Opinion Analysis by Myriam Akiki, Staff Writer

May 8th, 2021

We live in a time where social media platforms have embedded themselves in our daily lives in more ways than one, and for the last year specifically, they have become a necessity for human relations. While we can’t but admit that social media and the Internet as a whole have contributed greatly to humanity - from making information accessible to everyone now more than ever to bridging distances and creating countless opportunities -  we also can’t turn a blind eye to the negative side of this phenomena, especially when it is here to stay.

Knowing that the older audience, for whom online platforms were originally designed, still struggles to understand the impact social media has on global culture, how we view our world, and most importantly, on our personal lives, we can’t ignore the unregulated presence of a younger audience.

This is why BuzzFeed News’ article announcing that Facebook is building an Instagram for kids under the age of 13came as no surprise. 

“Instagram can provide young people the opportunity to strengthen connections, practice social skills and find supportive communities [..]” said clinical psychologist Dr. Dave Anderson in Instagram’s blog post about making the app safer for the younger users of the community.

While this statement does hold some truth in it, other experts were quick to criticize Facebook, urging the company to reconsider its project.

This kind of reaction is understandable, taking into consideration the recent study showing that Instagram takes 79 per cent of its users’ personal data and shares it with third parties, making it the most “invasive” app. Indeed, social media platforms have become more intrusive over the years. While it started with just asking for your name and date of birth, personal information requested by these platforms have now expanded to many other things like your place of living, place of work and most notably your phone number. These information are not only shared with third parties but in most cases, are collected for the app’s own benefit.  While it was recently reported that the Instagram app for young users will not be selling ads and will be limiting personal information requirements, this project could be seen more as a means to hook the younger generation on the platform to make sure it moves on to the original as it grows older, as many critics have pointed, notably Matt Hancock, current UK Secretary of State for Health.

Let’s note that this Instagram project is not the first of its kind.

Messenger Kids, a messaging app released by Facebook for the younger audience, as an alternative to the Facebook Messenger platform, allows users to register using their first name and last name instead of phone numbers, gives parents control over who their children chat with and requires identity verification and approval of contacts. What seemed like a good alternative, soon received backlash after a flaw in group chats came to light: kids were able to add non-approved adults into their group chats. Though this issue has since been fixed, the scandal has not yet been forgotten.

Also, TikTok has different rules for the different age categories of its users. Users under 13 can’t post videos or comment, and content is curated for a younger audience while users aged 13 to 15 have private accounts by default, can only receive comments from friends and other users can’t “duet” with their videos. Yet, Tiktok is currently facing a lawsuit over allegations it illegally harvested the private data of millions of European children.

As for YouTube Kids, a version of YouTube designed for children, it also features curated content and parental control for children aged under 13, 8 or 5 depending on the age grouping chosen, and – spoiler alert – also faced heavy criticism surrounding the app’s use of commercial advertising, as well as the ability for age-inappropriate video to make it through the app’s algorithm. Its worth noting that Pavni Diwanji, the Google worker who oversaw the creation of YouTube Kids, is the one set to oversee the creation of Instagram for kids.

And while Netflix has proven not sharing users’ data with third parties, its kids-friendly option is also not the safest as it can easily be modified.

Now, said “intrusion” and data collection are not the only reasons to be worried about social media apps targeted towards kids. Today, the larger part of people who have access to the Internet are present on at least one social media platform. And we all know very well how much this presence can sometimes be draining, overwhelming and requires emotional control. It is well known that ever since their emergence, social media platforms have been home to high rates of appalling cases of cyberbullying, harassment and abuse, sometimes leading to serious mental health damage, depression, and in the worst of scenarios, suicide. 

We can agree that the “oversharing” on online platforms, with the growing culture of “influencing” and the need to be social media famous, creates a somewhat distorted view of reality and in many cases instills feelings of jealousy, envy, or worse, inferiority. These cases have been shown to be present among adults before kids. So, if adults can’t seem to handle social media properly, what do we expect from kids who have yet to figure out life their own personalities?

Let’s not forget that parents are mostly worried about their children coming into contact with sexual and violent content at an early age without proper guidance.

Some would say “do not let your kids use social media in the first place”, but that’s not really realistic is it? We can’t ignore the fact that social media is a good place for kids to interact with their friends and family, as we adults all do. Not letting them do that, would be isolating them from the rest of the world. Also, kids online can benefit, more times than not, from educational content and learn to build their knowledge and skills.

That is why, while we await online platforms to implement artificial intelligence-based age verification and really secure good alternatives for kids, what parents can do is have conversations with their kids, explain to them the pros and cons of being online, teach them about the risks and how to protect themselves and fend off predators, guiding them in what to share and what not to share, all while closely monitoring their child’s activity online. Parents should also always be informed about what the app collects and shares and in what way it could impact their children. And on this, base off their decisions. 

On a final note, another issue caused by the presence of kids on social media is content creators’ right to, well, create any content they wish to and post it online. Content creators that create kids-inappropriate content will argue that it is suitable and does not violate the regulations of the platform they are using. And they are technically in the right, as they have personally signed up to this platform with the understanding that, let’s say, the platform is for an audience of 13 and older. So, when a child, who is younger than 13 years, finds himself in contact with such inappropriate content for their age, who’s to blame? The child for being where he should not be? Or the content creator for creating such content with the knowledge of having an inappropriate audience? Or the parents for not having been diligent enough? Or the platform itself for not being able to monitor her users?

This is a very debatable question, with varying opinions and unfortunately, no straight answer. We might as well say that all four share somehow the responsibility.

But what we know for certain is that today, social media has become an extension of society. Therefore, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to maybe want to apply to our virtual life the same rules and ethics we would like to apply to our real life. This means being more authentic, considerate, respectful, and to try to spread as much positivity as possible, so when we look back at these revolutionary platforms for communication in the long run,, we do not see another human “invention” gone wrong.