Facebook targeting younger market with new Messenger Kids app

Gone are the days when wooden toys were the gift of choice for kids at Christmas. The children of today are more interested in electronic gadgets, smartphones and apps. Research has shown that the average age at which a child will receive their first mobile phone is 12 and, as it stands, more than half of kids aged 8 to 12 use a smartphone. Much of the time spent on their devices is taken up by social media. In fact, data has shown that over 50% of children access social media before the age of 10.

In a relatively new but rapidly growing digital industry, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the issue of youngsters on social media. Common concerns revolve around problems such as privacy protection, cyberbullying and online predators. Facebook has recently announced that it will cater to this growing market of young social media users while providing peace of mind to parents concerned about their child’s online activities.

The new app, created by the social media giant Facebook, is called Messenger Kids and offers a safer and more child-friendly alternative to the regular Messenger app. It works by allowing parents to use their Facebook profile to create an account for their kids within the new app. The built-in parental features mean that parents will be able to customise and control exactly which friends and family members their child can contact.

The social media industry has suffered a lot of criticism in recent years from concerned parents and activists arguing that their children are at risk due to lax privacy settings that don’t cater to younger users, despite the services being aimed heavily at younger age groups. With over 70% of pre-teens admitting to hiding online activity and only 61% using the privacy settings on Facebook, it’s no surprise why these concerns have been raised. But thanks to the unique approach by the developers at Facebook, parents may find the new Messenger Kids app to be a perfect solution.

Although there have been a number of child-friendly releases onto the major app markets, the statistics show that kids are turning towards brands such as Facebook to connect with people online. Only time will tell whether the decision to cater to this market will relieve concerns but it illustrates an important lesson for app developers and business owners which is: identifying trends and adapting your approach to cater to them, rather than trying to avoid them, is a much better way to find success.