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Disney's Social Networking Bid: Too Restrictive?
To meet kids' growing demand for social network functionality, Disney's newly launched website includes an online community where kids can customize profiles and personal pages to share with other users. There are certain restrictions on the site, though, that are raising concerns about the initiative's potential for success. The site doesn't allow users to upload photos or to write original content about themselves and includes parental controls -- which, some argue, inhibits the creative freedom that makes social networks so appealing for youngsters in the first place.
Disney contends that limitations and parental controls are necessary for the safety of its very young demographic. The effort functions as virtual training wheels for kids that are too young to safely navigate the total freedom of other social networking sites -- but with all of the limitations, kids might find it more stifling than fun and take their web traffic elsewhere.
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