Will You Be Letting Your Child Use Facebook’s New Messenger Kids App?

Facebook has a new messaging app that is designed for kids, but child experts say it’s a bad idea to let your kid use it, and they think that Facebook should shut it down.

Messenger Kids is for kids ages 13 and under. The app lets them chat with friends and family and parents have to approve who their children message, but many children’s groups say Facebook is just trying to hook young kids and stay relevant with kids who might be more inclined to use Snapchat or even Facebook’s Instagram app.

Facebook said they used advisers, child experts, and families to develop the app, but critics say more than half of Facebook’s ‘experts’ have financial ties to the company. Facebook said that is true but critics point out that even though they don’t deny that’s true, they also don’t publicize their financial ties with those ‘experts’.

There is no putting the genie back in the bottle of social media, but at what age should kids begin to be on social media? That is a question for parents to answer, not Facebook.