ClubPenguin! Who's Joining Next?

By: Reid Mene

            In this week’s class one of the students showed a presentation of a social networking site designed for children.   After her presentation there was much controversy over the subject.  Many students thought the site would be time consuming for parents, plus the site would allow violators to be able to get in contact with children.  After learning about this site I decided to do some web searching on my own to see if there was any other social networking sites designed for kids.  I found one called, ClubPenguin.com.  This site said it was intended for children ages eight and up which is a little bit older than the one that was discussed in class.  This social networking site is to allow kids to get their feet wet in the social network phenomenon we are currently in.  The site is not just a social networking site; it allows children to play fun games as well.  When first signing in to “ClubPenguin,” a child must create his own avatar, which is in the form of a penguin, to promote childlike fun for the site.  Kids are able to customize their avatar in whatever way they choose.  While on the site, other than being able to chat with friends after school, users are able to have their penguins go on a serious of missions, or the game portion of the site.  This social network site is half a game site and half a social network.  It is the introduction—social networking on training wheels—of internet social networking. 

        This site allows the parents to have total control over usage.  On the front page of the site there is a link for parents.  The instructions urge the use of parental control of their child’s profile, allowing them to set limits however they please.  For example, parents can regulate time use, content, viewers, sharing, etc.  Parents are sent emails when a child receives a friend request and the parent has full access to see their child’s conversations.  Parents  also receive warnings when potentially unpleasing material is presented on their child’s page.  The hope is to make parents feel that their child is safe on the site; safe from online predators. "ClubPenguin’s "overall message is that it is a safe, positive, fun place to network online with friends after school.  The site claims that the only violence on the site is the snowballs the penguins will throw at each other.  To promote safety even more, the site strongly urges their users not to post any personal information about themselves, even their sex.  Even if a user should post this information, the site detects it and deletes it from the user’s account.  The site talks about how they understand how children can get carried away with social networks, especially if they use Facebook.  The site encourages parents to sit down and talk with their children about safety, such as things to post and not to post. 

I really feel this site is much more parent oriented than the one that was discussed in class.  This site focuses on parental concerns and child safety.  I would allow my child to create an account on ClubPenguin.  It is fun way for kids to begin interacting on social networks, and gives children an understanding from the outset about responsibility and consequences associate with social networking.  In this way, parents help their child learn good habits when using social networking sites. If a child leans what to say and not to say on such sites then maybe the next generation will not have to be as shameless as we are now.

“Clubpenguin” is created by Disney and I really think because Disney is so well known and believed  to be safe fun for children this will become an extremely popular site for children of this social networking area. 

This is the intro-video that is posted on the front page of the site.  Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4GNaZE8t_8