Facebook | Cartoon Week a Scam?

Is the new Facebook Cartoon Fad a Scam?

Facebook is known for the fads that users temporaily engage in on the famous social network. The last huge Facebook fad was was Doppelganger Week. And now it is Cartoon Week. Seems that everyone is replacing thier display photo to a pic of thier favorite childhood cartoon. Why? Well seems it all started by a post that read, "Change your default Facebook picture to a cartoon character from your childhood. The goal? To not see a human face on Facebook until Monday, December 6. Join the fight against child abuse, and invite your friends to do the same. Growing up should be fun, not painful." At first it was said to have been started by an "unnamed volunteer" for a facebook page titled Campaign To End Violence Against Children - Childhood Cartoon Faces.

Well, now there are rumors surrounding this recent fad that is very alarming. It has been said that a group of pedophiles supposedly began this trend to make it easier for them to befriend young children. Seems as though having a cartoon as a profile pic makes them less of a threat. And that young children are then more prone to accept thier friend request. And after doing so, these children are exposing more of their private info to these pedophiles. Information that was for friends.

What to do?

As of now, since it is December 6th, (the end date of the cartoon craze) simply take down our cartoon pic. I've looked into many reports of this so called scam, and so far, it remains unsubstantiated. Yet, If you are a parent of young children to use Facebook, simply scan through your childrens' friend list. Ask your children to tell you how they know each person. Remove any suspecious "friends" even if they have a cartoon a a pic or not. It's better to be safe than sorry.

Fad as defined by Wikipedia:

A fad, sometimes called a trend, meme or a craze, is any form of behavior that develops among a large population and is collectively followed with enthusiasm for some period, generally as a result of the behavior's being perceived as novel in some way.

Interesting Links:

Five Facebook Fads that Law Students Should Never Participate in..Ever

Top 5 Facebook Fads

Fads Fuel Facebook Frustration

Facebook Cartoon Fad Scam | UPDATE

Was the recent Facebook Fad a Scam?

In the recent fad started by Facebook called Cartoon Week, everyone replaced thier display photo to a pic of thier favorite childhood cartoon. And rumors were flying that the cartoon fad was a scam started by pediphiles to lure children as thier friends.

Well, rest easy Facebook users of children. Those rumors have been put to rest by the a spokesperson of Facebook team. The spokesperson told the HuffingtonPostTech in an email, "This rumor is false and has been reported by others as such. Of course, people should be careful on Facebook and wherever they go online. As always, we advise people to think twice before accepting friend requests, and not to accept friend requests from people they don't know."

So there we have it. The Facebook Cartoon Fad was not a scam. It was a legitimate cause: Campaign To End Violence Against Children - Childhood Cartoon Faces.