Meta Launches Pledge Planets On Messenger Kids; Providing Internet Safety Games To Kids

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has added new activities to its own Messenger Kids platform focused on teaching youngsters digital etiquette. The new gamified activities will "assist youngsters to learn how to use the internet safely and practice making smart decisions online," according to Erik Michael Weitzman, director of product management at Messenger Kids, in a blog post.

Pledge Planets is built on the ideals of the Messenger Kids Pledge, according to Weitzman: be nice, be courteous, be safe, and also have fun. Two games are included in the first episode -- "Be Kind," to assist kids "learn and practice how to act with compassion."

Messenger Kids: New Games Released

The company says, in Rough Reviewsplayers must assist the owner in reading through the evaluations and matching each one with the appropriate online response.

This game teaches kids how to distinguish between good and bad behavior and how to use tools like blocking and reporting while in Order Up, players construct a sandwich order by picking emojis that best reflects the mood of the consumer. This game teaches children how to interpret the sentiments of others on the internet.

According to Weitzman, the pledge and Pledge Planets activities were developed with the help of specialists in online safety and child development. Messenger Kids, a scaled-down version of Facebook's Messenger, connects to a parent's Facebook account, was initially offered in 2017. Following the strong outcry, Facebook canceled plans for a children's version of its Instagram photo-sharing platform last year.

These two games are essentially teaching youngsters how to use Messenger. Sesame Street is possibly the first TV show aimed at teaching toddlers.While Sesame Street is well-known for improving children's learning skills and for featuring a multifaceted, culturally diverse cast of characters, many people have also acknowledged that the show did an excellent job of teaching children how to watch television and keep them interested and entertained through play learning.

Providing Kids With Internet Safety

Intrinsic records from whistleblower Frances Haugen proposed that Facebook / Meta was aware that Instagram can be "toxic" for teenage users and that its methodologies could direct kids to content that incentivizes self-harm; however, Meta's platforms have a troubled history when it comes to child safety online.

In addition, a report published in May by the online child safety advocacy group Thorn indicated that children are subjected to far more abuse and harassment on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger than previously thought. Meta is also losing younger users, according to recently released internal documents, with one estimate predicting that Meta will lose 45 percent of its younger users in the next two years.

While Instagram is popular among teen users, it has lost widespread popularity to both bullies on the app and alternatives like TikTok. As a result, Meta instructing a whole new generation on how to use one of its services would appear to be in accordance with the company's desire to attract and retain younger consumers.