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Togetherville Creates Safe Social Networking Space for Children

by Terrence O'Brien on May 20, 2010 at 08:10 AM

Togetherville Beta
There's no denying that social media and networking are an integral part of both social and professional interaction in the 21st century. Therefore, it's necessary to expose children to these tools as early as possible in order to help them develop the proper digital literacy they'll need to succeed. But there is, of course, a danger inherent in letting your eight-year-old sign on to Facebook. And that's not to mention that, technically, letting anyone under the age of 13 sign up for Facebook is illegal under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

That's where Togetherville comes in. The site, created by Mandeep Singh Dhillon, is a social network designed specifically for kids that lets children connect and play games in a safe environment. Children and adults can participate in a "neighborhood," where kids, using their real names and identities, interact with people they know in real life. The site will eventually incorporate paid content and games, but for now, access is free and the site features no advertising.

Everything on the site is tightly controlled to keep children safe. There is a chat function, but it does not allow the entry of text. Instead, both adults and children must choose from a group of pre-approved "quips." Video content from sites like YouTube will also be featured, but it will all be pre-screened to keep out potentially offensive and harmful material.

But the strongest line of defense comes directly from the parent. In order to sign a child up for Togetherville, a parent must have a Facebook account. Togetherville will never pass any information about your child to Facebook, but the adult social network acts as a gate through which anyone outside of the Togetherville neighborhood must pass in order to interact with a child.

Dhillon told the New York Times that Togetherville teaches kids social skills that other youth-oriented networks (like Club Penguin) can't, because those sites rely on anonymity to protect the child. On such sites, he says, "Kids don't learn how to be accountable." Which is, perhaps, the first rule to taking your identity online. [From: CNET and New York Times]

Tags: children, facebook, Mandeep Singh Dhillon, MandeepSinghDhillon, parents, privacy, security, socialnetworking, togetherville, top, web

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