From the article:
"New programs called social mapping applications use geographic information to connect people to specific places, as well as to each other. You may have heard of some of the most popular ones: Loopt, foursquare, and Gowalla. Once you join up, these applications track every movement you make. And that's what makes social mapping a no-go for kids and teens. These programs bring up two big issues: safety and privacy. Since they follow your location, they expose your kid's whereabouts to anyone they "friend" -- or, in some cases, to any other user of the program."
For the full article, click here: Beyond Facebook: Social Networking Gets Really Personal
3 comments:
i would have never known. Have you ever thought about asking around to find out what people think is an appropriate age for children to join things like facebook. I don't think Ellie should be on there till she is 16 or so.....What do you think???
Laura, Facebook requires that kids are at least 13, but many kids get around that by typing in a fake birthdate. As far as an appropriate age, I think it's different for all kids. Some kids can handle it at 13, and some are just not mature enough. You know your child better than anyone else, so it's your call. Just make sure the privacy settings are set to protect her from predators, and monitor computer use and time so it doesn't become her whole life. :)
I never heard of those sites. Very scary.
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