http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/02/kids.social.networks/
Researchers say a growing number of children are flouting age
requirements on sites such as Facebook and MySpace, or using
social-networking sites designed just for them.
Facebook and MySpace require users to be at least 13. But they have
no practical way to verify ages, and many young users pretend to be
older when signing up.
Some scientists worry that pre-adolescent use of the sites, which
some therapists have linked to Internet addiction among adults, could
be damaging to children's relationships and brains.
But many other experts say there's not any solid research to back
that up and that most children seem to use social-media sites in
moderation, and in positive ways.
In two surveys reported this year by Pew Internet Research -- of 700 and 935 teens, respectively -- 38 percent of respondents ages 12 to 14 said they had an online profile of some sort.
Sixty-one
percent of those in the study, ages 12 to 17, said they use
social-networking sites to send messages to friends, and 42 percent
said they do so every day
The data in the study was from 2006, so it's not a stretch to assume
those numbers are higher this year. Research on younger children is
limited, but anecdotal evidence shows that many of them are also
logging on.
...
Many parents also worry that younger users of social sites could be
targets for online predators. While there are some concerns that kids
aren't mature enough to make good decisions about their privacy,
Subrahmaynam and Lenhart said most are savvy enough by their early
teens to know what, and who, to avoid. Younger children, they say, need
more parental supervision....
Children as young as 5 have accounts at KidSwirl, a kids' social-networking site patterned loosely on Facebook, said creator Toby Clark.
At what age does it become appropriate to use a social networking site? What restrictions would you place on your child in order to allow them to use a networking site, if at all?