No messaging app for kids please: child health experts to FB

Update: 2018-01-31 23:54 IST

Boston: child development experts and advocates are urging Facebook to pull the plug on its new messaging app aimed at kids. A group letter sent on Tuesday to CEO Mark Zuckerberg argues that younger children aren't ready to have social media accounts, navigate the complexities of online relationships or protect their own privacy. 

Facebook launched the free Messenger Kids app in December, pitching it as a way for children to chat with family members and parent approved friends. It doesn't give kids separate Facebook or Messenger accounts. Rather, the app works as an extension of a parents account. 

Experts and technology insiders have begun questioning the effects smartphones and social media apps are having on people's health and mental wellbeing whether kids, teens or adults. Many preteens have already found their way onto Facebook and more youth oriented social media  platforms such as snap chat and instagram, despite internal rules that require users to be atleast 13 years old.
 

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