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Health advocates criticize Messenger Kids (FB)
Dozens of mental health and pediatric experts have urged Facebook to shut down Messenger Kids, its messaging app geared toward children 13 and under
Dozens of mental health and pediatric experts have urged Facebook to shut downMessenger Kids, its messaging app geared toward children 13 and under,The New York Timesreports.
Through anopen letterto the company, an advocacy group called the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) claims younger children “simply aren’t ready to have social media accounts,” as they aren’t yet old enough to navigate the complexities of online relationships.
The letter also cites research on the negative effects of excessive social media and digital device use among teens and children. With this research, the CCFC claims Messenger Kids will very likely “undermine children’s healthy development.”
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Facebook is just one of a growing list of companies that health advocates fear are negatively affecting the well being of users:
- Apple.
- urged
- Snapchat.
- called
- found
- Facebook.
- worse
- tweaked
The concern over the negative effects of technology come as Gen Zers become increasingly mobile-oriented. Gen Zers, those born between 1996 and 2010, are the first generation to be raised in the connected smartphone era, and now spend more time online daily via their mobile devices than all other devices combined, per GlobalWebIndex. This demographic will remain highly valuable to tech companies as they represent potential lifelong customers.
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