Faced with protests and outrage from lawmakers and children's specialists, Facebook announced that it was suspending its plan to develop an Instagram for children. "Although we are convinced of the need to develop this experience, we have decided to suspend this project. This will give us time to work with parents, experts, policy makers and regulators, to listen to their concerns and demonstrate the value and importance of this project for children. young teens online today," Instagram manager Adam Mosseri said in a blog post. The announcement didn't come as a huge surprise, especially after a Wall Street Journal article earlier this month showed that Facebook has repeatedly found its Instagram app harmful to many teens. The scoop had cited Facebook studies over the past three years that examined how Instagram affects its young user base, especially teenage girls. Of course, many children's advocacy groups had written an open letter to Facebook Inc CEO Mark Zuckerberg not to create Instagram for children under 13, as it would put them at "great risk." Although Facebook called it a "pause" from the project, the general belief is that it may have abandoned it, as new features are already being announced to appeal to young people and children.
Facebook shows a brave face
Facebook usually blatantly cheered him on by making its announcement yesterday. Critics of 'Instagram Kids' will see this as an acknowledgment that the project is a bad idea. It is not. The reality is that children are already online and we believe that they are developing experiences that are adapted to them. Age and designed specifically for them. it is much better for parents than where we are today,” said Adam Mosseri. Instagram itself is now asking users who haven't yet entered their date of birth to do so in the app. This is done to help "create safer and more private experiences for young people" on Instagram. Those who do not comply will lose access to the platform. Instagram will also work to extend its parental controls to teen accounts. < p lang="en" dir="ltr">We discontinued "Instagram Kids". It is a difficult decision. I still think building that experience is the right thing to do, but we want to take more time to talk to parents and experts about how to get it right. pic.twitter.com/gMbPjft0CWS September 27, 2021 See More “These new features, which parents and teens can choose from, will give parents the tools to significantly shape the experience for their teens,” Mosseri said. Mosseri also made it clear that he disagreed with the way the WSJ reported Facebook searches. “We are doing research like this to improve Instagram. This means that our information often highlights problems, but inspires new ideas and change on Instagram. He said Facebook was exploring two new ideas: encouraging people to consider other topics if they focus on content that could contribute to negative social comparison, and a feature tentatively called "Take a break," where people could pause their account. ...and take a moment to determine if the time they spend is meaningful.