Kids and Social Media Networking

So when should you give permission your child onto these social media sites?.

Study Highlights

• 30% of parents think 13 – 15 years old is the right age to get a social media page
• 36% of parents think 16 – 18 is the right age to get a social media page
• 26% of parents say over 18 is the right age to get a social media page
• 8% of parents are okay with kids under 12 having a social media page
• 48% of parents on Facebook are “friends” with their kids. 52% are not.
• 29% of all parents don’t allow texting during family meals. 36% of parents of teenagers don’t agree to texting during family meals.

Hello Mother… Hello Father… On Facebook

Should you friend your child on Facebook? FaceBook-using parents in this study were just about consistently divided with about 48% saying they are Facebook friends with their kids, where as 52% said they are not.

“It looks like more parents with teenage children are more probable to be friends with their kids, even though many confess it can be embarrassed at times but they say they do study a lot about their teenagers, which is most likely why children are so cautious to friend their parents to begin with.”

I am actually astonished that approximately one in ten parents of pre-teen kids will permit them to have a Facebook or MySpace profile. And that number increases to nearly 40% for kids under 15. That is a circumstances that as a father I am really uncomfortable with.

Listen to Your Mother; Put That Cell Phone Away and Eat Your Dinner!

If you ever have to tell your kids to end texting at the dinner table, you’re not lonely, but we were amazed to learn that only 1/3 of parents said texting was not allowed during family meals.

What do you think is an suitable age for a child to have a Facebook or MySpace account?

Read more about Social Media Optimization