Alarming data on Facebook usage by minors is coming from the United States and Great Britain. Over 7 million minors under 13 are using the social network despite the prohibitions. Meanwhile, social media is increasingly banned in workplaces.
The alert comes from the United States and Great Britain, but the situation in Italy is no different. According to a recent study by Consumer Reports on social media, there are 7.5 million children under 13 years old on Facebook. The minimum age for using the platform is precisely 13 years, but the study highlights how this rule has been circumvented a considerable number of times, triggering the alarm. The study is quite similar to the one conducted by McAfee, which had shown that 37% of children aged 10 to 12 are on Facebook.
Lack of Parental Control
What emerges is a very worrying picture. Most parents of these minors are completely unaware of what their children do online. Supervision is almost entirely absent, and only a small percentage, 18%, is friends with their own child (a good way to keep an eye on the situation). Just 10% of children under 10 have received educational instruction from their parents on using Facebook.
Facebook Tricked by Savvy Minors
It is evident that the reason many minors are on Facebook, even if they haven’t reached the age of 13, is mainly due to their own false declarations, outright lies to get a Facebook profile. Some equate the excessive use of Facebook to drinking in adolescence. A desire for transgression mixed with a good dose of recklessness. However, greater rigor from Facebook would ensure better use of the platform with authorized profiles.
Facebook Banned at Work
It has nothing to do with minors but is equally interesting to note how, in the past year in Great Britain, 48% of employers have banned the use of Facebook and Twitter during work activities. The reason is a drop in productivity and a distraction that also hinders creativity.
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