Do you know what your kids are up to on Facebook? The social-networking service has become a major online hangout for many young people (especially college students), and one Stanford researcher who studies the service argues that parents should join, too — and befriend their children.
The researcher, BJ Fogg, director of Stanford University’s Persuasive Technology Lab, announced this week a free, noncredit course he plans to teach at the university called “Facebook for Parents.” He has teamed up with his sister, Linda Fogg Phillips, who has eight children of her own, to teach the course. You have to get to the university to take the course because the sessions will not be broadcast online.
The instructors have built a Web site with their top five tips for parents concerning Facebook. They also offer an online newsletter that promises future guidance.
“With Facebook’s massive growth, parents really need to be on board with it,” said Mr. Fogg in an interview this week. He said the goal of the course is to “help parents understand what Facebook is” so they feel comfortable enough to try it themselves.
Their advice may not be music to kids’ ears, though. They tell parents to get on Facebook and poke around their children’s Facebook profiles. Isn’t that another form of “helicopter parenting” that many college professors and administrators dread, especially when it leads to parents calling professors to ask about Johnny’s homework assignment?
“It depends what age group they’re in,” said Ms. Phillips. “There are appropriate time to back off,” she added. But she argued that parents of younger children should take an active role. “We just see it as a bridge for communication.”
The informal course starts on February 19 and runs for four weeks, and registration is required. In an optional lab before each class, students will be on hand to “coach” the parents on Facebook. —Jeffrey R. Young
