(yikes!) and going with what I have seen, communication between parent and child is a vital tool here, so cutting out a way another way they converse with their friends can be no bad thing. I was letting my 10 year old play games on my facebook account and one of my acquaintances got angry at her boyfriend and spewed all manner of nasties on his wall which prompted my son to ask me what two of those words meant, which resulted in an very awkward conversation. Not "friends" with her anymore (at all) and he's allowed to play games on a profile I made under one of my dogs. He's not using it for social activities at all. His school has set up something for that, which I suspect is being monitored and I should probably pay close attention to, especially now I read this article. Thank you! Interesting that just to hear Facebook mentioned, realistically would these reasons apply to other social networks too? (Like MySpace etc) Would you be happy letting your kids use social networking if you knew it was safe for them? (Like the GLOW network used in Scottish Schools) I'd also say the CEOP website has a lot of great advice for any parents who have concerns about their child's safety online. The FAQ's there are really useful. http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/Parents . Facebook is mentioned because it is on trend at the moment, (I think even the kids know Myspace is on it's way out) my