Posts split from "A parent new to Facebook"

[BobH]

Shouldn't fb be constrained by law to not allow those under age to have accounts without parental consent? There is no RIGHT involved - neither one of merit nor one of law. If parents are to have legal responsibility for the actions of their children, then it follows that they must have the means - at the very least - to monitor their activities and in most cases to control them.

The power of instant communication is too great to be so freely supported by the enablers without fear of dire consequences.

Just because you CAN doesn't mean on SHOULD!

[DaveA]

BobH,
Remember that the rules of life do not apply World Wide. Each land has their own rules so those of us here in the USofA need to not be so quick and think that what we have applies to all other countries.

FB tries to work with most countries and follow their rules. The parent is always going to be the last to know, when it comes to teenagers.

[BobH]

I think fb is an American company. If American laws constrained its ability to issue accounts to minors without parental control, and if fb complies with those laws in its operations, then an American parent could have the control desired and generally supported by American law.

Other nations would be free to constrain fb or not according to their laws. Of course, fb would then have to comply with the laws of each nation in which it operates. Oh! Isn't there a body of international law that addresses that?

I guess I'm thick-headed today and missed the point, DaveA.

[Bigaldoc]

Besides which, how can a site like Facebook, or this Lounge, or some porn site, know what the age is of the person sitting at a keyboard somewhere? Facebook is not an "adult content" site, so there's no reason to fear allowing young people to participate. The behavior of those young people is the responsibility of the parents.

It comes down to parental guidance, training and control.

I have young nieces, nephews and children of local friends who use Facebook and it's a pleasure when they're willing to relate to me as a friend (or maybe a grandpa role model).

[BobH]

Read up on the doctrine of attractive nuisance, BigAl.

I agree that fb does not know the ages of its users, but upon parental complaint and appropriate evidence of the identity of the user they must have some legal responsibility to act upon any parent's concern and action. You say yourself that it comes down to "parental guidance, training and control." How can a parent exercise control if fb is not compliant with instructions from parents?

I'm generally a laissez faire kind of guy and definitely do NOT want the government to be involved in the administration of fb; however, I DO believe that fb has a moral obligation if not a legal responsibility to assist parents in their exercise of control of their children. I cannot see how that burden is onerous or how it would adversely affect the business of fb more than a minute amount. Besides, it they have to enable the bad behavior of children to make a profit - ANY profit - then SHAME ON THEM!

[BobH]

Should I Really Join Facebook? (Priceless)

A good laugh for people in the over 50 group !!!

When I bought my Blackberry, I thought about the 30-year business I ran with 1800 employees, all without a cell phone that plays music, takes videos, pictures and communicates with Facebook and Twitter. I signed up under duress for Twitter and Facebook, so my seven kids, their spouses, 13 grand kids and 2 great grand kids could communicate with me in the modern way. I figured I could handle something as simple as Twitter with only 140 characters of space.

That was before one of my grandkids hooked me up for Tweeter, Tweetree, Twhirl, Twitterfon, Tweetie and Twittererific Tweetdeck, Twitpix and something that sends every message to my cell phone and every other program within the texting world.

My phone was beeping every three minutes with the details of everything except the bowel movements of the entire next generation. I am not ready to live like this. I keep my cell phone in the garage in my golf bag.

The kids bought me a GPS for my last birthday because they say I get lost every now and then going over to the grocery store or library. I keep that in a box under my tool bench with the Blue tooth [it's red] phone I am supposed to use when I drive. I wore it once and was standing in line at Barnes and Noble talking to my wife and everyone in the nearest 50 yards was glaring at me. I had to take my hearing aid out to use it, and I got a little loud.

I mean the GPS looked pretty smart on my dash board, but the lady inside that gadget was the most annoying, rudest person I had run into in a long time. Every 10 minutes, she would sarcastically say, "Re-calc-u-lating." You would think that she could be nicer. It was like she could barely tolerate me. She would let go with a deep sigh and then tell me to make a U-turn at the next light. Then if I made a right turn instead... well, it was not a good relationship.

When I get really lost now, I call my wife and tell her the name of the cross streets and while she is starting to develop the same tone as Gypsy, the GPS lady, at least she loves me.

To be perfectly frank, I am still trying to learn how to use the cordless phones in our house. We have had them for 4 years, but I still haven't figured out how I can lose three phones all at once and have to run around digging under chair cushions and checking bathrooms and the dirty laundry baskets when the phone rings.

The world is just getting too complex for me. They even mess me up every time I go to the grocery store. You would think they could settle on something themselves but this sudden "Paper or Plastic?" every time I check out just knocks me for a loop. I bought some of those cloth reusable bags to avoid looking confused, but I never remember to take them in with me.

Now I toss it back to them. When they ask me, "Paper or Plastic?" I just say, "Doesn't matter to me. I am bi-sacksual." Then it's their turn to stare at me with a blank look. I was recently asked if I tweet. I answered, No, but I do toot a lot."

P.S. I know some of you are not over 50. I sent it to you to allow you to forward it to those who are.

We senior citizens don't need any more gadgets. The TV remote and the garage door remote are about all we can handle.

[Bigaldoc]

... <snip> ...

I was recently asked if I tweet. I answered, No, but I do toot a lot."

[StuartR]

I have split this thread from the topic "A parent new to Facebook" so we can keep the two discussions in separate threads