Instagram designed for children, and as expected, this raised a lot of concern.
According to an internal memo from within Facebook, Instagram's vice president of product told employees that the company had "identified youth work as a priority for Instagram" and that the project was being added to the company's "H1 priority list." The new version of Instagram would allow kids 13-years and younger to start using the app for the first time. Following the initial backlash when that report was first published, Facebook now faces more serious criticism.
On April 15, 2021, the CCFC mailed its letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Throughout the entirety of the letter, CCFC makes a case as to why an Instagram for kids is a bad idea and why Facebook should no longer pursue it — kicking things off by saying that the application "would put young s at great risk." CCFC highlights several possible dangers of a kid-focused Instagram app, finally telling Facebook that it urges the company to "abandon those plans" and that doing so would "send a strong message that Facebook understands the vast concerns about the effects its business model is having on young people."
Instagram For Kids Could Be A Trainwreck Waiting To Happen
Digging a bit more into the specifics of why an Instagram for kids is so concerning to some people, one of the most obvious points is how it could impact a child's mental health. It's already hard enough for adults to deal with the stress and peer pressure of social media, so the thought of creating a platform where kids can be exposed to those things is worrying. As the letter points out, "Instagram, in particular, exploits young people’s fear of missing out and desire for peer approval to encourage children and teens to constantly check their devices and share photos with their followers. The platform’s relentless focus on appearance, self-presentation, and branding presents challenges to adolescents’ privacy and wellbeing. That also ties into the whole issue of excessive phone/internet usage for children, with CCFC going on to say that too much screen time can contribute to "obesity, lower psychological wellbeing, decreased happiness, decreased quality of sleep," and more.
Furthermore, CCFC worries that Facebook is deg a kid-focused Instagram app to appeal to even younger kids than it's been able to before. CCFC says that kids between 10-12 that are already using Instagram won't want to use the kid-focused one, and as such, the app will mainly appeal to much younger children that aren't already on the social network. The letter says, "While collecting valuable family data and cultivating a new generation of Instagram s may be good for Facebook’s bottom line, it will likely increase the use of Instagram by young children who are particularly vulnerable to the platform’s manipulative and exploitative features."
Even if Facebook is going into Instagram for kids with the best intentions, it's hard to disagree with the points raised by CCFC. Facebook has already been lambasted for countless privacy/data concerns with its regular applications, so the idea of the company creating something for very young children doesn't sound like a good combination. It's unclear if CCFC's letter will have any real impact on the development of Instagram for kids, but at the very least, it'll get others talking about why this may not be the best idea.