Social Media Age Restriction

This past week while we were talking about Privacy in class, we watched Terms and Conditions may apply (2013). In one of the scenes, it showed a session in court where they talked about how kids under the age requirement are signing up for social media accounts. This was a shock to me even though I have done it myself. When I was younger I wanted a Facebook account so badly, but I wasn’t old enough. I signed up anyway and got away with it. At that time I believe I was 11 years old and you have to be at least 13 years old to have one. In my case, nothing bad ever came from it, other than some embarrassing posts from middle school.

I read an article called 3 Reasons Why Social Media Age Restrictions Matter by Diana Graber. This article was interesting to read because I have never thought in depth about this subject matter. Graber goes over the 3 reasons in great detail some of it can feel like common sense. Although, I don’t think a lot of people realize that it isn’t completely safe for children under the age requirement to have social media accounts. This is a big concern, to say the least.

This is an excerpt from Graber that gives a lot of information about the age requirement for social media:

“The minimum age to open an account on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Kik, and Snapchat is 13. Vine, Tinder, and Yik Yak it’s 17. YouTube requires account holders to be 18, but a 13-year-old can sign up with parent’s permission. Despite these clearly stated and published age restrictions, large and growing numbers of children 12 and under are using social media networks often with their parent’s knowledge and consent.”

This can cause a bunch of different issues because even though parents have the knowledge and gave them consent they are not watching what they are doing on this social media 24/7. That creates an even bigger issue like Diana Garber has said in her article children’s personal information can be at risk. If they are young enough they might not know what is right and wrong to post on social media, and this can lead to a lot of serious problems. They could add their birthday, home address, or where they go to school, which can hinder their safety. The next reason kids under the age requirement shouldn’t have social media is because “children under 13 don’t have the same hardware upstairs to make smart decisions online”. Graber throws in facts about how at 12-years-old it is very hard for a kid to understand their actions online can have large consequences. Graber’s last point is that “Lying is just plain wrong”. This one is a given because we are taught to not lie, regardless of where they are doing it. Which in the end can cause more problems in their future if they get away with it when they are younger.

After reading this, I do understand why it is an issue and why I probably shouldn’t have had a Facebook account when I was younger than the required age. I honestly didn’t think a lot about that before, because I knew not to put any personal information online. It could have been very bad if I did. Do you think it is wrong for someone under the age requirements to have social media? Do you think it’s okay that the social media platform creators know about famous kids on social media that are under the age requirement but don’t kick them off?