20.6% Of Facebook Users Are Younger Than 18 Years Old

Sites include Facebook.com . Published on March 30th, 2012. Written by Anthony West.

Teenagers are always a big part of what drives technology forward nowadays and so it is always interesting to take a look at just how well represented (or not) they are on some of the webs biggest tech sites.

Thanks to a study conducted by Sodahead, we can get some insight into just how many kids under 18 years of age are actively on Facebook. Mind you, these numbers may not account for the gamut of underage (10, 11 and 12) users, but it gives some insight into the penetration of young people on Facebook.

The study found that as at March 2011, roughly 20.6% of Facebook US users are aged 13 – 17. This number as I said belies the true story because a Sodahead survey conducted back in November of 2011 found that a whopping 32% of parents found their kids under 13 with active Facebook accounts.

Facebook like Google perceives 13 as the magical age upon which social media activity can be trusted in the hands of teenagers but when most parents are surveyed, the typical recommended age is near 15. Of course keeping a teenager away from Facebook until 15 is next to impossible but there is really no harm in more aggressive policing for this under 13.

Do you think the minimum age for using Facebook should be raised from 13? Let us know below.