The world is going through a pandemic that is forcing people to be stay indoors for an unidentified period of time. Now this bring s on the fact that there is no face to face contact with your friends or even your neighbor, most adults and teens have found solace in their social media and are kept busy with apps that help them interact. Younger children unfortunately do not have this privilege as they are not of the age to be on these social media apps according to the rules of the app makers. This market of children that is 13 years or younger are an untapped market for social media app developers, so it did not come as a shock that platforms such as Instagram is eyeing the possibility of creating an app for this age group.
It was this week that Instagram had released that they were planning on getting a platform for their younger users and having it restricted so that they will be protected from older users and will only be able to interact with profiles and users of the same age category. Instagram in general does not allow children under the age of 13 to join but it is becoming difficult to keep these kids out so this platform for younger users maybe the solution.
Instagram wants to create a version of itself for kids under the age of 13 instead of blocking them from using the app. This would be similar to their kid version apps such as YouTube Kids and Facebook Messenger for Kids. This app would also give parents more control over the saftey of their children being on such social media apps. This of course did not sit well with a few people such as child saftey advocates for a few reason one of the main ones being that it would only further encourage these young ones to use this somewhat addictive social media platforms and the children’s formative years to be wasted being on apps that have no actual substance to them. And then there are the various instances in the past where bugs and hidden features ended up violating children’s privacy, not to mention several laws. There’s no assurance that it won’t happen with an Instagram for Kids either but, at least for now, the company says it has no detailed plans for it yet anyway.
