Parents Kick Kid Off Facebook, So He Creates His Own Social Network

After the parents of 11-year-old Zachary Marks discovered that he joined Facebook despite being too young to do so, they naturally kicked him off the site and issued a stern warning. So, the enterprising young man did the only thing he could -- he created his own social network.

According to Marks, he created a Facebook account after lying about his age, but when his parents discovered he was engaging in potentially risky online behavior, they yanked his access.

"I spent all my time on the computer chatting with friends. Then, I made mistakes," he said. "One of my adult friends cursed and posted something inappropriate, and I cursed back. Also, I friend-requested grownups who I did not know. About a day later, my dad found out. He was really mad. I had to deactivate my account."

So, Marks created a kid-friendly social network called Grom Social, which only allows parents and parent-approved adults to join. The site is also fully compliant with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, a law which forbids websites, apps and plug-ins to collect information on children under the age of 13. Marks hopes the site will provide an alternative to "childish" kid-friendly social networks that already exist.

After launching almost three months ago, Grom Social has gained almost 7,000 members and is accessible to kids under the age of 15 in the U.S. and Canada. Who knows? Maybe this kid will be the next Mark Zuckerberg.