Advocacy group urges Facebook to pull Messenger for Kids
Facebook started rolling out its messaging app for kids last December, offering a standalone app with parental controls built right in. The app is available on iOS and Android Fire tablets, and allows children under the age of 13 to chat with approved contacts. As you might imagine, however, child advocacy groups have taken issue with it. In a letter to Mark Zuckerberg, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood express concern that "this new app will undermine children's healthy development." Adults have a hard enough time managing online relationships, said the letter. Younger children, then, are "simply not ready to have social media accounts." Kids, the letter stated, don't really have a full understanding of privacy and what to (and not to) share online with others. It cites studies showing that media use by teens is linked to depression, decreased life satisfaction and body image issues. An app expressly for the under-13 set will likely increas...