The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has launched a petition against Facebook’s reported plans to launch an Instagram service for children under the age of 13. The campaign cited an internal memo published by BuzzFeed, which disclosed the plans. The coalition of 35 consumer advocacy groups and 64 experts in child development co-signed a letter to Facebook, saying such a service would be neither safe nor appropriate for young children.
In the letter, the coalition quoted research, which showed that excessive use of digital devices and social media is harmful to adolescents. “Instagram, in particular, exploits young people’s fear of missing out and desire for peer approval to encourage children and teens to constantly check their devices and share photos with their followers,” it continued. “The platform’s relentless focus on appearance, self-presentation, and branding presents challenges to adolescents’ privacy and wellbeing. Younger children are even less developmentally equipped to deal with these challenges, as they are learning to navigate social interactions, friendships, and their inner sense of strengths and challenges during this crucial window of development,” the letter said.
Too much time on the screen can increase the chance of obesity, depression, lack of speed and suicidal thoughts. Adolescent girls report feeling pressured to post sexualized selfies for attention from their peers, the letter said, adding that 59 percent of US teens have reported being bullied on social media.
Another concern is the Instagram algorithm, which would suggest what kids see and click on next. The letter said children are “highly persuadable by algorithmic prediction (...) and we are very concerned about how automated decision making would determine what children see and experience on a kids' Instragram platform.”
In addition, the letter also noted that kids often lie about their age and that they are unlikely to move to a more “babyish” version of Instagram. This means the true audience for the kids platform would be much younger children who do not yet have accounts on the platform.
