While social media has never been intended for younger users, more and more platforms are integrating “kid-friendly” features. The latest platform to try this is Instagram.
Instagram halts development of app for children after criticism
Instagram is reportedly working on a separate platform aimed at children under 13 in a bid to better integrate the generation that grew up online. With many parents wary of their children accessing social media sites at such a young age, experts say the key to allaying those fears will be child-focused platforms with built-in safeguards.
“As with anything online, it's going to have to be moderated pretty well and parental supervision is going to be important,” Alley Dezenhouse-Kelner, the clinical director of Magnificent Minds, told Lifewire in a phone interview.
“We are used to keeping our children safe in the physical environment where we are, but we can't really do that digitally.”