Child Health Advocates Want Facebook's 'Messenger Kids' Shutdown
Experts are calling out Facebook over the launch of its new child-focused service called "Messenger Kids."
In a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has asked the social media company to take down its newly launched "Messenger Kids" app.
The app is specifically intended for children under 13 years old. In its official product page, it was described as a messaging app where users could make video calls and send messages for free. Facebook promised that "Messenger Kids" was designed to have a "more controlled environment" since parental control is required when saving contacts.
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However, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood cited several studies on why exposing children to social media and gadgets was - for the most part - not helpful for their healthy growth.
"Younger children are simply not ready to have social media accounts. They are not old enough to navigate the complexities of online relationships, which often lead to misunderstandings and conflicts even among more mature users," the letter read.
The child advocates also argued that children within the age bracket targeted by the "Messenger Kids" app still do not fully grasp the essence of privacy "including what's appropriate to share with others and who has access to their conversations, pictures, and videos."
Added to these grounds, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood noted a recent study led by Jean M. Twenge (who was also one of the signatories in the letter), a Psychology professor in San Diego State University, that linked social media use to increasing rates of depression among teenagers.
The same letter also took note of research that revealed children in eighth grade who were on social media for six to nine hours a week had a 47 percent more chance of feeling "unhappy" compared to their friends who used social media platforms less frequently.
"Messenger Kids is likely to increase the amount of time pre-school and elementary age kids spend with digital devices," the letter added.
However, Facebook seemed unfazed by all the cited studies on social media use among children.
In a statement to WIRED, Facebook argued that since the launch of "Messenger Kids" in late 2017, it has had parents sharing how the social media helped them "stay in touch with their children and has enabled their children to stay in touch with family members near and far."
