Today, social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace are some of the most visited sites on the Internet. Minors have played a significant role in the popularity and success of social networks. Because children have such an active presence on these types of sites, both parents and lawmakers are concerned about children's online safety. A common suggestion is age verification. Ideally, age verification would exclude users above or below a specified age. However, age verification for social networking sites has its flaws. In Adam Thierer's article, “Social Networking and Age Verification: Many Tough Questions; No easy solution” addresses the topic of children's online safety. Thierer argues for potential pitfalls in age verification and emphasizes the value of education. In my opinion, age verification is an ineffective safeguard, can be dangerous by creating a false sense of security, and is an inferior security measure to education. The overall goal of age verification is to protect children from cyber stalkers and cyber bullies. and, above all, child predators. I think Thierer has a strong argument when he puts the problem of child abductions into perspective. Thierer points out that the vast majority of kidnappings occur by an acquaintance, not a stranger. It cites the findings of the U.S. Department of Justice's 2002 NISMART investigation. The survey shows that less than one-tenth of one percent of kidnappings occur by strangers. This is a much smaller percentage than I would have guessed or what shows like "To Catch a Predator" would have you believe. It appears that age verification might reduce stranger kidnappings, but would do little to reduce ov... middle of paper... effective in reducing kidnappings overall. Additionally, teens tend to seek companionship and are likely to evade security. Age verification creates a false sense of security due to the general misinterpretation of the term “verified.” Users are more likely to let their guard down and an online predator will have a layer of credibility added once they have thwarted the verification process. Finally, I think Adam Thierer's metaphors for social networks and online safety are applicable. Facebook and MySpace are the modern shopping malls and skating rinks. It is indeed true that the same common sense security measures still apply in the virtual world of the Internet. Education, for both parents and children, is essential. While pool fencing and age verification can prevent problems, ultimately learning to swim is a superior protection against drowning.