Facebook Can Sabotage Maturity

Some say they're overprotective of kids; others, just nosy

(NEWSER) - If you’re worried that your mom may be checking out your risqué Facebook photos, odds are you’re right. More than half of parents—some 55%—use social networks to keep tabs on their children, a survey finds. Another 5% would do so if they could figure out how, LaptopMag reports. Some 11% of parents joined Facebook just so they could check out their kids’ activities, while 13% are even sneakier: They spy on their kids through a friend’s account. More»

Some kids quick to 'unfriend'; others call it 'sensible'

(NEWSER) - For some parents, Facebook has become a window into the lives of their children, a means for mom and dad to monitor—and sometimes admonish—their kids. “It's so much easier to keep track of what they eat and when they pick their nose this way,” notes one parent. Some kids don’t mind the virtual relationship, the Wall Street Journal reports, while others have “unfriended” their parents in a bid for independence—or as a way to avoid their "pestering," says one 25-year-old who was chided for posting photos of barhopping then asking dad for cash. More»

Families boot up computers, phones on waking

(NEWSER) - When it comes to morning routines, the modern family has a new set of priorities, many of which require a screen, the New York Times reports. “It used to be you woke up, went to the bathroom, maybe brushed your teeth, and picked up the newspaper,” says an expert. Now, “I’ll be the first to admit: the first thing I do is check my email.” More»

A minority makes the experience more rewarding for the majority: Study

(NEWSER) - This might help explain why Facebook is closing in on 900 million users: Most people "receive more from their Facebook friends than they give," concludes a new Pew study . Among the findings from the one-month analysis:

• 40% of users made a friend request in the one-month period, but 63% received a request themselves
• Users hit the like button 14 times on friends' content, but received 20 likes on their own content in the same span
• 12% tagged a pal in a photo, but 35% were tagged by others

Users shatter Guinness World Record

(NEWSER) - A team of about 100 Facebook pals has collaborated to comment more than a million times on a post—setting an official Guinness record, KTXL-TV reports. The initial post was made in October in the Facebook group Ffgpioneers/gwr/attempt . (It was an innocuous post made just for this purpose.) To garner 1,001,619 comments (and counting), each user had to post some 9,300 times on average, the Huffington Post notes. The previous record was 529,335. "I'm no spring chicken anymore and I really haven’t done anything phenomenal," one of the posters said. Now she has. More»