When Facebook launched its child-oriented version of Messenger back in 2017, critics came out in force. Creating and marketing an app specifically designed to rope children into social media struck many as vicious. As a result, the app never really caught on, and most people forgot it existed.
That is, until a couple of months ago, when the coronavirus pandemic hit and families shut themselves indoors. Then children began looking for a way to communicate with friends. Messenger Kids became the go-to tool. The app went from the bottom of the App Store to the top, and its downloads increased by more than 325% in March, according to Forbes. Messenger Kids now has 7 million monthly active accounts, Facebook officials said.
There is still a concern that giving children video chat and text messaging functions could become problematic. But Messenger Kids is much better than the alternative.
For starters, the app provides important parental controls. Parents can limit the amount of time children spend chatting on the app and disable it when they think their children have had too much screen time. Parents also have the ability to approve or reject users their children receive chat requests from, and they can review sent or received pictures. Parents are also provided with their own “dashboard” feature through the app so that they can supervise who their children are talking to and when.
For example, Meghan Smith, a New Jersey mother, established ground rules with her children immediately after allowing them to download Messenger Kids. The app is limited to late afternoon and early evening use and is disabled during the school day and after 8 p.m. This has allowed Smith to introduce her children to social media properly while still limiting their technology use.
“They’re learning some kind of phone etiquette … like, you can’t take [the device] in your bedroom while you’re gonna go put your pajamas now,” she said.
Several experts on youth media confirmed that Messenger Kids is a safe option. Children are free from external marketing while on the app, which means they won’t be exposed to inappropriate ads. And they can’t make in-app purchases either.
But when it comes to social media, there’s always a risk.
“You’re indoctrinating them into the world of social media. I think there’s a risk of children feeling the pressure to always be on,” Christine Elgersma, senior editor of social media and learning resources at Common Sense Media, told the Wall Street Journal.
And the question is: Once they’re on, is it even possible to keep them off?
