Social networking sites such as Twitter, Myspace or Facebook are increasingly present in our society. Such systems allow people to communicate with each other, catch up with old acquaintances, plan events or even share travel photos. Although teenagers have been using these services for more than a decade, a trend of younger and younger children joining social networking sites has recently been noticed. Under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA) in the United States of America, any website that contains information about anyone under the age of 13 must obtain parental consent before such child may use the website. In Canada and other countries, however, COPPA does not exist and websites are free to operate for whatever audiences are intended. This essay will attempt to demonstrate that websites like Facebook should still impose and enforce a minimum age requirement. Having a reasonable age limit for social networking services, including Twitter or Facebook, would prevent exposure to inappropriate content, prevent the formation of narcissistic ideals, and prevent or delay distorted perceptions of what is socially and morally acceptable in our society. society. First, while Facebook is great for sharing fun or interesting content, it is unfortunately also great for sharing offensive and disturbing images, videos, or text messages. According to a nationwide survey in the United States, more than 40 percent of Americans in 4th to 8th grade were bullied online in 20031. If this staggering statistic is applied to the Canadian child population, that's over 2 million children, being bullied through means... middle of paper... functioning websites like Facebook. Three compelling arguments have been presented to support this argument. It would avoid offensive content, make the future generation much less selfish and allow children to fully understand the values ​​of our society before taking part in them. The minimum age requirement is one way to help our future generations, and while it may seem impossible to enforce, it should be considered a priority to protect our young people from the dangers they are facing. While censorship may not seem like the best of solutions, it is often the only way to protect a population from itself. Works Cited I-SAFE, Cyber ​​Bullying: Statistics and Tips, USA, 2004 Laura E. Buffardi and W. Keith Campbell, Narcissism and Social Networking Websites, 2008CTV News, Man Fired for Applauding Vancouver Riot on Facebook , Vancouver, 2011