Instagram for kids. Yikes.
By now, you may have heard the news that the world's most powerful social media company is working on a kids' version of their wildly popular Instagram platform. That's right: the company that brought you the Cambridge Analytica scandal is continuing to expand into the kid-tech market, and this time it's with a pint-sized version of a photo-sharing platform that runs on social validation. And I have to say, it's slightly surreal that CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed the reports while testifying before Congress about misinformation of social media. Not great optics, but I digress.
The response from critics was swift and predictable. This is not a good idea. There is a laundry list of reasons that Instagram is not suitable for young children—many of which I discussed recently in my newsletter about PopJam. Platforms that revolve around likes and followers can teach kids to chase social validation to the detriment of their mental health, and that's just inherent in the way they function. It doesn't matter how many "parental controls" you put in place if the product is fundamentally built around comparison and competition. Critics were also quick to point out that Facebook's business model relies on data mining—and they have a woefully poor track record when it comes to user privacy. And, an open platform where kids post photos of themselves, their lives and their friends is basically an online preditor's dream. So yeah, it's a bad idea, and the company had to know they would be in for some public backlash. While the popular assumption is that Facebook is continuing to expand into the kids' market in order to "hook 'em young," I suspect that there's a bit more at play here.
Facebook is probably keen to train the next generation of users, but I think this expansion is fundamentally fuelled by their insatiable thirst for user engagement. If Instagram for Kids functions the same way as their Messenger Kids platform, each mini-account will need to be tied to an active adult account. If your kids want to be on these platforms, you have to stick around as well. You'll need to engage, and ultimately, I think that's what's behind this.
We have a generation of young people now aging into becoming parents that have largely grown up with Instagram being a significant part of their lives. By targeting (or exploiting) the kids of this generation, Facebook will ensure that they retain the parents in their all-important daily and monthly active user counts. There is little doubt in my mind that Facebook is extra motivated to attract and retain younger users as their core demographic has been skewing older in recent years.
All the concerns that critics have raised about data mining are certainly valid. We're safe in assuming that Facebook is going to collect data on our kids. I suspect they'll be smart enough to do it in such a way that it's not technically violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, but that won't stop them from putting it to good use on us—the adults. If my kid posts about soccer, they might not be able to show her targeted ads for cleats, but I almost guarantee that I’ll start seeing ads for soccer equipment for 10 year olds in my own feed.
A recent report from SuperAwesome confirms what parents already know: kids inform a lot of the purchasing decisions in a household. And if Facebook knows what your kids love, they have a pretty good chance of getting you to engage when they have that information in their back pocket. So while hooking them young might be part of the long game, I think it's a secondary benefit for Facebook. They've already shown us the lengths they'll go to in order to boost engagement, regardless of how it affects users and society—and Instagram for Kids fits squarely into their pattern.
Again, yikes.
A deeper dive
Here are a few helpful resources in case you want to really dig into today's topic:
Parentology reached out to Facebook to ask about the plans for Instagram for Kids, and a spokesperson told them that it's a response to demand. "Increasingly kids are asking their parents if they can join apps that help them keep up with their friends,” says the spokesperson. “Right now there aren’t many options for parents, so we’re working on building additional products — like we did with Messenger Kids — that are suitable for kids, managed by parents. We’re exploring bringing a parent-controlled experience to Instagram to help kids keep up with their friends, discover new hobbies and interests, and more.” I agree that kids are certainly interested in being online, but I believe they need tools that are purpose-built for them, not retrofitted adult platforms built using persuasive design.
The popular argument from Facebook is that kids are already drawn to social media platforms and often create accounts before they're technically supposed to. So, if they're online already, why not create a dedicated space for them with a few more safety mechanisms? Well, adult platforms simply do not retrofit well for kids. The Washington Post talked to some experts to get a clearer picture of the risks involved with Instagram for Kids, and they offer some helpful insight.
TL;DR
Too long; didn't read. It shouldn't be a full-time job to keep up on industry news, so here is a mercifully quick summary of some other notable developments:
Online school is certainly difficult, but lots of kids are finding hybrid school unexpectedly challenging as well. That's because they suddenly need to learn in two different ways—with some aspects of their work happening on physical worksheets in a classroom and some aspects happening digitally at home. This article here offers some great, actionable suggestions for how parents can help their kids handle the hybrid model.
Congress recently had the chance to ask tech leaders some difficult questions about the way large platforms could be perpetuating misinformation online, and Common Sense Media put together a great rundown of what's at stake for kids specifically. Check it out to get their take on what tech leaders and Congress could do to help keep kids safe online.
And lastly
Here are a few more pieces of original writing from me and my team—just in case you're keen for more:
Social validation is a fact of life online. There are countless apps and platforms that use likes and follower counts to boost engagement, and sooner or later, kids will probably use them. That's why it's a good idea for parents to start talking to children about the difference of authentic connections. Here are some tips from my team to help kids value what matters.
I'm proud of the work we've done at Kinzoo to develop a platform that puts the needs of families first. We often get asked how we're different from Facebook Messenger Kids, so we've put together a post to explain what sets Kinzoo apart. Check it out to learn more about how our values shape our business.
Okay, that's it from me until next week. If you enjoyed this newsletter, and know of another parent who would as well, please feel free to forward it along.