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Introducing Messenger Kids

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Re: Introducing Messenger Kids

#61

Post by supermdguy »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #45
supermdguy wrote: post #14

Wow. Just like tobacco companies targeting kids[0] Facebook is making sure their targets get hooked even younger. > After talking to thousands of parents, associations like National PTA, and parenting experts in the US Which "parenting experts" are in favor of giving kids more time on electronics? [0]: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tobacco-companies...

It's not about giving kids more time on electronics, it's about giving kids access to a more sheltered and moderated environment. As mentioned earlier, a lot of "us" were on completely open and unmoderated IRC and ICQ networks back when we were the age this app is aimed at. So many underage people have gotten their share of perverts and abuse and whatnot on those. I'm not saying this app is good or Facebook saves the…

Ok, that makes sense. So, it's essentially a necessary evil. In the end, though, facebook wins.

Re: Introducing Messenger Kids

#62

Post by abdullahi1 »

mlevental wrote: post #5

fuck this. i'm sorry i know this isn't language appropriate to hn but fuck this. does anyone believe this is really for the betterment of any child's life? say anything you want about how children use messenger apps now and this just improves that experience for them but accommodations aside that's basically the same excuse that drug dealers use - "they're going to get it from somewhere so they might as well get it f…

Fully agreed. When I was a kid if I wanted to "connect" with my friends I'd go out in the neighborhood and socialize with them. The most "interactive online play" I had, was writing cringe worthy stuff on other friends' profiles on Orkut. Seriously though, does Facebook think that a bunch of eleven year olds have a social network so big that they need an app to stay in touch? they're simply discouraging kids to go outside and develop human relationships.

Re: Introducing Messenger Kids

#64

Post by [deleted] »

jops wrote: post #26

What can we do to protect our world from the the mega-corps degrading society and eating our souls with their moral compass lacking commercialisation of our very existence? Serious question.

[deleted]

Re: Introducing Messenger Kids

#65

Post by supermdguy »

scotty79 wrote: post #55
supermdguy wrote: post #14

Wow. Just like tobacco companies targeting kids[0] Facebook is making sure their targets get hooked even younger. > After talking to thousands of parents, associations like National PTA, and parenting experts in the US Which "parenting experts" are in favor of giving kids more time on electronics? [0]: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tobacco-companies...

So companies manufacturing baby phone toys are just sneaky drug dealers trying to addict children to telephone drug? Chat is a communication tool. Why so much hate for facebook chat app? None of that I've seen when facebook dumped ton of brain dead (often pay to win) games on children or when apple did the same with their app store.

> manufacturing baby phone toys

There's no market for baby phone toys for adults. However, kids who get into the facebook ecosystem via "messenger kids" could be locked in for years.

> Chat is a communication tool.

I agree that it's much better than games, but it's still a way to get kids attached to a system that they don't fully understand. Yes, it's just a chat app, but, given that facebook is a business, its ultimate purpose is to make money.

Re: Introducing Messenger Kids

#66

Post by golergka »

mlevental wrote: post #20
golergka wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

False dichotomy. It's not a choice between connecting in-person and via app; it's a choice between connecting with particular person via app or not spending time with them in any way.

what percentage of people that you keep in touch with over social media that aren't in your immediate vicinity?

Most of them. Best case, it's a friend that I would see every second weekend or so, but chat with and comment every day.

Re: Introducing Messenger Kids

#67

Post by brudgers »

beager wrote: post #40
brudgers wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple positions Facetime exactly the same way. The differences are that people imagine Apple with a halo and the high price of an iPad for each toddler.

My sense is that Apple is in less of a position to use child data for exploitative purposes, because their aim is to sell hardware. It bestows the sense that Apple isn’t trying to exploit children for data, at least beyond selling them more hardware. In facebook’s case, selling the data is their entire business model, and that should make us nervous.

The forty years Apple has been pitching to children means that a toddler's great-grand-parents may have bought an Apple II for the toddler's grand parents. Apple's marketing at children has been going on so long it is background noise. The brand's halo has been carefully curated by associating with Disney and product placement in movies. The final scene of The Book Thief shows that Apple will market over top of the Holocaust.

Re: Introducing Messenger Kids

#68

Post by dragonwriter »

supermdguy wrote: post #14

Wow. Just like tobacco companies targeting kids[0] Facebook is making sure their targets get hooked even younger. > After talking to thousands of parents, associations like National PTA, and parenting experts in the US Which "parenting experts" are in favor of giving kids more time on electronics? [0]: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tobacco-companies...

> Which "parenting experts" are in favor of giving kids more time on electronics?

The target audience is using cellphones and SMS already; this isn't about more time on electronics, it's about the particular electronic communication medium (for parents, it's about control, for FB it's about getting nindshare early so they don't get displaced by something else becoming popular with youth.)

Re: Introducing Messenger Kids

#69

Post by meebs »

ng-user wrote: post #37
sethjgore wrote: post #6

TLDR, Facebook wants your children to connect to you via a chat app. I'm more than saddened to see that among the tech giants, they are encouraging _children_ to just use face filters and video chatting, rather than encouraging them to go outside and interact with friends in person. Why does an app made specifically for children and families need filters at all? It doesn't really matter that they are not putting in a…

Going to play devil's advocate and ask, did you really expect a tech company to encourage children to avoid all of their products and go play outside like they did 30 years ago when these companies never even existed? Of course they want children and people of all ages on their services. It's in their best interest to get the majority of folks using their platform. I seriously have no idea why this is so hard to unde…

Expecting moral decency from companies should still be allowed even under capitalism.

Re: Introducing Messenger Kids

#70

Post by murph-almighty »

nxsynonym wrote: post #34
mlevental wrote: post #5

fuck this. i'm sorry i know this isn't language appropriate to hn but fuck this. does anyone believe this is really for the betterment of any child's life? say anything you want about how children use messenger apps now and this just improves that experience for them but accommodations aside that's basically the same excuse that drug dealers use - "they're going to get it from somewhere so they might as well get it f…

I've been wondering what the implications of a fully documented life on the internet will bring in the next 30-50 years. Presumably, these kids have had and will have their entire lives documented on the internet (and most likely by a single platform, FB). From the time they were conceived (or ever before, a lot of parents having their first children were in middle or high school when FB became popular) until their d…

I like to joke that everyone born past 1994 will never go into politics due to the sheer amount of damning cringeworthy material online from their teenage years.
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