Web Safety - Facebook and MySpace

Many students have been talking about their MySpace or Facebook accounts. It is important for parents to realize in order to register for Facebook you must be 13 years old or older, and MySpace is 14 years old or older. There are many dangers that children face using social media sites, such as Facebook or MySpace. The biggest one is that anyone who uses these sites are giving away information to the general public. Anyone who has access to a computer can access this information. There has been a recent rash of identity theft where people are collecting names and birthdates of children who are online. Then when the child turns 18, people are using their information to secure credit cards, acquire lines of credit, and other identity crimes. So it is very important for both adults and children using these type of sites to never reveal their birthdate. You usually have to enter your birthdate when registerting for the sites, so they can verify age. However there are settings where you do not have to reveal that information to the public.