Should 13 year olds have Facebook pages...

my answer is a resounding NO!  I mean really, what does a 13 year old have to post for their friends that can't wait until before the first bell tomorrow at school? 

I'm sure with the movie The Social Network out that most people are familiar with the creation of this social media powerhouse...it was created by a college student, for college students.  I remember when you couldn't have a Facebook profile without an .edu email address. So why oh why are we allowing our middle/high school children on? 

I see Facebook as an advanced form of social interaction that benefits those that have responsibilites and priorities that have taken precedent over their social upkeep.  I mean lets face it, when you are a big kid your life becomes consumed with work and family.  Friends move and you lose touch, everyone is busy and you lose touch. Facebook helps alleviate that-which is great, but in high school-your friends are your world and usually live blocks away.  Why is Facebook needed? 

With our world getting less and less personal, shouldn't we as parents be stepping up and making sure our children know how to make real, meaningful relationships before they are sucked into the cyber world we live in?  Make them pick up a phone and call their friends to share news.  Teach them how to have real conversations- face-to-face, real relationships. Shouldn't this be a priority as parents? 

I get that we live in a technological society, but I cannot be convinced that by not letting a 13 year old have a Facebook profile, that I will be depriving them of some great learning curve.  My 9 year old son knows more about a computer than I have ever taught him, because he gets to use them at school and kids these days seem to be wired for this stuff. They will be just fine when they are adults if they have to wait to be on Facebook.

I know it's tough when "all the other kids" seem to have one but being a parent isn't about being cool and I figured that out fast!  I thought when we adopted The Stin that I'd be this young, hip mom-I mean I was 26 and in advertising-I would be cool...Nope.  I found out real fast that having rules makes parenting tough and the comparisons begin with other parents and kids at school.  I came to terms real fast that being the "cool" mom wasn't as important as being A mom.  Parenting is unpopular, but if more of us put our foot down with these types of things we won't be quite as uncool as before!

Who's with me?