Benefits Of Online Communities For Kids

Social networking has taken the world by storm, with adults across the globe using popular sites to connect with friends, share information and enjoy themselves online. Kids are similarly excited about the chance to join in with the social networking revolution, but most sites only allow people aged 13 and over to sign up for safety reasons.
Fortunately, there are a wide range of online communities available that kids can use in order to get in on the fun. But are they good for children, what kinds of activities do they involve and, most importantly, are they safe?

Kids online communities A virtual world of benefits
Most kids these days spend a lot of their free time on the internet, which can leave parents anxious that their children might stumble onto inappropriate or distressing content. High-quality kids online communities offer a safe, fun and sociable virtual space where kids will want to spend a lot of their time. If a child only wants to visit the same familiar, secure website, parents can relax about their child's time online.
On top of this though, online communities can also offer a wealth of additional direct benefits. Kids can use the sites to connect with other kids they know or who have similar interests, strengthening and expanding their social relationships in the process. The focus that these sites have on games and activities, often regularly updated, means that their time online will be both enjoyable and enriching.
Kids online communities often incorporate educational content, sometimes directly related to the national curriculum in subjects including maths, English, science and languages. Strong ethical and social values are frequently advanced in this educational material and can help to inculcate good character in kids. Familiarity with social media at such a young age can also help to encourage kids to act responsibly online, an essential skill in an increasingly digital world.
Research has also suggested that kids' participation in online communities makes it more likely that they'll get involved with civic activities in the real world later in life. This is because new media forms such as social networking encourage users to share and add input to activities, as opposed to old media forms which require passive consumption.

Safety and price considerations
With safety being such a big consideration, it's important that online communities offer an environment where kids can feel comfortable and unpressured. Of course complete safety is almost impossible to guarantee, but the characteristics of most kids social websites mean they are at little risk. Personal information is not allowed and children are often represented by cartoon avatars in these virtual worlds, meaning there is no way for others to contact them personally.
As for price, there is a lot of variation among the major websites with free, paid subscription or a combination of free and paid available. It is worth researching the different websites to see which one offers the best value for money, but if some require a subscription it's probably more likely that they'll have better support and more frequently updated content.