what is twitter and is it safe for young kids?

[Bubbles]

What exactly is twitter and is it safe for tween kids?

[Proud Parent]

You can follow people on Twitter, and people can follow you on Twitter. You write about your day, mood, thoughts life. I dont think anything online is safe for children,

[Doodlestuff]

Twitter is a limited social networking area. No, I don't think it's safe for tween kids.

[Gamerpc]

Twitter is like making short phone calls.
But it is in text form.
But what you text can go to 100's or even 1000's of people each time.
Depends on how many people are following.

It's like any of the new technologies. Not 100% safe for kids.
But having said that, they can get into same amount of trouble on the phone.

If you become a follower, then you will also receive the same messages that your kids are sending. I don't know how old KIDS are, but I would not let them do it unless I received same messages.

Cheers from DOWNUNDER

[GamerEdie]

Twitter is a "microblog." You create a name and then you can update what you're doing, thinking or anything you want, but you can only post 140 characters per post.

Friends and others can follow you, and you can follow them back, or you can just follow people and see what they're Twittering. When you follow someone, your home screen shows the latest posts of all your follows in chronological order. Most celebrities post on Twitter, so the attraction of seeing what Miley or Ashton is thinking at the moment is pretty powerful. Some even reply to Twitter messages, so it makes kids feel like they can actually "talk" to their favorite stars.

Anyone can look at your page and see what you've posted in order you've posted them, and you can look at anyone else's Twitter page and see what they've said since you started Twittering. It ends up being like a public diary of just little thoughts. It's pretty cool.

As with all the internet, you should be aware of what your kids are doing. Nothing substitutes for parental oversight. However, I will say that, with Twitter, you can do two things that many online social sites can't do.

First, you can make your profile private, so strangers can't just read what you post on your page until they're followed AND you've followed them back. So this cuts down on any pervs who might be trolling for kids.

Second, you can monitor your children very easily by looking at their Twitter page, and you can go back and see who they're "talking" to by checking the @ links, go to those people's pages, and piece together conversations. They can't hide what they're saying except in any Private Messages they've sent to other Twitter users, which you can also do on Twitter.

Bottom line, it's really no more dangerous than your average social site. The safety depends on what you've taught your children about being safe on the internet and how well you monitor their usage. We all try to keep kids safe, but there really is no substitute for being involved with your children, talking to them about their internet life and just being a parent.

[♥Fancy♥]

Twitter is just like text messaging. People can become your friend there ( it means they add you to their list and they can see whatever you post on the site) and anything you post will be seen. I don't really think it's safe for young kids, but some parents allow their kids to use it if they add them as a friend. That way, you can see what they do on there. I don't have any kids, but I did have a scary thing happen on myspace. Someone there was talking to me (friend of a friend kinda thing) and he disappeared for awhile. I asked another friend what happened to him and they said he is a pedophile and was in prison for child molestation and sexual activity with a minor. He seemed like a nice person, but ended up trying to get my phone number and address. I didn't give that to him of course, but it's scary to think a younger, more naive kid could have. I was 18 when that happened and he thought I was younger for some reason. It's scary to think that kids who are only 12 are on that site and even more vulnerable. Some kids don't really have anyone who cares where they are (or at least think they don't) or think that they are just having fun teasing someone who seems creepy, but they forget that when they add the person just to mess with them, they can see information they post for the friends they know in person about get togethers and such. It's scary.