Facebook Launches Chat App for Tykes and Tweens
December 04 2017 - 8:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Betsy Morris and Deepa Seetharaman
Facebook Inc. said it is rolling out a new messaging app for its
youngest audience yet--children between the ages of six and 12--in
response to growing safety concerns from parents. But experts are
questioning whether such young children are ready for any
social-media access.
Messenger Kids, released Monday, is a stand-alone chat and
messaging app that allows children to send texts, messages and
videos to a list of contacts their parents have approved. Parents
can download the app on a child's tablet or smartphone and activate
and control it from their own Facebook account, including who's on
the child's contact list.
Facebook, which owns the Messenger messaging app, said it
consulted child-development and online-safety experts, the
parent-teacher organization National PTA, and thousands of parents
as it developed Messenger Kids. There will be no advertising on the
app and Facebook said it won't create separate Facebook accounts
for the youngsters. The only data it will collect on them will be
their names.
"What parents told us is there is a clear need for a service
that looks like a responsible on-ramp to the internet," said
Facebook spokesman William Nevius.
But the app also stands to help Facebook groom future users in a
demographic group in which it has been vulnerable. Facebook hasn't
been as popular with teens and young adults as Snap Inc.'s
Snapchat. Messenger Kids looks a lot like Snapchat, in that it
offers silly masks and other Snap-like features--even one like the
popular rainbow vomit filter.
Children are spending increasing amounts of time on smartphones
and tablets at younger ages, Facebook and other researchers say.
But Facebook doesn't allow children under 13 to have accounts
without parental consent. Messenger said it won't migrate the Kids
users to the main app when they turn 13.
Child-development experts are concerned by the launch, which
could present dangers with the messages children see, as well as
the way they could get hooked on social media.
"In my research, clinical work and friendships, I've never heard
parents say that they want their child using social media earlier,"
said Jenny Radesky, assistant professor, pediatrics at the
University of Michigan, who specializes in developmental and
behavioral health. Her research includes examining how increased
screen time might affect early childhood behavior and
development.
Facebook cited research from U.K. consulting firm Dubit showing
that about two-thirds of six to 12-year-olds in the U.S. use
tablets or smartphones every day. Facebook said it didn't
commission the research from Dubit, which also creates online
entertainment for children, including a virtual-reality game for
the Facebook-owned Oculus Rift, according to its website.
Children in the 6-12 age bracket aren't ready for a messaging
app, says Dr. Radesky. "It's the content of messaging--the
unintentional slights, insults, or oversharing--that I would want
parents to be able to monitor."
Parents won't be able to monitor their children's usage in real
time. They don't have access to the content of those messages from
their accounts, Facebook said, citing its research showing that
parents are accustomed to scanning those messages directly from
their child's devices from time to time.
Messenger designed the app to be engaging. It includes GIFs,
stickers and the ability to draw on photos. Messenger Kids also
allows for simultaneous group video chats, which look a lot like
Houseparty, another new app popular with young users that lets
groups of people hang out on live video.
Such features are designed to hook users, raising concerns among
child-development experts and advocates. "When child usage becomes
prolonged and immersive it can interrupt or displace other
important activities such as reading, sleep, or social
interactions." says Dr. Radesky.
Mr. Nevius said Facebook shares concerns about screen time for
children. "We will continue to look at this issue and be involved
in the research and plan to incorporate some screen time controls
into the app," he said.
Some child advocates questioned Facebook's long-term intentions.
"We appreciate that for now, the product is ad-free and appears
designed to put parents in control," said Jim Steyer, chief
executive of Common Sense Media, which advocates for safe media and
tech for kids. "But why should parents simply trust that Facebook
is acting in the best interest of kids?"
Mr. Nevius said the company has set up the app so that parents
are in control.
Write to Betsy Morris at betsy.morris@wsj.com and Deepa
Seetharaman at Deepa.Seetharaman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 04, 2017 08:14 ET (13:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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