Instagram for Kids - Coming Soon to All App Markets

Facebook, the owner of the Instagram network, has taken upon itself the task of starting the development of a children's version of the application. About

This is what Buzzfeed News tells us.As you know, the regular Instagram app is hardly an ideal environment for young children. Minimum age to create an account — 13 years old, but children are perceptive, and always find a way around this limitation, exposing themselves to possible dangers.

Instagram for kids

Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, talked aboutthe difficulty of verifying the age of users, as "most people do not receive identification documents until they reach middle or late teens." Mosseri will oversee the development of a new app designed to provide a child-friendly Instagram experience that is still in its infancy, along with Pavni Divanji (formerly in charge of Google's YouTube Kids and other kid-focused projects).

It is not difficult to imagine with what dangers andtraps can be encountered by teens using the regular Instagram app and chatting with various strangers. Since the app is aimed at teens and adults, its limitations are minimal to accommodate this age group. The fact that it permits nudity (albeit for artistic or body-positive purposes) and other explicit content is the least of them.

There, children are vulnerable and exposed to negativeinfluences such as unrealistic body standards, shady chat groups with 18+ content, and insults and bullying. Also, the relentless bombardment from advertisers and product influencers is not suitable for many kids on Instagram, whose minds are too easily influenced and too young to think critically and make informed decisions.

Making Instagram for kids is in no wayensures that kids don't end up in the main app sooner or later. Moreover, it will only be to engage them on social media at an earlier age than ever, as well as overcome the moral barrier to monetizing their interactions on the platform.

Buzzfeed adds that after 2017Facebook developed Messenger Kids (with strict security measures and parental controls), a bug was discovered in the app in 2019 that allowed kids to chat with complete strangers.