The BBC news site has an interesting article on UK children (8-17) involvement in social networking sites. 50% claim to have an online profile. A claim that 25% of those in the 8-11 range claim to have a page is made at one point. The article references a more detailed report (available via a link) and also includes tips for those concerned about safety issues.
In an attempt to generate comment, the site asked readers to comment on the role of parents. Some suggestions encouraged schools to take a more active role.
One solution to this problem would be for schools to set up sites of their own that could be grouped by age
