Social Networking....How Early is Too Early?

So, as technology becomes more and more a part of our personal and professional lives, it's clear that technology, internet, web 2.0, and social networking skills are not something that are a passing fad. They are going to become, if they aren't already, important and, perhaps, even necessary.

Social networking sites like FaceBook are becoming more popular by the day, and children are wanting accounts younger and younger. It's hard to prove someone is not 13 years old when they check that box saying they are. But, what are they posting on these sites, and are they being safe?

Well, it appears the current website answer to these questions is the new social networking site for young children, Togetherville. I read about this site in a CNN article the other day, and honestly? My first thought was...why?

Now, the whole point of this site is that it is geared to introduce children to the concept of social networking, but with the safety that their profiles are created by, and managed by, their parents. Verification is done via the parent's email address, to make sure that a profile is tied to an adult. And it is the parents that make and approve friend requests. I also saw that most of the options for comments on other peoples' walls are canned responses, to help prevent students from sharing too much personal information.

So...I think "why" a little bit less, but.....it makes me wonder. While kids need to be familiar with the internet and social networking, at what age does this really need to start? Togetherville is geared towards 6-10 year olds. Personally, I think 6 is too young. At that age, general computer skills seem like they should be more the focus. I mean....6 years olds are in 1st or 2nd grade!!! There is NO reason that they NEED to be on the internet and making social networking connections. That's when it might be best to be focusing on keyboarding and general computer usage skills. I can see getting into more web 2.0 by the time they hit middle school, and other tools controlled by, or shared by, the teacher before that. But, honestly, social networking is something they should probably end up doing, and do need practice with in using properly, but I don't see the need for something like a FaceBook page that early.

Maybe it's just me being "old-fashioned" and being just old enough that I didn't have all these technological and internet-connected possibilities when I was that age, but I still don't see the need for them to be able to do EVERYTHING online that early. Goodness knows, once they pick it up, they'll fly with it. And yes, earlier is better, but.... I don't know. I can't tell you a specific age that makes sense, but perhaps an age with double digits.