Sex education. But only to adults.
Curiously, Facebook’s ad guidelines allow for the promotion of sexually related items, but under clause 10, Targeting, stipulates
- Adverts with adult themes, including contraception, sex education and health conditions, must be targeted to individuals of at least 18 years old.
Good job no-one under 18 isn’t having sex then.
Surely this particular guideline is counter-intuitive, especially on the matter of sex education – frankly if you get much beyond 18 without any , you probably won’t be needing those contraceptives either. Or the STD advice.
In fact, I’m inclined to go further and say this is downright irresponsible to deny users under the age of 18 access to products and information that might save themselves from unintentional harm.
I’m not saying every pre-18 year old user is a teen-parent waiting to happen, but c’mon guys. You have the largest online community in the world, one of the “coolest” websites, loved and adored by kids and adults alike, and yet you’re so out of touch at times it’s literally unbelievable.
I have a 14 year old daughter and we don’t allow Facebook or MySpace or chat rooms but if I did, I wouldn’t want her exposed to that so I don’t think it’s a bad thing to limit the items of sexual content only to adults. I am sure part of it is for liability reasons (i.e. teen gets knocked up, sues Facebook for exposing her darling daughter to sexual related content).
I totally see your point though. It is logical to think a site as popular as Facebook would be a GREAT place to speak to the masses about safe sex, etc. I believe your intentions are noble. I just don’t feel, as a parent and as a business owner, this is an appropriate place for delivering the message.
SYM
symspeakyourmind
December 3, 2008 at 12:18 am
@symspeakyourmind: I totally appreciate your stand on the subject. I think as a parent you absolutely have rights, nay a responsibility, to nurture in a way you choose to. I guess my point was more to do with the way a US-based organisation such as Facebook will impose their beliefs (and not only on sex education, but gambling, drinking, etc) on others, without due respect for those cultures in which it is operating.
Symptomatic of a society run on lawsuits probably, as you mentioned yourself, but it does seem a shame that, for example, the UK Government wouldn’t be able to engage with under-18’s in this way with an AIDS awareness campaign. At least not on the face of it, and not if it advocated the use of condoms as a preventative measure.
dirty3000
December 5, 2008 at 3:54 pm
I’ll have to keep this in mind when I start my sex-ed series. It’s strange that I can’t explicitly aim it toward 16ish-year-olds, who are legally allowed to have sex in most states and many countries.
Ety
December 4, 2008 at 6:10 am
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Utilnet
December 4, 2008 at 10:00 pm
http://www.brandrepublic.com/Campaign/News/867048/DLKW-produces-government-safe-sex-ad/
queen of the nags
December 5, 2008 at 1:57 pm
I’ve noticed radio adverts on XFM London advocating the use of condoms. In that case, the audience could be any age whatsoever. Is radio is a “safer” place to speak to the masses about safe sex?
I wouldn’t view an under-18 clicking through a Facebook ad to an external website (The NHS, say?) dealing with safe sex to be dangerous in any way really.
deathwarmedover
December 5, 2008 at 5:55 pm
@deathwarmedover: I think they transmit those adverts at frequencies that young people can’t hear. Instead when you hear those, they hear ads for nintendogs and coloured pencils with their names on and the likes.
dirty3000
December 5, 2008 at 6:00 pm
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