Children and Social Networks

By Richard Freed, Ph.D.
Web Exclusive - February 13, 2007

The meteoric rise in popularity of Internet-based social networks such as MySpace has given the media research community little time to examine how these sites impact youth. Child health organizations have therefore not yet developed recommendations for children's use of them. While such guidelines are being created, you need to be aware of problems associated with these sites so you can make informed decisions about them.

The most frequently accessed social networks are MySpace, Facebook, and Xanga. These sites allow members to set up an online profile in which they post pictures and written commentary about themselves and other subjects. Users also post their comments on each other's profiles, and communicate with one another through email and chat functions provided by the services. The sites also provide entertainment, as audio and video clips are available for download.

Social networks are a place where adults and children commingle, as the sites are popular with both age groups. Many youth now consider social networking to be an indispensable part of their lives, and spend a lot of time conversing on them with real world and cyber world friends. Most social networks, according to the companies that run them, state that their services are not for children, only teens and adults.^1-3 However, these sites don't have effective means of preventing underage users,⁴ and as a result, many preteens wander around MySpace and other social networks.

While the kids I work with as a child psychologist generally view social networks as a positive phenomenon, their parents often express concerns about them. These concerns are appropriate, in light of the following aspects of social networks:

• Exposure to pornography: One issue regarding social networks is that they give children access to hardcore pornography. A recent investigation by the Massachusetts's Attorney General's Office found sexually explicit images on Xanga.⁵ I had a similar experience when first trying the site. From Xanga's home page, I clicked once on a link promising the site's featured content. I clicked one more time on the picture of a user and was exposed to still pictures of naked men. One more click provided numerous moving and still scenes of hardcore pornography.^6-9 Likewise, in my first few minutes of using the most popular of the social networking sites, MySpace, I was unwittingly exposed to sexually explicit pictures. I clicked onto the picture of a member who had an icon under her picture blinking "Online Now!" Immediately popped up moving, close-up footage of a woman thrusting her naked back end at the camera.¹⁰
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• Marketing: The majority of social networks are advertiser supported. Marketers track children's movements on these sites, and electronically modify their pitch to increase the chances of making a sale.¹¹ Many of the food products sold on these networks are ill-suited in the context of an epidemic of child obesity. Burger King, Wendy's, Sprite, and Coke all have sites on MySpace.^12-15 Kids become "friends" with the "King" on Burger King's site, or email the Coca-Cola polar bears on Coke's site.¹⁶ Social networks provide ample opportunities for fast and junk food sellers to develop relationships with children, branding their fatty and high-sugared fare in more interactive ways than print, radio or TV advertising allow.
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• Perpetrators: The presence of sexual predators on social networks has gained a lot of press in the popular media and is an issue that parents report great concern about.¹⁷ So far, fortunately, there have been very few incidents of predators actually gaining physical contact with a child they met through a social network.¹⁸ The issue remains a concern, however. Adults can masquerade as children on such sites, find out where they live, and attempt to meet kids. A recent study found that about 7% of teen MySpace users had been approached for a sexual liaison; nearly all of them reported successfully blocking the person's attempts to reach them.¹⁹ And an investigation of Xanga found adults attempting to get in touch with minors, with some of these contacts being inappropriate in nature.²⁰
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• Profane Content: Much of the content on social networks is crude, and shows up in unexpected places. The fast food company Wendy's official site on MySpace provides members a place to post their comments. One 14-year-old user writes, "F*** YOU YOU F***IN' F***... U SUCK D***!!!!!!!!!!"²¹ Surely, children can come across such language scribbled on a bathroom wall. However, profane content is commonplace in popular social networking sites, and many parents have concerns about their children spending time in such an environment.