Mother shocked about daughter on social media

As a mother of two I have struggled with the decision to allow my children to use social media. My daughter started asking if she could join Facebook when she was 10. Thankfully, Facebook requires you to be at least 13 to set up an account, so I had no issue with telling her no. My daughter recently turned 13 and hasn’t yet asked to join Facebook again, but has asked to join Instagram. With my permission my daughter set up an account, but my next struggle involved trying to figure out what rules I would require her to follow. Of course there are some no-brainers:

  • Never share your password with anyone
  • I must know your password at all times.
  • No inappropriate photos, EVER. I’ve never had this issue with her, but I felt it was important to address in the beginning.
  • Watch your language and the way you talk to people. It’s never OK to bully someone.

I hate to admit it, but I’m not very familiar with Instagram. I set up an account and played around with using it for a day or so, but never got into it. Looking at my daughter’s page I instantly saw that anyone could view and follow you which wasn’t going to work. SO, a few new rules got added.

  • Privacy settings must be set to private.
  • Only accept requests for people you actually know.
  • You must approve me as a friend and never delete me. (Don’t worry, I don’t like and comment on any of her posts to embarrass her)

I’m sure more rules will come up as she asks to join other social media sites. I check her account weekly just to make sure nothing funny’s going on. I don’t want to be one of those overbearing parents, but the Internet isn’t exactly the safest place for a child to play.

Popular Teen Sites For Your Son or Daughter

In case you’re also wondering what age limits some of the popular tween/teen sites have in place, I put a list together for you: (Some of my fellow Posse associates helped with this as I’m not a teen and my daughter was in school. They assure me that these are popular with tweens and teens)

Facebook: You must be at least 13 to be eligible to sign up.

Twitter: Twitter doesn’t currently have an age requirement. Instead, they have age screening. What is age screening you might ask? Yeah me too. According to Twitter, “Age screening is a way for brands and others to determine online whether a follower meets a minimum age requirement, in a way that is consistent with relevant industry or legal guidelines. This makes it easier for advertisers and others with content not suitable for minors (e.g. alcohol advertisers) to advertise on Twitter.”

Instagram: Owned by Facebook, requires you to be at least 13 to register.

Google +: Google requires you to be 13+ to sign up for an account.

Vine: Owned by Twitter, they require you to be 17 years or older to use the app. (This one surprised me the most)

Snapchat: They say that minors ages 13-17 should have permission from a parent or legal guardian before using Snapchat. Children under 13 are directed and given access to a special version of Snapchat, called “SnapKidz” only.

YouTube: Owned by Google, YouTube has the same rule as Google+. You must be 13+ to sign up for an account.

Now I have a few questions for you.

  • Are any of these age requirements surprising to you? Do you think they’re appropriate?
  • How did you feel about allowing your children to join a social media site?
  • What rules do you require your children to follow?
  • Are my rules totally crazy? 😉