Facebook Is Chasing Your Kids

The social media empire wants to expand its reach to kids under 13 years.

There used to be a line in the sand when it came to kids and social media. Kids under 13 years couldn’t hold accounts on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and Snap Chat. While this age limit has been sporadically enforced, it gave a guideline for kids, parents and social media companies to stick to.

But now, Facebook is looking to ditch the 13-year age limit in order to extend its empire. The question is - is this move designed, as some commentators argue, as a grab for youth cred when its youth numbers are declining?  Or is it just a reality check that reflects the real ages of Facebook users?

So far, Facebook’s move to lure younger kids is at the planning stage, with The Australian reporting that there has been an application by Facebook to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The application states that in order for a child under 13 years to gain an account, Facebook would first identify their parent-user and then analyse the parent’s online behaviour to verify their identity. The parent could then oversee the child’s Facebook use. But would this help combat reports that teens are fleeing Facebook for other platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and Kik?

A recent study of Facebook’s demographics has revealed that U.S. teens (aged 13 – 17) are leaving Facebook in their millions. Research done by istrategylabs.com, shows that between 2011 and 2014 the number of U.S. teens on Facebook has dropped by more than 3 million, but the number of adults aged 35+ has jumped by over 15 million. While these numbers can vary from study to study – particularly when it comes to what ages define a ‘teen’, the trends of declining numbers for Facebook and increasing numbers for the newer players such as Snap Chat are seemingly universally reported.

From this research it could be easily argued that Facebook is attempting to address its declining numbers amongst younger users by encouraging them to form accounts at a younger age.

On the side of the reality check argument, reports indicate that in 2011 approximately 7.5 million kids under the age of 13 held Facebook accounts, with 55 per cent of U.S. parents of 12­year­olds saying that they knew their child was on Facebook, and also, that 76 per cent of those parents had helped the child sign up.

Could this new way of monitoring younger kids on Facebook actually be safer than kids lying about their age and creating their own accounts? Or is this just a desperate push by a social media dinosaur to regain their slice of the youth market?

Source : parents[dot]nickjr[dot]com[dot]au