Why Is 13 the Lucky Number?
According to the Federal Trade Commission, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) gives parents control over what information websites can collect for their children. But why is "13" the number that serves as the definition for "child"? Why not 12? Why not 14? Why not 6? There are many different ages that define "child" for many different reasons, why does 13 work for the illusion of independence on the internet? Let's look at all the arbitrary ages that serve as milestones in a young person's life, starting with the oldest.
Age 21: Aaahhh, the age when one is allowed to buy an alcoholic beverage in most of the United States. I say the United States because according to ProCon.org in many countries, if there is a drinking age, it ranges between 16 and 18, and sometimes depending on if the beverage is distilled or not there might be a higher age requirement. The rationale behind this must be that if you are old enough you must have a big enough brain in your head to be able to handle losing some inhibitions.
Age 18: In the U.S., the age where you can vote, smoke, and die for your country. Why it's OK to destroy your lungs but you still have to wait 3 more years to kill brain cells I'll never understand. According to History.com, the voting age in the U.S. was lowered from 21 to 18 by the 26th Amendment because during the Vietnam Conflict many young people were protesting that they were old enough to be drafted but they weren't old enough to have a say in the government that drafted them. 18 is also about when most students would finish high school, so you should have enough smarts and maturity to handle a weapon or a ballot.
Age 16: In most parts of the U.S., you can drive a car or drop out of school. At this point you should have enough education to understand the rules of the road, so once you have access to a car you can drive to that well-paying menial job, right? According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 16 was decided upon in the 1920's so there would be a uniformity in state statutes, although it seems that every few years or so there are news reports showing arguments for raising the driving age. According to the Center for Disease Control, 16-19 year olds get into the most accidents statistically, so stay in school, kids – "diploma" and "drivers license" could both start with... 18?!
Age 13: The age when children can start going to PG-13 movies (which I never understood, isn't PG-13 supposed to be worse than PG, where the suggested age is 17?). But it's also the age when children, with their parents' permission, are allowed to start signing up for accounts on many websites. These include social media and many online apps they might encounter in school. These apps also might include games... online games... multi-player online games... games with potential strangers... oh, and social media... also potentially with strangers! Parents' permission is the key here! Parents, you need to monitor what you're children are doing. It doesn't have to be hovering and panicky, but it should be periodic and guiding. We as teachers have your childrens' best interest at heart, as we know you as parents do, too. But please, be mindful of what your child is doing. According to Danah Boyd at Northwestern University, COPPA teaches parents and children it is okay to lie about your age when signing up for social media. If you can lie about being 14 to get on Facebook, what's to stop a child from lying about being 18 to look at porn?
Let's look at what's going on at 13. More maturity: this age is an opportunity for that young teenage mind to start showing more responsibility by having them do so more complicated chores and maybe allow them some not-so-supervised activities such as playing video games. But this is also when experimentation and real testing of boundaries comes out. Puberty is also happening at 13. And with those raging hormones comes mood swings and acting out. This is why all teenagers hate their parents – it's their young bodies struggling to become adults, and their minds trying to prove it to themselves and to others.
At 13 children are allowed, again with parents' permission, to start doing more online as well. According to Joanne Furtsch at the International association of Privacy Professionals, COPPA "only applies to children under 13 because that age group was deemed the most vulnerable to online marketing (although best practices suggest asking parental permission for all minors)." Parents' permission also needs to be parents' GUIDANCE. Most parents now should at least be familiar with the internet and handheld devices, and the power for communication, collaboration, and creativity those technologies harness. With great power comes great responsibility (shut up, Aunt Mae!), and parents are the ones who have to guide those young minds with responsibility by example.
For great resources for activities and statistical analysis of what's out there for you and your child on the internet, try browsing CommonSense.org. As a teacher I use its lesson plan ideas, and as a parent you can see activities and suggestions for how to introduce different technology topics to your children and at what age to do it. They also have the statistical info to back up their suggestions.
13 defines the beginning of "teenager". This is usually the beginning of high school, and the introduction to the freedoms and responsibilities of that age group. Parental guidance for online responsibilities at 13 can foster a pattern that can continue as children learn to drive (16), learn what interests them in life so they can move on to college (18), and then become the responsible adults (21) all parents want their children to be.
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| Image property of ProCon.org |
Age 21: Aaahhh, the age when one is allowed to buy an alcoholic beverage in most of the United States. I say the United States because according to ProCon.org in many countries, if there is a drinking age, it ranges between 16 and 18, and sometimes depending on if the beverage is distilled or not there might be a higher age requirement. The rationale behind this must be that if you are old enough you must have a big enough brain in your head to be able to handle losing some inhibitions.
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| Image property of Legal Solutions Blog |
Age 18: In the U.S., the age where you can vote, smoke, and die for your country. Why it's OK to destroy your lungs but you still have to wait 3 more years to kill brain cells I'll never understand. According to History.com, the voting age in the U.S. was lowered from 21 to 18 by the 26th Amendment because during the Vietnam Conflict many young people were protesting that they were old enough to be drafted but they weren't old enough to have a say in the government that drafted them. 18 is also about when most students would finish high school, so you should have enough smarts and maturity to handle a weapon or a ballot.
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| Image property of Sony Pictures |
Age 16: In most parts of the U.S., you can drive a car or drop out of school. At this point you should have enough education to understand the rules of the road, so once you have access to a car you can drive to that well-paying menial job, right? According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 16 was decided upon in the 1920's so there would be a uniformity in state statutes, although it seems that every few years or so there are news reports showing arguments for raising the driving age. According to the Center for Disease Control, 16-19 year olds get into the most accidents statistically, so stay in school, kids – "diploma" and "drivers license" could both start with... 18?!
 |
| Image property of Lucky 13 Apparel |
Age 13: The age when children can start going to PG-13 movies (which I never understood, isn't PG-13 supposed to be worse than PG, where the suggested age is 17?). But it's also the age when children, with their parents' permission, are allowed to start signing up for accounts on many websites. These include social media and many online apps they might encounter in school. These apps also might include games... online games... multi-player online games... games with potential strangers... oh, and social media... also potentially with strangers! Parents' permission is the key here! Parents, you need to monitor what you're children are doing. It doesn't have to be hovering and panicky, but it should be periodic and guiding. We as teachers have your childrens' best interest at heart, as we know you as parents do, too. But please, be mindful of what your child is doing. According to Danah Boyd at Northwestern University, COPPA teaches parents and children it is okay to lie about your age when signing up for social media. If you can lie about being 14 to get on Facebook, what's to stop a child from lying about being 18 to look at porn?
Let's look at what's going on at 13. More maturity: this age is an opportunity for that young teenage mind to start showing more responsibility by having them do so more complicated chores and maybe allow them some not-so-supervised activities such as playing video games. But this is also when experimentation and real testing of boundaries comes out. Puberty is also happening at 13. And with those raging hormones comes mood swings and acting out. This is why all teenagers hate their parents – it's their young bodies struggling to become adults, and their minds trying to prove it to themselves and to others.
At 13 children are allowed, again with parents' permission, to start doing more online as well. According to Joanne Furtsch at the International association of Privacy Professionals, COPPA "only applies to children under 13 because that age group was deemed the most vulnerable to online marketing (although best practices suggest asking parental permission for all minors)." Parents' permission also needs to be parents' GUIDANCE. Most parents now should at least be familiar with the internet and handheld devices, and the power for communication, collaboration, and creativity those technologies harness. With great power comes great responsibility (shut up, Aunt Mae!), and parents are the ones who have to guide those young minds with responsibility by example.
For great resources for activities and statistical analysis of what's out there for you and your child on the internet, try browsing CommonSense.org. As a teacher I use its lesson plan ideas, and as a parent you can see activities and suggestions for how to introduce different technology topics to your children and at what age to do it. They also have the statistical info to back up their suggestions.
13 defines the beginning of "teenager". This is usually the beginning of high school, and the introduction to the freedoms and responsibilities of that age group. Parental guidance for online responsibilities at 13 can foster a pattern that can continue as children learn to drive (16), learn what interests them in life so they can move on to college (18), and then become the responsible adults (21) all parents want their children to be.
Scott, this is an outstanding post. I appreciated your thoughts in each milestone age. Thank's for posting the link to danah's paper- I have read it before but it was a nice refresher. In terms of 13 being the actual age that most TOS' go by, do you agree with this number?
ReplyDeleteNo I don’t. 13 year olds do not have enough worldly experience to truly understand the permanence of their actions online, even with parental supervision and guidance. There’s a reason why adulthood is defined at 18. 13 has the seeds of maturity, but (hopefully) 18 has more or a full sprout.
DeleteHello Scott,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! I loved the way you broke down this issue by ages and restrictions. There are a lot of things to think about. Just because someone is now a "teenager" does not mean that they automatically possess the knowledge and wisdom to be safe online. I agree with you that thirteen is too young. Children from the age of fourteen to seventeen need online protection too. Great post!
Theresa
Not only teenagers but some adults, too. Parents need to catch up in a lot of cases to their children's tech abilities so that they can be more effective guides through these formative years.
Delete