Peer Review Please-  
  
## Cause for Concern, Kids and Social Media

  
  
In 2006, AOL Canada launched their third annual Online Safety Week, revealing that nearly thirty-one percent of kids would rather play on the internet than play outside, while a survey in 2007 revealed more homes had internet than a television. Technology integration is necessary for our children to be successful as adults in the real world, but how much online activity is too much? Reports of cyber security breaches and identity theft are a few concerns while online, but do children know what to share and not share? I'm a firm believer in restricting access to the internet with children. My seven-year-old goes on YouTube Kids for an hour maximum a day. I can block videos or subscriptions I don't feel are age appropriate and I often ask her to tell me about the videos she's watching and we watch them together. My thesis will support the need for supervision of children while they are online and provide some ideas for parents and caregivers of children.  
  
Becky Bolt's article "83 % of Canadian Parents Leave Their Child Unattended Online; Third annual AOL Canada Online Safety Week kicks-off to raise awareness about Internet safety; City of Toronto declares May 8 official Online Safety Day." CNW Group 8 May 2006 from 2006 is the third annual report by AOL Canada. Bolt uses the paper to promote AOL's Safety Week program and raise awareness from statistics gathered in a recent survey. She states facts like the internet wasn't created with child audiences in mind, hence why AOL created Safety Week. The Canada-wide survey conducted by Leger Marketing for AOL Canada shows that 50% of parents feel it's easier to educate their children about sex & drugs than internet safety. In addition, 85% of parents agree the internet would be safer for children if there were standardized ratings like are in place for movies, TV shows, video games & music CDs.  
  
According to a research article 'Exploring Canadian Children's Social Media Uses' fifty-seven percent of kids ages six to ten years of age reported using social media. Fifty-four percent have posted or shared their names on social media, similarly, fifty percent have uploaded or shared pictures or videos of themselves. With the recommended age 13 for Facebook and many other platforms, how are these children uploading or sharing this information? Easy, themselves! Fortytwo percent reported needing no assistance or doing while no one was present. Thirty-three percent had a parent present or in the room. Kids are predisposed to technology. They see it on TV, they see their parents on it, they use it in school. When we're waiting for anything, we take out our phone and check our email, look at Facebook or watch a YouTube clip. It's no wonder our kids know how to access the internet and which social media apps are trending, but do they understand the implications of their actions on those applications & who should teach them internet safety? What are the positive or negative effects of their social media exposure social/emotionally? According to a Canadian study over fifty percent of kids reported never feeling blue, sad, or afraid that had access to the internet and exposure to social media. Definity is a positive for social media, especially with all the negative exposure around social media and its content, but it also correlates over fifty percent of its 6-12-year-olds sharing information online including photos, birthdate, and real name. It's estimated that forty percent of kids online have Facebook accounts either set up with parental consent or fake information. Often these accounts aren't set properly exposing the child to harassment in various forms.  
  
Becky Bolt wrote this article over 15 years ago. However, I'm sure the numbers have changed a bit; there is still a lack of accountability by parents for their child's internet behavior. Bolt states the AOL Canada-wide survey numbers while promoting their Online Safety Week. AOL Canada has taken action to help children with internet safety, but is it their job? AOL Canada survey revealed that 92% of parents know exactly which internet sites their children are visiting, but 43% have no parental controls or do not know what security controls they have in place. Becky Bolt's article, 'The internet was not created with child Audiences in mind,' hence why AOL created Online Safety Week. AOL also created KOL(™), a kid-safe internet service for kids under 12. Allowing parents to monitor internet behavior but also restricting it through KOL. The AOL Canada survey shows that parents know what sites they are visiting, but what about their content? Take YouTube as an example, you can search 'silly games' and get some things like the song Silly Games by Janet Kay, but you also get results like Friday the 13th Traps FGTEEV! Which isn't appropriate if a 6-year-old is searching. The remaining results aren't much better, and they include a DIY Huggie Wuggie, Pimple Pete game & other results not suitable for a child under 12. Bolt's article states the average age of a child going online for the first time; 20% of parents say their child was three or younger the first time they went online. Parents may know their child is on YouTube searching for silly games, but what results are being yielded by those results? Using KOL can reduce and control outcomes, but what happens when a child over 12 searches using Google or AOL? Will they know right from wrong, good from evil on the internet? Peng Hwa Ang's article Parental Awareness and Monitoring Internet Use showed that parents tend to underestimate adolescents' risky internet behavior.  
  
Educators seem to take the heat on educating and teaching internet safety and responsibility. Canada & the United Kingdom have internet programs in their education system, the same as their core classes. American children identified YouTube as the most popular social media platform, while Canadian adolescents preferred web-based games or streaming music. AOL's Online Safety Week in 2006 promoted KOL by donating its services to 10 best public libraries for use in their kid's areas, along with Internet Safety Expert and AOL Canada Karen Robbins on hand to speak about internet safety. While KOL is an excellent idea for children under 12, it's not teaching them proper digital citizenship; we're not helping them when they finally go onto regular search engines. Without parents having conversations with their children and putting appropriate parental security controls in place, they become vulnerable to risky online behaviors. In 2006 29% of kids had computers in an area not recommended by internet safety advocates; the number has since risen as the number of computers and smaller electronic devices has grown. With 19% of children in 2006 having been bullied online & 14% having chatted with strangers, I don't think a week of intervention will help the problem.  
  
My daughter has been online since age 3, but always with supervision and limits on screen time. Some view it as too young to allow her to have an iPad and go on YouTube, while others don't think time limits are really necessary. I allow longer time limits on educational programs, like IXL (school math program), and limit her time on things like YouTube, Minecraft, and Roblox. She has access to messaging services, with people I select, if she wants a friend added, she just needs to ask. Weekly I get a report of who she talked to and what was said. This has opened the door for conversations about who she wants to talk to, what they are saying, and further critique of the conversations and etiquette. Some parents believe I shouldn't allow my child online. Her being online exposes her and her information to potential perpetrators. If I don't allow her online, is she then blind to the actual risks of social media?  
  
I work closely with kids on a daily basis, I hear stories of internet restrictions, and lack of restrictions. Kids go on phones or iPads gaming, chatting, or on Facebook. Who's right on social media regulation? There's a saying father like son, how affected are the kids by their parents' social media habits?  
  
Review Sources  
Research to find who should control or limit (if at all kids' social media) doesn't seem to be much of a debate. It's a lot of buck-passing failing to take responsibility in our country. Canada and Europe seem to educate their children in school and with internet explorers geared towards age groups. I was unable to find any article specifically on advice to American parents in regard to social media and kids. The closest article I found was 'Educators: Online safety doesn't' take a vacation' which speaks to educators and how Prospect Elementary School in Clarendon Hills is educating its students. Encouraging parents to take control of "their" device the kid has and set rules and expectations. They also encourage open conversation, don't shut down conversation or be shocked at what your child is sharing. Digital Citizenship is a problem in children's homes according to Bolt's article. Parents are more comfortable talking about other issues vs. internet safety. They want websites rated or tools like KOL for our children. Bolt quotes 'Net Mom' Karen Robbins "The internet is like a swimming pool, you wouldn't just leave your child alone in the deep end. You start them in the shallow end and monitor them closely so they don't get in trouble" I agree with Robbins. As parents, it's our responsibility to monitor and teach our children about the world around us. We would do it at a pool or out in public at a shopping center; why wouldn't we do it on the internet?