Grom Social's 12-year-old founder Zach Marks takes on social networking
Facebook isn't for everyone, and for one pre-teen being blocked from using the social network inspired a new approach to how kids interact online.
Zach Marks was just 11-years old when he tried to join Facebook. Although he was forbidden to join, and Facebook's minimum age requirement is 13-years-old, Marks successfully started two profiles. One of his Facebook profiles had about 680 friends, and Marks admitted that he saw a lot of inappropriate content.
After a family-friend found the pre-teen's profile and reported back to his parents, Marks was told that if he wanted to join a social network, to make one of his own. And that is what he set forth to do.
Grom Social is a social network just for kids. Marks wants to coin the term "Grom," which is Australian surfer slang, to mean a promising young individual that wants to learn. The way the social site works is that children must sign on with a parent. Adults cannot join without a child either. Marks says that members can't curse or post inappropriate pictures.
So how did a 12-year-old build an entire social network? He didn't do it alone. Marks told CBS News in an interview that his dad's friend ultimately helped him build the site, but all of the idea and the concept came from Marks and his siblings. It took a year to launch the website, which now has about 14,500 members.
On whether or not he will join Facebook when he's a teenager, Marks told CBS News: "I have no idea right now. Right now I'm having a lot of fun with Grom Social."
