At an age when his parents won’t let him go to the mall alone and in an era when he would never open up to a stranger, [Scott] Fitzsimones, who lives in Phoenix, already has a growing dossier accumulating on the Web. And while Congress has passed laws to protect the youngest of Internet users from sharing much information about themselves, once those children become teens, the same privacy rules no longer apply.
“It’s the Wild West for teens when it comes to privacy online,” said Kathryn Montgomery, a privacy advocate and communications professor at American University.
teens are impulsive and rarely think about future consequences. that should be a no-brainer to anyone who’s been one. It should be especially obvious to anyone who’s been with a pack of them. the real issue here is the long term impact of a person’s digital life. If a teen makes an error in judgment at 13 and posts something he/ she shouldn’t, then that material could very well impact their college admissions and job prospects. Parents should think seriously before giving their teen a smartphone and access to a credit card. I’d recommend they don’t. Teens are good at getting around the blocks and restrictions. The companies do need to explain their privacy policies upfront, but the parents could solve the problem by limiting access in the first place.
[i]but the parents could solve the problem by limiting access in the first place[/i]
Oh my gosh, you mean parents should actually be responsible for how their children behave and are raised? You must be one of those neanderthal conservatives trying to overthrow the surging bounds of our “we can do it all” federal government.
People like you want to control what your children are taught in school, what they eat, how late they stay out, what they watch on TV or the internet, how soon they date.
You want to withhold condoms and abortions from your children.
And now you want to limit how much social media action your children can participate in. You have no faith in your federal government; 2012 elections are right around the corner, a new program to take care of your children’s latest problem will appear any day now. Just leave the kids to us, we’re from your Federal Government, and We are here to help [sarcasm off].
Amen. Shut it all off. No facebook, no cell, none of it. It is all inappropriate.