Instagram for kids – the social media site no one asked for

[Dashinka 24,731]

Are social media corporations now Big Tobacco trying to lure children?  To be fair, the headline is a bit misleading as I am not sure anyone ever asked for FB, IG or Twitter.

 

Instagram for kids – the social media site no one asked for

 

What on earth are you on about? Well, it was revealed in March that Facebook was developing an Instagram service for kids. At present, under-13s are not supposed to use the photo-sharing app, although many lie about their age to do so. Now Facebook wants to create an Instagram site specially tailored for children that they can use legally.

Sounds dubious. Lawmakers in the US certainly think so. On Monday, attorneys general from across the country wrote to Mark Zuckerberg demanding he abandon the plan.

Their reasons? “Use of social media can be detrimental to the health and wellbeing of children, who are not equipped to navigate the challenges of having a social media account. Further, Facebook has historically failed to protect the welfare of children on its platforms.” They are reflecting the concerns of child safety experts, who worry about body-shaming, cyberbullying and possible sexual grooming.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/shortcuts/2021/may/11/instagram-for-kids-the-social-media-site-no-one-asked-for

[yuna628 9,700]

Or we could let parents take responsibility and supervise their children. Children have been on websites and lying about their ages before Facebook and Instagram even existed. 

[Dashinka 24,731]

2 minutes ago, yuna628 said:

Or we could let parents take responsibility and supervise their children. Children have been on websites and lying about their ages before Facebook and Instagram even existed. 

Couldn't we say the same thing about kids that are smoking?  I agree, parents should take responsibility, but there is some question as to the motives of these companies.

[yuna628 9,700]

5 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

Couldn't we say the same thing about kids that are smoking?  I agree, parents should take responsibility, but there is some question as to the motives of these companies.

The motive of any company is to make money at usually any cost. It's up to us to make wise choices for ourselves and children. People could decide to put big tobacco out of business today if they decided their lives and others around them were more important than their next hit of a cancer stick.

[Dashinka 24,731]

10 minutes ago, yuna628 said:

The motive of any company is to make money at usually any cost. It's up to us to make wise choices for ourselves and children. People could decide to put big tobacco out of business today if they decided their lives and others around them were more important than their next hit of a cancer stick.

I have given up FB, never used Twitter or IG.  If everyone did the world would be a much better place.  I would expect the reason FB is doing this is that they need to get more kids addicted to their platforms.