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ICanHasCheezburger

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 9, age appropriate for kids over 10; suggested age 10.

  • Is it any good?

    4.0
  • Common Sense says

    Silly photos spawn offbeat, welcoming community.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 10 and Up

The good stuff

  • Educational value:

    Not an issue.
  • Messages:

    Not an issue.

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    Not an issue.
  • Sex:

    While the general content is clean, the site hides some photos in a "PG-13" section that you have to be searching for to find. The PG-13 stuff mostly has to do with masturbation.
  • Language:

    Not an issue.
  • Consumerism:

    The site accepts ads from jewelry and fashion Web sites. Some of the ads are kind of tacky but the site does not appear to accept anything inappropriate.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.

What Parents Need to Know

This review of ICanHasCheezburger was written by Caroline Knorr

Parents need to know that the user-generated content on this site is almost entirely tame -- and very silly. The site appeals to a particular niche that's hard to identify, but those who love their pets, have a silly sense of humor, are interested in digital photography, and enjoy the site's positive vibe seem to be its core community.

Families Can Talk About

Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
  • Families can talk about the way an online community can develop around such a silly concept as cat pictures with misspelled captions. Why do you think this idea caught on? Can you define what you like about it? Do you think it's OK to misspell so many words for comic effect? What if you tried to do that on your homework? Younger kids: can you think of a caption for something your pet did? Older kids: can you think of another book borne from the Internet?
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More on ICanHasCheezburger

What’s the Story?

Users take silly photos of their cats (which the site refers to as LOLcats), add captions with intentional misspellings, and submit them to the site. Started in January 2007 with a single silly cat photo, ICANHASCHEEZBURGER.COM has become something of a cultural phenomenon. The site receives several thousand submissions per day, of which 10 or so are posted, and it reported 1 billion page views in 2008. LOLcats even spawned a compilation book with the same name as the site. Most of the photos are of cats caught doing something catlike – hiding in a box, standing on hind legs, looking grimly at the camera – while the captions, along the lines of "I eated yr cookie," aptly capture the moment.

Is It Any Good?

The site's content is entirely user-generated and edited for the best submissions -- so the quality and humor quotient varies. Mostly, it feels like one giant "in" joke that you slowly catch on to as you view each successive photo. The feeling of the site is warm and lighthearted and appreciative of others' efforts -- this isn't a place that tolerates mean-spirited comments.

Still, kids could encounter the rare inappropriate comment before it's flagged and mild sexual references could pop up occasionally if you hit the "random" button. Icanhascheezburger.com is the kind of thing you either like or don't -- and if your kid is one who does, keep them on the main home page if they're under 12. Better yet, enjoy it with them and try and come up with silly captions for your own pets.

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Our Members Say

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 5.0
    • My highlights are:
    • Safety isn't an issue
    • User content is age appropriate

    lol

    this is soooo funny!!!!

  2. I rate this title iffy for age 10 and give it 5.0

    Cool

    Awesome! Might be some innapropriate content, but other than that, YAY!

  3. I rate this title on for age 7 and give it 5.0
    • My highlights are:
    • Safety isn't an issue

    I Love This!

    Seriously, if you are having a bad day, go here. It has hilarious and amusing quotes, all by using adorable animals. It is for everyone, and nothing bad is an issue.

  4. Teen Reviewer Age 16
    I rate this title on for age 8 and give it 5.0
    • My highlights are:
    • User content is age appropriate

    Great site , nothing to inappropiate

    I love this website , all there is to look out for is a very small handful of pictures that have a reference to masturbation but you would have to search for those and if your kid is searching for pictures about masturbation i think there is something wrong with him

  5. Parent Reviewer
    Kids ages: 10
    I rate this title on for age 10 and give it 5.0
    • My highlights are:
    • Safety isn't an issue

    fun!

    I LOVE THIIS WEBSITE!

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