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Listen
DownloadIn Australia, at least, parents are convinced social networks — Facebook, Twitter, ‘RooSpace (trust me, it’s huge Down Under) — are ruining their children’s brains. Half of ten-year-olds already have a social network profile. Usage stats are similar here in the U.S., and no doubt parental worry runs high here as well. After all, t(w)eens and online life have proven a combustible combination.
And yet…or perhaps because of that…new social networks are springing up all the time for the kiddies, including the new Togetherville, which pushes the demographic as low as six-years-old — or lower, as CEO Mandeep Dhilllon tells us in this episode. Toddlers are already tugging on our shirt hems to see what we’re doing all the time on the com-poo-ter. Why not give them a safe space to build up their online IQ?
OK, I’m listening, I’m listening…
One of the innovative things Togetherville brings to the table is the way it lets…nay, requires…parents get involved in the process. Parents and kids register as a team — parents using their Facebook log-in (via Facebook Connect — the two sites are totally independent). There’s a parallel level of interaction where parents connect with the parents of their kids’ friends.
But hold up. Isn’t this just another reason for kids to nurture computer addiction? Shouldn’t they be out collecting bugs to put in jars or something? No doubt there are child psychologists who might find this whole trend deeply troubling. But they would be somewhat blind to the modern world, says psychologist Dr. Pamela Rutledge, who says social media literacy can’t start too young.
I’ve got a two-year-old, and this topic got me a little riled up thinking about it. Now after doing the show, I’m not sure what to think. We’d love to hear your experiences — have your kids tried out Imbee, Togetherville, Club Penguin, or any of the other kid-focused social networks?
(Guest-hosted by Jeff Horwich.)
Filed Under: jh social networks facebook twitter
the Blog
Future Tense becomes Marketplace Tech Report
09/17/10 06:12 PMHi everyone. John Moe here. Starting Monday, September 20th, Future Tense will be going by the name Marketplace Tech Report.
Producer Larissa Anderson and I have been working closely with the folks at Marketplace ever since we took over Future Tense in May. It’s worked out great. We’ve helped them, they’ve helped us, and together we’ll find more stories you’ll want to hear. Basically, we loved Marketplace so much we married them. And kind of took their name too. Is it creepy to compare two radio shows to a married couple? Sorry about that.
As part of the Marketplace portfolio of programs (along with Marketplace, Marketplace Morning Report, and Marketplace Money), Marketplace Tech Report will keep bringing you stories that explain news and trends and technology and what it all means to you. We’ll be moving to a new simpler URL: marketplacetech.org, which will go live over the weekend. We’ll be bringing our entire archive of past shows and blog posts with us but in the meantime, we’re leaving futuretense.publicradio.org up so you can access the show archives from there as well.
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09/17/10 11:16 AM - CROWS USE TOOLS, EAT HEALTH FOOD
09/17/10 11:09 AM - 102.5 mpg vehicle wins the X Prize
09/16/10 04:45 PM - Halo Reach pulls in 200 million dollars in first day
09/16/10 02:04 PM - Oakley to release 3D eyewear
09/16/10 11:13 AM - Internet Explorer 9 beta launches
09/15/10 05:49 PM
