profile. There's innumerable ways to block you from accessing all of their profile if they are tech savy, thankfully for you most kids are computer illiterate at the age of 14-15.
You can walk them through the lockdown steps via ZDNet's Definitive lockdown guide, and explain to them what "creepers" are and that we shouldn't allow a 40yr old guy you don't know onto your friends list.
Link: January 2011: The Definitive Facebook Lockdown Guide | ZDNet
Regarding filtering. OpenDNS can do a lot of magic, though still easily work-aroundable for the techie.
Link: OpenDNS | DNS-Based Web Security
And I definitely would suggest you to use MyWOT on all your web-browsers, they even began implementing WOT into parts of Facebook now.
Safe Browsing Tool | WOT (Web of Trust)
Personally I never understood parental filters, kids can turn them off faster than parents learn how to configure them... not to mention kids find it annoying and will be twittering how their parents are hyper-paranoiac.. ^^
I use MyWOT just to avoid malware myself.
@violakat If they have a phone without a data plan they can still borrow a friends computer, one at the libary, or one at school. Peer pressure forces kids into signing up. Not to mention they can probably get data with J2ME Opera web browsing and a few tweaks or use SMS alerts and control... hmm.. anyway.
@MegaTron I've seen worse people at the mall actually. And it's difficult to find friends you don't know on facebook. Don't add anyone you don't know and vice versa. Most people I've tried to add scream and block me. So yeah, good luck making new friends. FB is primarily for people you meet IRL.
Facebooks biggest threat is social engineering hacks. If you can make some one install a rogue app and still bank accounts, well you get the idea. Stay safe out there, and use a decent web browser.
You can walk them through the lockdown steps via ZDNet's Definitive lockdown guide, and explain to them what "creepers" are and that we shouldn't allow a 40yr old guy you don't know onto your friends list.
Link: January 2011: The Definitive Facebook Lockdown Guide | ZDNet
Regarding filtering. OpenDNS can do a lot of magic, though still easily work-aroundable for the techie.
Link: OpenDNS | DNS-Based Web Security
And I definitely would suggest you to use MyWOT on all your web-browsers, they even began implementing WOT into parts of Facebook now.
Safe Browsing Tool | WOT (Web of Trust)
Personally I never understood parental filters, kids can turn them off faster than parents learn how to configure them... not to mention kids find it annoying and will be twittering how their parents are hyper-paranoiac.. ^^
I use MyWOT just to avoid malware myself.
@violakat If they have a phone without a data plan they can still borrow a friends computer, one at the libary, or one at school. Peer pressure forces kids into signing up. Not to mention they can probably get data with J2ME Opera web browsing and a few tweaks or use SMS alerts and control... hmm.. anyway.
@MegaTron I've seen worse people at the mall actually. And it's difficult to find friends you don't know on facebook. Don't add anyone you don't know and vice versa. Most people I've tried to add scream and block me. So yeah, good luck making new friends. FB is primarily for people you meet IRL.
Facebooks biggest threat is social engineering hacks. If you can make some one install a rogue app and still bank accounts, well you get the idea. Stay safe out there, and use a decent web browser.