Facebook wouldn’t answer questions about said how popular the messaging app has been. But App Annie, an app analytics firm, said Messenger Kids has been downloaded about 80,000 times on iOS since it launched on Dec. 4. It’s been in the top 40 most popular kids’ apps since then. That sounds like a lukewarm reception at best.
University of Michigan developmental behavioral pediatrician Jenny Radesky, who co-signed the letter, said she’s never met a parent who was clamoring to get their children onto social media at an earlier age.
“One can only assume that Facebook introduced it to engage users younger and younger,” Radesky said.
That’s troubling, she said, because younger children haven’t yet developed the cognitive skills that enable them to think about and regulate their thoughts and actions and “allow them to realize when persuasive technology design might be manipulating them.”
At the time it launched Messenger Kids, Facebook said it won’t show ads or collect data for marketing to kids. And it stressed that it won’t automatically move users to the regular Messenger or Facebook when they get old enough — though it might give them the option to move contacts to Messenger down the line.
