Facebook announces new Messenger Kids for under 13s; but should your kids use it?

Facebook on Tuesday rolled out a new app in the United States that's designed just for kids. Messenger Kids, according to Facebook, "makes it easier for kids to safely video chat and message with family and friends when they can't be together in person."

Posted 6:21 p.m. Dec 4, 2017 — Updated 8:30 p.m. Dec 4, 2017

Sarah Lindenfeld Hall

We probably all know at least one tween with their own Facebook page, but, officially, Facebook requires users to be no younger than 13. Now, with Messenger Kids, the social media giant has an official way for the youngest screen addicts among us to get on Facebook ... kind of.

Messenger Kids can be controlled from a parent's Facebook account, but it is a standalone app that kids can access on their tablets or smartphones. Messenger Kids won't automatically turn into a traditional Facebook account once a child turns 13. What's more, says Facebook, Messenger Kids puts parents in the driver's seat.

"Parents fully control the contact list and kids can’t connect with contacts that their parent does not approve," Facebook says. With it, kids can video chat or send photos, videos or text messages with those parent-approved contacts and explore kid-appropriate GIFs, frames, stickers, masks and drawing tools.

At least one Raleigh family was able to test the new app before it was released. In an interview with NBC's Today, Nikki Fountas said the app offers a way for her kids ages 10 and 6 to communicate with their grandmother, who lives in another state.

“The unique thing about this was, and the thing I really liked about it, that it's not a profile. So it's not like anyone else can look up your child,” she said in the interview.

A parent-controlled app sounds great on the surface for families that need this sort of thing, but will kids use it and should they use it? I checked in with Laura Tierney, social media expert and founder of The Social Institute. Tierney works with parents and schools and recommends safe and healthy social media practices for kids and families.

"This new Messenger Kids app from Facebook is the platform's last hope to get teens flocking back, despite adults being there," Tierney tells me.

"Think of Facebook as the mall on a Friday night," she said. "Once parents show up, kids head over to the new mall. Instagram and Snapchat are the new malls. The data proves this. In our surveys with over 5,000 middle school and high school students, we see Facebook is missing in the top 10 most popular social platforms among teens. Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram, SMS Texting, and Console Gaming are all ahead of Facebook."

Tierney doesn't think Messenger Kids will break into that top 10.

"The app feels like it was built with parents first in mind," she said. "For that reason, I think kids will try and avoid it."

Kids under 13 are experiencing an incredible time of social and emotional development. They also don't quite understand the permanence of screenshots and what that even means, Tierney said. She shared three tips for parents whether their child is under 13 or not:

Huddle rather than helicopter. When it comes to online messaging, we know the teens prefer using messaging-focused apps like WeChat and SMS as well as content apps like Snapchat and Instagram. Monitoring all of their messages on all of these apps is impossible. Rather than being a helicopter parent, be the parent who huddles with your child about what they should vs. shouldn't be messaging. Equip through do's rather than lecture through don'ts.

Explain that no message is ever private and, with a single screenshot, can be seen by anyone. Earlier this year, at least 10 prospective students lost their acceptance into Harvard because of Facebook messages they were sending that they thought were private. Help your child understand that their device is like a microphone that speaks to the entire world whenever they press "send."

Help your child go from rookie to varsity to pro. Rather than allowing your under-13 child to jump into Facebook Messenger, consider the Rookie stage: Giving her a family device where she can text through an email account. Then let her go Varsity: Joining Facebook Messenger on that family device, which she can only use in public areas. Then let her go Pro: Having her own phone and using various social media apps.

Suggest A Correction