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Facebook surveys its users about child grooming, heres what that means
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Selected Facebook users received surveys where it asked parents to decide whether or not Facebook should consider rules against child grooming, even though the action is a crime. - photo by Herb Scribner
Facebook recently asked a select number of users if they wanted to see child grooming permitted on the social network, which drew instant criticism for the social network.

Child grooming is a crime that occurs when an older person establishes a relationship with a minor with the objective of committing sexual abuse or harassment. In the online environment, predators will commit child grooming to obtain sexually explicit photos of young people.

Selected Facebook users received surveys where it asked parents to decide whether or not Facebook should consider rules against child grooming, even though the action is a crime, according to The Times in London.

The Guardians Jonathan Hayes tweeted out photos of the survey, which shows two distinct questions from the survey.

One question asks: "In thinking about an ideal world where you could set Facebook's policies, how would you handle the following: a private message in which an adult man asks a 14-year-old girl for sexual pictures.

The possible answers include: "This content should be allowed on Facebook, and I would not mind seeing it" and "this content should not be allowed on Facebook, and no one should be able to see it."

In a separate question, Facebook asked: "When thinking about the rules for deciding whether a private message in which an adult man asks a 14-year-old girl for sexual pictures should or should not be allowed on Facebook, ideally who do you think should be deciding the rules?"

The choices for those taking the survey included: "Facebook decides the rules on its own," "External experts decide the rules and tell Facebook" and "Facebook users decide the rules by voting and tell Facebook."

Critics expressed worry that the survey suggests that Facebook allows child grooming, according to The Daily Beast.

"The multiple-choice answers for the hypothetical scenario included allowing or stopping the content but did not include contacting the police," The Times reported.

A Facebook spokesman told Business Insider that child grooming has never been allowed on Facebook, nor will it be in the future.

"We sometimes ask for feedback from people about our community standards and the types of content they would find most concerning on Facebook," the spokesman said. "We understand this survey refers to offensive content that is already prohibited on Facebook and that we have no intention of allowing so have stopped the survey."

Guy Rosen, the vice president of product at Facebook, told The Guardian that the surveys were a mistake.

He said Facebook will often send out surveys to better understand the wider social network community.

We run surveys to understand how the community thinks about how we set policies, he said. But this kind of activity is and will always be completely unacceptable on FB. We regularly work with authorities if identified. It shouldnt have been part of this survey. That was a mistake.
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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