My Kid Will Be The Only One. Again.

I suppose I should sit down with my daughter right now and explain that she has a mean mom who will not let her do the things all the other kids do.  She might as well get used to it, because she's going to hear a lot of "No" in her lifetime.
 
This article from Forbes outlines Disney's purchase of a social network for kids called Togetherville.  The network allows parents to establish accounts using an adult's Facebook account and then establishing log-ins and controls for the child(ren).

This just does not feel right to me.  It's not that I'm against my daughter using a social network.  That's inevitable.  However, I want her to learn to make real-world relationships before she focuses on virtual-world relationships.  I want her to swing, run around playing tag, play with Playdough, read books--actually do something.

There's a lot out "there" about childhood obesity and children getting too much screen time.  I don't think Togetherville is going to improve those trends.  I think kids are paying the price because it's easier for parents to plop them in front of a screen and say "it's educational so it's okay".  The video clip, above, does a great job of showing active kids, but there's nothing active about using these social tools as a child. 

One more thing, doesn't this seem like the next perfect avenue for Cyberbullying?