The under-13 version of Instagram won’t happen – or at least not a sequel. Monday, September 27, Facebook announced “Put on pause” the development of Instagram Kids, in order to respond to criticisms made even before its launch in the name of children’s mental health. The group wants to take more time “To work with parents, experts and policy makers to demonstrate the value and necessity of this service”, explains Instagram manager Adam Mosseri, in a post on the blog of the social network.
The company is still convinced of the value of designing a version for the youngest, arguing that “Kids are getting younger and younger phones, lying about their age and downloading apps aimed at ages 13 and over”. But she says she prefers to take the time to explain herself in the face of criticism calling on Facebook to abandon the project.
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Because the criticisms are numerous.
In May, the attorneys general of 44 states had notably sent a letter to the founder of the Californian group referring to research showing a correlation between the use of social networks and the “Increase in psychological distress and suicidal behavior among young people”. They mentioned, among other things, the harm caused by constant comparison with one’s peers, such as eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia), as well as the dangers of online harassment by other adolescents or by adult criminals.
In April, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC, “Campaign for an Ad-Free Childhood”), a collective that campaigns against marketing targeting children, for its part sent a letter to Mark Zuckerberg along the same lines, saying that:
“While collecting valuable family data and retaining a new generation of Instagram users is arguably good for Facebook’s bottom line, it is likely to increase Instagram use by young children who are particularly vulnerable to functions. of the platform favoring handling and exploitation. “
But Instagram’s announcement mostly comes a few days after the Wall Street Journal. The national American daily had access to several internal presentations distributed to Facebook employees demonstrating that the company was aware of the mental health and anxiety problems that the use of Instagram caused for adolescents. “One in five teenagers say Instagram harms their self-esteem”, details a page of a presentation distributed within the company.
Until then Facebook had always publicly taken refuge behind the fact that, on this subject as for others touching on the impact of social networks on adolescents, there would be no scientific consensus.
Facebook wants to maintain its project
The suspension of the Instagram Kids implementation does not mean that the group “Recognizes that the project is a bad idea”, assures Facebook. The idea is to build a version for 10-12 year olds that is different from the one intended for older people, without advertising, with appropriate content and requiring parental permission.
While waiting to resume the development of the version for the youngest, the social network says it wants to continue installing new tools for “Allow parents to supervise the accounts of their children” on Instagram, theoretically reserved for over 13s. The group plans to make announcements in the coming months. In July, he had already unveiled some measures to strengthen the safety of teenage accounts at the margins, in particular by making them private by default. Without convincing the specialists of childhood.
www.lemonde.fr