“We believe building ‘Instagram Kids’ is the right thing to do, but we're pausing the work,” Adam Mosseri announced on Instagram’s blog.
According to Instagram, it wanted to give parents an app designed for children with features to help adults supervise and control their experience. The makers stopped their work though after severe backlash caused by media articles citing Facebook’s own research on how social media impacts the mental health of children, in particular teen girls.
“To be clear, I don’t agree with how the [Wall Street] Journal has reported on our research,” (links added by us) Mosseri wrote, standing firmly behind its belief that the project will have value for families.
Instagram is definitely right about one thing (which is one of the reasons they started working on the app) — children are getting their phones at a much earlier age than ever before.
So whether you’re glad Facebook is taking this time to “work with parents, experts, policymakers and regulators, to listen to their concerns,” or disappointed you won’t see “Instagram Kids” anytime soon, we put together a list for you.
Here are 8 tech launches from the last year that are poised to have a positive effect on your child, while still being social and fun.
Primer Rooms - Live, interactive experiences where kids explore interests and solve problems together
Imagi - An app that turns learning how to code into a fun, creative, and social experience
TeenUp - A platform where kids learn new skills (like playing the guitar) from their peers
Whole - A colorful app to build a routine of positive habits and increase happiness
KidHab - An alternative to the above, with a gamified parent-child system for building habits
Kalam Labs - A live game streaming platform for kids to learn their favorite science topics
LoveBox - A device that delivers fun messages to loved ones from a distance
OK Play - In-app activities and real-world play that builds empathy and kindness in pre-schoolers
Or see what else is new for kids...
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"We launched EtherFly's NFT collection at the beginning of the month," maker Mathis Grosjean wrote on Product Hunt. "We made a promise to our users: you will be able to join your EtherFly on CypherFly — the planet they come from."
CypherFly has launched as is ready for you to explore. It's a 3D gaming metaverse that's part of a bigger project called The Explorers — a bigger galaxy you can discover. Note that Etherfly NFTs were minted in less than 10 minutes last month and now must be bought on OpenSea.
