Member-only story
Power Trip
Parents’ Toxic Tech Dilemma
We need to sort the technology that hurts from ones that help
In December, Facebook rolled out a Messenger app for kids under 13, touting it as a tool to help young people facilitate relationships while giving parents some control, including the ability to approve the child’s friends. The move was intended to counter widening fears that social media can have an adverse effect on kids, but in the end, it only threw more fuel on the fire. Facebook was assailed by child health experts, who argued the app undermines healthy development in children, because elementary school-age kids simply aren’t ready to deal with the complexities that result from online relationships.
The Messenger Kids app renewed the debate from parents, mental health experts, policymakers and, increasingly, company executives, about the impact of technology on development and safety — as well as what responsibilities companies have over the way that kids and teens use their products. Popular social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, stated that they want to help, not hurt, young people.
The problem is that research on how technology — particularly social media, smartphones, and general screen time — affects youth development is spotty, and for all the…
