Child are like sponges, they absorb the actions of those they’re around
There have been major concerns about the online safety of children. Despite most major platforms issuing a federal privacy law for people 13 and up to use them, somehow younger kids are still making accounts.
According to a non-profit, Throne’s 2019 study; 40% of children surveyed said they already use Instagram. The survey concluded that Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, and Snapchat were the top platforms among 9–12-year-olds.
Even with parental guidance, there’s still tons of content out there that kids aren’t mentally prepared to deal with. We can already see the direct effects of social media among teenagers and adults. Increased rates of suicide rates, anxiety, and depression. The declines in creativity, empathy, and self-awareness are only going to get worse if kids are constantly on social media.
Social Media can launch careers but it can also easily harm their users.
Kids are still growing even at the age of 13. They are at that awkward stage where they are no longer young children but they are not yet ready for adulthood. Preteens nowadays are the first generation who grown up with technology around them. Some have their phones before 6th grade. We understand their desire for more independence. They want to follow their favorite celebrities & influencers, talk to their friends, create content, develop a following, and see what’s trending. They can do all of the above but more safely.
Yes, this generation of kids is a lot more tech-savvy than the ones before them. No, not all are aware of the potential dangers against them. Especially, being exposed to harmful content like sex, racism, homophobia, body disorders, gory, violence, and even some political content.
Due to the current times, being online is more prominent with the ever confusing state of school openings, shortage of staff, and virtual learning.
In college, I was in an advertising campaign class and we were tasked to present a kid-friendly concept. Since I was involved with audio production, I came out with the concept of SpotifyKids. A sub-division within Spotify where kids can have a separate account under a primary one. The objective was for the kids to have the freedom to listen to the clean version of songs they wanted while parents can control the kind of content they can listen to.
Similar to Spotify Premium, they would be explicit filters that would simply replace the explicit language with another clean word within the lyrics.
The lyrics will appear as the song plays so when kids can easily sing along.
This was back in 2018 and simply a made-up last-minute idea for an assignment. Less than two years later, Instagram Kids was trending all over with less than desirable results.
Recently, Instagram Head Adam Mosseri went on MSNBC to explain his reasoning to make Instagram Kids.
Mosseri had a few key points that were addressed.
As a parent himself, he wants to create an environment where kids are free to explore but within a safety lens.
Instagram promises to use this time to “work with parents, experts, and policymakers to demonstrate the value and need for this product” and build in parental supervision tools for teens.
Spotify Kids, Instagram Kids, and other kid versions of popular media platforms sound ideal on paper but they could cause potential setbacks if not handled in moderation.
