#MESSENGER APP FOR KIDS HOW TO#

This gives parents a level of control in terms of who their child can chat to, but research shows that keeping kids safe online requires different approaches: technology + education = empowerment. After downloading the app parents create a profile for their child, login with their existing Facebook credentials and then can approve or request any contact their child wants to add to their account. Messenger Kids is targeting the under-13s who are too young to set up their own Facebook account. They discuss, on Mamamia Out Loud.įacebook has only just launched the Messenger Kids app in the US, so it’s a good opportunity for parents in Australia to do their research and check out what early users have to say before it lands here. LISTEN: Mia Freedman, Holly Wainwright and Jessie Stephens have a big problem with the Messenger Kids app. So what exactly is Messenger Kids and why all the fuss?

#MESSENGER APP FOR KIDS HOW TO#

It’s the fact that parents don’t know how to help their kids manage their online interactions.Īlarmingly, a recent Australian study reported that 60 per cent of parents do not monitor the online activities of their children at all, and those that do generally rely on “set-and-forget” methods like blocking that has been proven time and again not to be effective. In an era where we all love to blame someone or something for our problems, the recent outrage directed at Facebook’s new Messenger Kids app has created a new wave of “social media is destroying young lives” stories.īut here’s a newsflash – it’s not Messenger Kids or social media in general that’s the problem.

Messenger app for kids