Should I let my 11 year old have his own Facebook page and how safe is it?

[Mr Booo]

My 11 yo boy wants his own Facebook page and I don't know much about it. Is it safe? What are the pros and cons?

[hmderek]

You should make a facebook for yourself so you can see what he does...plus you might like it. I have seen some pretty extreme cases, like peoples pets having facebook pages, so I think you could let him have one if he wants. You can control privacy settings for him, like allow no strangers to see his pictures and info...if that helps

[Mr Skeng]

Well unlike Myspace you tend to only add people on Facebook you know in person. So this would probably be his friends from school etc. You can customise the privacy settings pretty heavily to prevent people who aren't in your friendship circle from viewing your childs personal details (i.e. school, location, age).

My 12 year old brother uses Facebook and both my parents have no problem with it.

[Janae]

well, technically he can't have a facebook, you're supposed to be at least 13 years old.

although, it is a great way to stay connected with family and friends, and you can change all privacy settings so that only his friends can see his stuff. I would suggest on putting the privacy settings to "friends only" as it is the safest. Just make sure you have a facebook account too so that you can monitor his.

hope it helps !

[Peter]

I know of and actively chat and interact with children of your sons age. The reason is that they are all family in one shape or form.

My worry is that you can't be sure who is becoming their friend. Unfortunately there are freaks out there who target young children on sites like facebook. The children like to have lots of friends and don't always find out who is asking to be added. The friend count is like a status symbol to them.

As long as you stipulate that it is 18's only but you will allow it as long as they tell you who is on their friend list, you should be OK.

It can be fun and as long as you monitor it, you should have no problem.

[Simba]

It's safe for the most part. This is what I would suggest.
1) Tell him NOT to add anybody he doesn't personally know (school,neighbors, family.) Sometimes people meet through games and they add these "strangers" as friends. I would advise against this.

2) Do not allow him to put any private info in his profile, no phone #, no addresses, etc. Even his school is questionable.

3) Put maximum security on his profile, you will probably need to help him with this. This will limit what others can see. I suggest setting everything to where only his friends can see it. Another option is friends of friends, but you don't know who anybody else has as friends so this is not as secure.

4) If you happen to have your own facebook page, add him as a friend so you can watch his activity. Go ahead and let him know that you will be watching, but it's for his safety. Or tell him that you want to look at it once in a while to make sure everything is ok.

The good thing about facebook is that nobody can see anything if you don't want them too. You may have to help him set up the security settings, but I really think it's a good idea.

[khitta]

my answer is yes,thanks for being a wise parent to ask first before you make a decision,if your son has decided to open a face book please honor his decision, its not a bad idea do no let him regret in future,you can keep the privacy of his account and teach him to keep account a secret,me i was stopped by my siblings to open it when i was still young,but now am 19 years many friends need me but am just figuring out to get account of a face book which i would have been having per now.do not miss lead his chance.remember a chance knocks once and it goes,it is so rear in life.please just remember to keep the privacy

[I Just Know]

No, he is not allowed to have a Facebook account, he needs to be at least 13 to use Facebook.
Facebook is relatively safe, but it's a social networking site, it's never completely safe.

Pros are
-He'll socialize more
-Easier and cheaper communication
-Facebook offers a wide variety of applications and games, it may be both useful and fun

Cons are
-It is addictive
-Facebook stalking/Cyber stalking
-It may become quite complex, it will take more and more time away from studying
-Your child may be easily exposed to material which is not appropriate for his age