DIGITAL DANGERS
What parents need to know about social media for kids
SOCIAL media was not built with children in mind. Facebook was originally made for varsity students, Instagram stemmed from its founder’s love of bourbon, and YouTube started as a video dating site.
But teens are active on social media, and many children under 13 already have online social lives. They build worlds together in Minecraft, FaceTime with friends, and send texts and emojis through tools like Facebook Messenger Kids. But they also use apps and browse an internet that wasn’t designed with them in mind.
Now, tech companies’ attempts to purposefully expand their products to younger users is drawing fresh attention and criticism from lawmakers. Especially Facebook-owned Instagram.
Facebook in March announced it was working on a version of Instagram specifically for children who are under 13. After fierce blowback from child welfare advocates, policymakers and law enforcement officials, the company hit pause on the project in late September. Critics said an Instagram app aimed specifically at younger people could lead to privacy, screen time and mental health problems.
Days after a Wall Street Journal report revealed internal research in which teen girls reported that Instagram made their body image issues worse, the Senate grilled Antigone
Davis, Facebook’s global head of safety, about the app’s impact.
Here’s what parents should know about social media for children.
Q: Is social media meant for kids?
A: While not designed for children, social media has become very popular with younger people. Before letting children fall in love with TikTok, fall into YouTube holes or start their own Instagram accounts, parents need to weigh what social media is right for their family. It’s a complicated question, especially when other forms of socialisation for kids are still on hold in many parts of the country.
Adding to the conundrum, companies are increasingly making tools specifically for the internet’s youngest users, who are old enough to type words on a smartphone or computer, but too young for existing social media apps. There is already YouTube Kids and Facebook Messenger Kids.
Many countries have laws that limit the tracking and targeting of people younger than 13, which companies have often got around by using weak age verification. To get on popular sites and apps, children might borrow an adult’s account, have their parents make one for them, or lie about their age and start their own. Or in the case of YouTube, just open it in a browser
With increasing competition for
young users and a desire to hook children on an online ecosystem before they enter middle school, social media companies are branching out.
Q: What are the biggest worries about letting kids on social media?
A: Parents’ main concern about allowing young kids on social media is exposure to sexual content and predators, according to Titania Jordan, the chief parenting officer at online-monitoring company Bark.
She worries that giving kids a screen-based alternative to in-person interaction is a bad idea no matter what precautions are included. Screen time concerns, however, have been put on a back burner by many during the pandemic, as parents and children have more pressing things to worry about and fewer options for in-person socialisation.
Not all online interactions are the same. While some parents might be okay with text-based communication, something like Instagram would raise different issues. A photo-based social experience could affect self-esteem and mental health more than just one-onone texts.
The experts we spoke to are specifically worried about the companies behind these apps and, in the case of Instagram’s paused plans, bristle at Facebook’s track record. “Facebook’s priority isn’t protecting children; they’re a for-profit company looking to monetise time spent,” Jordan said.
Common Sense Media’s chief executive, Jim Steyer, agrees: “This is basically Facebook digging back into their old bag of tricks to get young kids hooked when most vulnerable.”
Q: Why are tech companies making apps for young kids?
A: Children are one of the next big untapped online markets, and major tech companies may be interested in appealing to people before they are 13. That requires making a product that parents approve of so they’re not as worried about issues like predators or radicalisation.
“At Disney, we called it cradle to cane. If you got a kid excited about the Disney brand – excited about princesses at age 3, 4 and 5 – and you could keep that engagement … you’ve created a lifelong attachment,” said KC Estenson, a former Disney executive and current chief executive of GoNoodle, an app that makes videos, music and games for young kids.
There is also growing pressure on legislators to regulate how Big Tech companies track and handle younger users. By creating apps that claim to be safer on their own, companies like Facebook could be trying to hold off any additional laws that would force them to be even stricter about things like data collection.
Q: What features should I look for before letting my kids sign up for a social media app?
A: If you end up considering a social network for your child, here are features and policies you should check first. Jordan recommends looking out for any ephemeral features that make it harder to monitor communications, like a vanishing mode, or in the case of Instagram, its Stories feature, which removes posts after 24 hours.
Review direct messaging features, and make sure only approved contacts can communicate with your child. Look for options that let a parent approve contacts, like in Facebook’s Messenger Kids. Check the parental monitoring features, and see how much control you would really have – and if your kid can turn them off without you getting notified.
“Ask, is the app specifically designed for kids? If not, you should totally be on alert,” said Steyer, whose Common Sense Media, a non-profit advocacy group, reviews kids’ content.
He recommends looking at an app’s business model to avoid anything that is based on targeted ads, and beware of businesses that make their money on in-app purchases. See whether there is an associated adult app, like with Messenger Kids.