By Heidi Leder for Techlicious
The 6 Safest Social Networks for Kids & Tweens
While it may seem easier to ignore social networking sites and hope they’ll go away, they won’t. The age of social media and openly sharing information to find others with shared interests beyond geography is here to stay. While navigating tween and teen years can be precarious, it’s equally important these days to learn the process of “finding” and defining oneself in the online realm as well.
The best social media sites for kids and tweens (ages 7-13) adhere to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which regulates how much personal information sites can ask from kids under 13 years old, among other things. Like good kids online gaming sites, most of these sites require a parent account, or for parents to verify that they are who they say they are via a one-time credit card verification (typically requiring a $1 fee). A good step toward keeping your kids safe online.
With the popular Togetherville site shutting its doors after being acquired by Disney last year, many kids and parents are looking for a similarly safe-yet-fun place to hangout online and practice savvy social media skills. Here are some social networking sites for kids and tweens that give them some freedom to explore the social media realm while giving parents the control to monitor and guide their process:
This post is excerpted with permission from Techlicious.
