Facebook recently announced that it will let teens’ posts become public. Before the change, Facebook would only allow 13- to 17-year-old users’ posts to be seen by their “friends” and “friends of friends.” Now, however, their posts can be seen by anyone on the network if they choose to make their posts “public.” Twitter, another social medium gaining popularity with teens, has always let users, including teens, share tweets publicly. But because of Facebook’s vast reach, privacy advocates are very concerned about this latest development, particularly when it comes to children’s safety. Online predators and bullying are real safety issues facing youth. Other criticisms of Facebook’s decision boil down to money—some argue that this is just about monetizing kids. Facebook will be able to offer a younger demographic to advertisers wanting to reach them. Facebook defends its actions, saying the change in policy is due to teenagers wanting the ability to post publicly, primarily for fundraising and promoting extracurricular activities such as sports and other school student organizations. Facebook has added precautions, such as a pop-up warning before teens can post publicly and setting “seen only by friends” as the default that must be changed if the teen desires posts to be public. Is Facebook acting responsibly or merely trying to monetize kids as critics claim? Come up with creative ways marketers can reach this demographic on Facebook without alienating their parents.
Facebook recently announced that it will let teens’ posts become public. Before the change, Facebook would only allow 13- to 17-year-old users’ posts to be seen by their “friends” and “friends of friends.” Now, however, their posts can be seen by anyone on the network if they choose to make their posts “public.” Twitter, another social medium gaining popularity with teens, has always let users, including teens, share tweets publicly. But because of Facebook’s vast reach, privacy advocates are very concerned about this latest development, particularly when it comes to children’s safety. Online predators and bullying are real safety issues facing youth. Other criticisms of Facebook’s decision boil down to money—some argue that this is just about monetizing kids. Facebook will be able to offer a younger demographic to advertisers wanting to reach them. Facebook defends its actions, saying the change in policy is due to teenagers wanting the ability to post publicly, primarily for fundraising and promoting extracurricular activities such as sports and other school student organizations. Facebook has added precautions, such as a pop-up warning before teens can post publicly and setting “seen only by friends” as the default that must be changed if the teen desires posts to be public. Is Facebook acting responsibly or merely trying to monetize kids as critics claim?
Come up with creative ways marketers can reach this demographic on Facebook without alienating their parents.
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