How will Facebook keep children safe in their app?

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The role of advertisers
Advertisers also want to reach a younger target group. And they succeed via social media. University lecturer in communication science at the University of Amsterdam Eva van Reijmersdal explains to Nu.nl that advertisers want to build loyalty for a brand as early as possible. According to her research into the effects of sponsored content on children and adults, there is a good chance that children will stick with a brand that they have been using since they were young in their adult lives.

Remco Pijpers is a strategic advisor on digital literacy at the Kennisnet foundation and an expert in the field of youth and digital media and responds critically. He points out that children do not always realize that it is advertising and are therefore unconsciously influenced. Advertisers usually also tackle it subtly, for example by having influencers promote products. Pijpers: “Fortunately, there are more and more rules that protect children. For example, YouTubers are increasingly forced to be open about sponsored products.”

Messenger Kids
In any case, Facebook has had little success so far. As early as 2017, attempts at a Facebook version for children were abandoned due to concerns from parents and fears about how it would be received. However, Messenger Kids was released that year. A messaging and video calling app for children between the ages of 6 and 12, under the slogan ' Made for Kids. Controlled by Parents .' Opinions were already divided about this at the time and experts were concerned about excessive use. And when it turned out in 2019 that children could still chat with strangers due to an error in the app , confidence in Facebook's ability to build a safe app for children decreased even more. Incidentally, Messenger Kids did celebrate its heyday in 2020 during the lockdowns and the app had 7 million users spread across 70 countries . Messenger Kids is not (yet) available in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Instagram Kids
And then, last March, the plans for Instagram Kids were leaked. That was already a topic of discussion then, but even more so after the publication of the infamous Facebook Files .

It led to a postponement , but certainly not to a cancellation if it were up to Facebook. Instagram head Adam Mosseri says in a response to the commotion that with Instagram Kids they want to create a place that is really made for children of that age and where parents have control. Because 'the reality is that children are already active online', he writes. He also points out that YouTube and TikTok also have versions for children under the age of 13.

In addition, Mosseri indicates that the insights from their infamous research actually lead to ideas to improve the current Instagram. For example, the insights into the negative effects on the self-image of teenagers have led to the following two ideas:

Users who linger on content while scrolling that could contribute to a negative social comparison are encouraged to look at other topics.
The 'Take a Break' feature, which allows people to pause their account so they can take some time to think about whether they are spending their time wisely.
That sounds noble, but I am skeptical about how that works in practice. To what extent can you influence teenagers with such nudges in their Instagram use? Moreover, Facebook does everything it can to keep people on their platforms as long as possible. In that case, a pause button is of course better than a deleted account. But you can wonder whether something like that is in their interest in the long run.

Boy with tablet and Instagram app illustrating Instagram Kids

Facebook says it is doing everything it can to create a safe environment for young children. Instagram Kids is intended for children aged 10 to 12, who have permission from their parents. According to Mosseri, the app will differ in many ways from Instagram as we know it today. For example, there will be no ads and the content and features are adapted to the age of the users. There will be functions that allow parents to monitor the time, who can send their child messages and who they can follow (and vice versa).

The role of parents
In any case, there is a big role for parents. But as Ina Koning says: we must not forget that a large part of the current whatsapp number list generation of parents did not grow up with social media themselves. And therefore do not know how to deal with their children's social media use. Some see social media as a big bad world, others do not.

She gives two important tips:

Make agreements about when, how long and what your child can do online.
Stay involved in what your child is doing online and with whom, and talk about it.
Staying involved in what your child does online is relatively new. And perhaps still a bit forgotten by some parents. But if Facebook continues with its plans, it will only become more relevant. And who knows what social networks for children will be added in the future.

I am curious how you view this development. Is a social network for children under 13 inevitable? And is that possible in a responsible way? I would like to hear it!

This article was previously published in a shortened form in the Frankwatching Weekly. Would you also like to receive this Saturday edition in your mailbox? Sign up here.