Turn Off Messenger Kids, Health Experts Plead to Facebook<br />“A growing body of research demonstrates that excessive use of digital devices<br />and social media is harmful to children and teens, making it very likely this new app will undermine children’s healthy development.”<br />And academic research, including a study released last week, shows<br />that the rise in smartphone and social media use tracked with greater unhappiness among teenagers.<br />The letter was organized by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, an advocacy group<br />that has successfully pushed companies to abandon marketing like a Pokemon Go app that sent children to fast food and other stores, and McDonald’s advertising on the envelopes of report cards in Florida.<br />The app doesn’t have News Feed or a “like” button, which some mental health experts have linked to anxiety among teenagers on social media.<br />“Younger children are simply not ready to have social media accounts,” the experts said in the letter.
