{"id":64326,"date":"2018-04-28T07:11:10","date_gmt":"2018-04-28T07:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=64326"},"modified":"2018-04-28T07:11:10","modified_gmt":"2018-04-28T07:11:10","slug":"facebooks-messenger-kids-app-gains-sleep-mode","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/technology\/facebooks-messenger-kids-app-gains-sleep-mode.html","title":{"rendered":"Facebook’s Messenger Kids’ app gains a ‘sleep mode’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Facebook’s Messenger Kids’ app gains a ‘sleep mode’<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Facebook\u2019s Messenger Kids, the social network\u2019s new chat app for the under-13 crowd, has been designed to give parents more control over their kids\u2019 contact list. Today, the app is gaining a new feature, \u201csleep mode,\u201d aimed at giving parents the ability to turn the app off at designated times. The idea is that parents and children will talk about when it\u2019s appropriate to send messages to friends and family, and when it\u2019s time for other activities \u2013 like homework or bedtime, for example.<\/span><\/p>\n

The app, which launched last December, has not been without controversy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some see it as a gateway drug for Facebook proper. Others whine that \u201ckids should be playing outside!\u201d \u2013 as if kids don\u2019t engage in all sorts of activities, including device usage, at times. And of course, amid Facebook\u2019s numerous scandals around data privacy, it\u2019s hard for some parents to fathom installing a Facebook-operated anything on their child\u2019s phone or tablet.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the reality, from down here in the parenting trenches, is that kids are messaging anyway and we\u2019re desperately short on tools.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of apps built with children\u2019s and parents\u2019 needs in mind, our kids are fumbling around on their own, making mistakes, then having their devices taken away in punishment.<\/span><\/p>\n

The truth is, with the kids, it\u2019s too late to put the toothpaste back in the tube. Our children are FaceTime\u2019ing their way through Roblox playdates, they\u2019re texting grandma and grandpa, they\u2019re watching YouTube instead of TV, and they\u2019re begging for too-adult apps like Snapchat \u2013 so they can play with the face filters \u2013 and Musical.ly, which has a lot of inappropriate content. (Seriously, can someone launch kid-safe versions?)<\/span><\/p>\n

Until Messenger Kids, parents haven\u2019t been offered any social or messaging apps built with monitoring and education in mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

I decided to install it on my own child\u2019s device, and I\u2019ll admit being conflicted. But I\u2019m using it with my child as a learning tool. We talk about how to use the app\u2019s features, but also about appropriate messaging behavior \u2013 what to chat about, why not to send a dozen stickers at once, and how to politely end a conversation, for example.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike child predator playgrounds like Kik, popularity-focused social apps like Instagram, or apps where messages simply vanish like Snapchat, Messenger Kids lets parents choose the contact list and control the experience. And, as a backup, I have a copy of the app on my own phone, so I can spot check messages sent when I\u2019m not around.<\/span><\/p>\n

With the new sleep mode feature, I can now turn Messenger Kids off at certain times. That means no more 8 AM video calls to the BFF. (Yes, we\u2019ve discussed this \u2013 after the fact. Sorry, BFF\u2019s parents.) And no more messaging right at bedtime, either.<\/span><\/p>\n

To configure sleep mode, parents access the Messenger Kids controls from the main Facebook app, and tap on the child\u2019s name. You can create different settings for weekdays and weekends. If the child tries to use the app during these times, they\u2019ll instead see a message that says the app is in sleep mode and to come back later.<\/span><\/p>\n

The control panel is also where parents can add and remove contacts, delete the child\u2019s account, or create a new account.<\/span><\/p>\n

Facebook suggests that parents have a discussion with kids about the boundaries they\u2019re creating when turning on sleep mode.<\/span><\/p>\n

That may seem obvious, but it\u2019s surprisingly not. I\u2019ve actually heard some parents scoff at parental control features because they think it\u2019s about offloading the job of parenting to technology. It\u2019s not. It\u2019s about using tools and parenting techniques together \u2013 whether that\u2019s internet off times, device or app \u201cbedtimes,\u201d internet filtering, or whatever other mechanisms parents employ.<\/span><\/p>\n

I understand if you can\u2019t get past the fact that the app is from Facebook, of all places. Or you have a philosophical point of view on using Facebook products. But Facebook integration means this app could scale. In the few months it\u2019s been live, the app has been download around 325,000 times, according to data from Sensor Tower.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2018\/04\/27\/facebooks-messenger-kids-app-gains-a-sleep-mode\/<\/span><\/p>\n

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