Facebook can help children with their education. That’s your argument?
Yes it’s possible to channel educational resources through the site, but at the end of the day, truth is Facebook is a social tool. Keep it that way and keep it safe for children by keeping them away from it until they are old enough to understand what it means to be on something like Facebook.
“My philosophy is that for education you need to start at a really, really young age,” – Zuckerberg
Your philosophy? What about the rest of the world who believes the same thing? This is not about education son. You have made your millions. Why do you want to push your weight around and challenge the law and bring kids into this? Are you not happy with the number of cases where teenagers/kids who join with fake details have become victims? Are you not content with the number of Facebook users you have?
Kids are kids. Just because they are Internet savvy and have managed to score an iPhone/iPad and walk around “pretending” to know everything, smoking their cigarettes, and sporting that “I am such a rebel and people just don’t get me and I hate the world and I cut myself and look at my many tattoos” attitude, DOES NOT make them responsible individuals.
So, do us all a favour and just back off. Let the law stand and provide what little protection they can.
But here’s an idea though. Why don’t you innovate and make Facebook safer for everyone who is on it already? Perhaps then, you can make a case for allowing children to join because it’s safe for them and parents don’t have to worry about their neighbourhood paedophile spying on their children through Facebook and worse yet, befriending them and…well you get the idea.
Parents should and must supervise their children up to a certain age and make tough calls and say yes or no to what they can and can’t have (a topic for another day!). But, they have their hands full already. Having to monitor their kids online behaviour (on top of everything else) is stretching them way too much and no doubt, something will slip through the cracks and before you know it, tragedy will strike.
Can you undo a heinous crime?
Can you take away irreparable trauma?
Can you take the pain away?
Can you bring back the dead?
You can’t Mr. Zuckerberg. You can’t.
Thank Sri 🙂