[supermdguy]

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...

[Cthulhu_]

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 children or whatever, I'm saying that the alternative is unfiltered chat.

[supermdguy]

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

[dragonwriter]

> 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.)

[scotty79]

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.

[supermdguy]

> 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.

[scotty79]

> There's no market for baby phone toys for adults.

Adult equivalent of baby toy phone is a phone (landline, cell, whatever). You might as well argue that people who as children were hooked on baby phones will use a phone as adults. Which is trivially true because everyone will use a phone as adult.

Same thing with chat. Children addicted to children's facebook chat will use some form of chat in the future because everyone will. They are already using chats. LoL in-game chat for example. Recently 10 year old from my extended family thanked me through Clash Royale in-game clan chat for some random promotional stuff my girlfriend gathered during shopping and passed to him through her brother.

> ... kids attached to a system that they don't fully understand.

This pretty much describes any system kids are attached to and many systems adults are attached to.

> it's just a chat app, but, given that facebook is a business, its ultimate purpose is to make money.

So? Same goes for anything. TV, print, games, sports, clothes, even partially education if you live in US. Should you avoid attaching your children to all of those systems?

The only thing you should do for your children is to make sure Facebook is not the only chat app, that some better chats can be created and alive even if they don't have as much money for lawyers and greasing the wheels as facebook has. You can do that by coercing companies to disclose details of their technology or at least stop helping them protect it. You want to create new chat product? Fine, but you have to release protocol that your chat app uses so anyone can write a client. Your protocol docs are outdated? Company gets a fine of amount associated with their revenue, operational costs or whatever number that correlates with their success that their accountants can't hide.

[supermdguy]

That's true. Facebook isn't the only problem, and there's not really any way around the new economy of attention in exchange for money. Though it's not particularly groundbreaking, it's frustrating to see yet another instance of a company invading the lives of its users even more.