“It’s like Coca-Cola inventing a kids’ soda product,” he says. And habituating kids to always-on communication concerns Tristan Harris, a former design ethicist at Google who cofounded and runs the Center for Humane Technology. That kind of information can cause anxiety even in adults who’ve already spent years using apps. It will also tell you whether the person you’ve sent a message to has viewed it already and if so, for recently sent messages, when. For instance, if you send a contact a message on Messenger Kids, it lets you know if the person is online or how long it’s been since he or she was active. However, the app also has some of the very grown-up features you find on Messenger. It’s full of parental controls kids must get a parent’s authorization (via the parent’s own Facebook account) to sign up and to add each new contact. The design of Messenger Kids is evidently meant to put parents at ease. Messenger Kids is meant chiefly for texting and video-chatting with parent-approved friends and family, and it includes fun features like digital stickers and animated masks. With the new app, it’s creating a purportedly safe space for children, too. In an attempt to assuage worries about fake news, Facebook recently announced it will show regular Facebook users fewer posts from companies and news media and more from their friends. And during the most recent US presidential election campaign, the company admitted, Russian-backed political content reached 126 million American Facebook users, showing how vulnerable the platform is to abuse. In controversial experiments, it has proved it can alter people’s moods or their likelihood of voting by tweaking their news feeds. The app seems to be part of Facebook’s response to the concerns voiced by a growing number of people-including early Facebook investors like Sean Parker, as well as former executives-about the social network’s powers of manipulation. “It’s an opportunity for kids to teach their parents the benefits of social media – there’s age-appropriate stickers and filters that they can have some fun.“It’s like Coca-Cola inventing a kids’ soda product.” It’s a really big trend on TikTok, for example, parents and grandparents getting involved and doing these dance moves with their kids,” she said. “We’re seeing a bit of a trend now with loots of social media platforms with lots of bonding between parents and kids. Instead of using it as a way to monitor children’s activity, Ms London recommended harnessing Messenger Kids – and apps like it – to understand how their children use and benefit from it. That’s the gold standard for cyber safety.” “There is no replacement for parental involvement. It’s a fine line, but parents have a right to this information and it’s a really good opportunity for discussions – how we speak to each other online – that sort of thing,” she said. Here’s where parents will need to find the balance between control and trust, Ms London said. Parents will also be able to view a 30-day activity log: Who their child has been speaking with, and view any multimedia that’s being shared. So parents have remote control and access to their child’s contact list and conversations.Ĭhildren can add their friends – but parents will get an alert, so they can make sure it’s a verified contact, Ms London explained. Photo: Facebook It’s Messenger … but differentĪ Messenger Kids account is linked to a ‘grown up’ account – there’s no need for kids to create their own profile, or attach a mobile number. “But that capacity for chat groups and video calls for 45 minutes, talking with their friends (can be very healthy).” Messenger Kids allows its users to chat and hold group video calls – with filters. “Anything goes over that hour, edging towards two hours, has been shown to have negative effects for kids. Related: Health org warns against screen time for children.“A lot of research suggests up to an hour a day for a child aged 10 and over – which is the age group this app is aimed at – can be seen to be beneficial for that child, especially in times of isolation,” Ms London said. So what is the sweet spot for how long a kid should be using this method of communication? We’re seeing it popping up as a trend in apps now, she said, and it’s an easy, useful way for parents to control how much time their child spends in the app – and when.
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