Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Social networks that are not for kids

Just came across this excellent link to Common Sense Media's review of some newer social networks that present a potential danger to teens and pre-teens.

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."