Facebook has announced a new suite of resources for parents to better monitor their children’s social media usage.
The addition of the new features coincide with Safer Internet Day, a global initiative that aims to promote a safer and more secure online experience for everyone around the world, particularly children.
For its part, Facebook has launched a new section of it designated Parents Portal to help parents find the latest resources from child development experts, academics and leaders related to kids and technology.
Facebook says it will post videos, Q&As and interactive polls to this section for parents to access. Additional tips can be found by visiting facebook.com/Safety/Parents/Conversations.
Late last year, Facebook also began rolling out the children-friendly Messenger Kids, although the app has not yet made its way to Canada.
As part of its overall parental initiative, Facebook conducted a survey to better understand parents’ attitude towards children using various kinds of technology.
According to the survey:
- 64 percent of parents said they think they can guide their children’s use of technology
- 77 percent of parents say they’re the most appropriate people to determine how much time their children spend using online technologies
- 77 percent of parents say they’re the most appropriate to decide when their children are old enough to use digital technologies
Facebook says it conducted the survey in February 2018 with an online panel provider using a nationally representative sample of 275 U.S. parents of sixth to 12th graders and 604 children aged 8 to 17.
Source: Facebook
