Wired magazine reports that Facebook funded most of the experts who “vetted” Messenger Kids, an app designed for children as young as 6. It did not consult critics or defenders of children’s privacy and their childhood.
One of the “experts” that consulted with Facebook was the National PTA, which received funding from Facebook.
What is it with the National PTA? They were enthusiastic about charters and garnered big donations from Gates, now Zuckerberg gets them on board to put little kids online.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
posted at oped
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Facebook is losing younger people, which was inevitable:
“Facebook (FB) is losing younger users to Snapchat at an even faster pace than previously expected, according to the latest forecast issued Monday by research firm eMarketer.
This year, for the first time, less than half of U.S. internet users age 12 to 17 will use Facebook at least once per month, the eMarketer report said. In the past, Facebook was able to count on its Instagram platform to retain a young audience. Snapchat, owned by Snap (SNAP), may now be siphoning away more users than expected.”
I’m actually fairly confident kids will handle these tech billioniares much more adeptly than adults do. They don’t have the blind worship. This is routine and unremarkable to them.
Of course FB would lose market share. 40 year olds aren’t 17 anymore.
That’s the nature of youth, right? Just as you think you’ve grabbed them for life they run off in another direction. It’s wonderful, really. They’re AUTHENTIC disrupters 🙂
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It started with MySpace. When the parents started joining, the kids left. “The Zuck” was young and hip and developed the next greatest thing for teens…..Facebook. When the parents started taking that over, the kids fled again…. to Instagram. Now the teens like Snapchat and when the kids get tired of the lurking parents, they will flee again to the next greatest thing. I just wish that they would catch on the “The Zuck” isn’t really a cool kid anymore even though he looks like one, dresses like one and tries to act like one. When will the youth catch on?….it can’t be soon enough! Really ready for this to go away!
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It’s a shame because I thought since Zuckerberg’s wife is a pediatrician she might be able to influence Facebook to be less dishonest and more responsible re: children.
Of course, “pediatrician” isn’t a guarantee of anything but it does indicate a real desire to work with children.
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Facebook may be the most socially irresponsible corporation in the nation, if not the world. Facebook does what is best for the bottom line.
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Just one of many multi-national corporations whose only concern is “the bottom line”. Tis the nature of the capitalist beast.
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Good grief … “Messenger Kids.” Gates & Zuckerberg should go live together in Gates “perfect community” in the desert. Then they can build a wall around all those yahoos who live in Gates’ utopia.
Bet “Messenger Kids” is just another to collect DATA to mine for future sales and manipulations.
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When I was an elementary school principal back in the mid-nineties, I insisted our school PTA be part of the national PTA, because it was the only organization in Washington lobbying on behalf of our school children. I am disheartened the national PTA would support charter schools, depriving our public schools of scarce monies to educate all the children in al our schools.
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At its national convention in either 2010 or 2011 (I forget which), the National PTA showed Gates’ “Waiting for Superman” about the superiority of privately managed charter schools over public schools.
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And it is why I refuse to give money to the school PTA. I know MOST money given to the school is used for in school purposes, but a share of it goes to the National PTA. If the school system would become a PTO, I would be happy to give them money. The National PTA also promotes Common Core and Standardized testing. Maybe I’m wrong, but I can sleep at night knowing that my money is not promoting what think is an evil towards children.
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National PTA got a lot of money from Gates. So it loves Common Core, charters, and standardized testing
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Thanks Rick,
i was beginning to think I was reading the comments for a different article. There is NO surprise whatsoever that a corporate behemoth like Facebook behaves badly. The PTA, on the other hand, has apparently changed it’s motto to “Leave No Dollar Behind”– living proof that Everybody an Everything Has A Price in America…….
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Disgusting and dangerous. Parents beware! It is all for the money. Outrageously irresponsible on the part of Facebook and those decision-makers at the top . Children must be protected from them! They are predators of children for a buck. To these people, children are a Market. Period. How would they answer if asked questioned “Do you really think this is good for children?” If they say yes, they are lying.
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Tech companies funding research about the effects on young people of their own products, huh? Hmm. Where have I seen this before? Oh yeah, at school!
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We also saw it with tobacco companies with regard to smoking.
And with fossil fuel companies with regard to climate change.
They all use the same playbook and strategy: create doubt about the legitimate science in order to dismiss the dangers while pushing false pseudoscientific claims to hype the false positives (about smoking, carbon dioxide, testing in schools, and the wonders of social media)
And, of course, do it all by flooding the airwaves and now internet with false advertising.
All to sell a product.
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It’s easy. It works. It’s getting easier. Most people nowadays think solid research consists of ten minutes of googling videos. You’re absolutely right, Poet. Big Oil knows it. Big Tobacco knows it. Big Charter Scam knows it. Big Pharma is literally making a killing because it knows no one cares about validity. Russia knows too. Big Tech knows it with insider intimacy. Juicero convinced people it cost $400 to squeeze a juice packet, for crying out loud.
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Wow
I hadn’t heard of Juicero before.
But somehow, I can’t feel sorry for people who would pay $400 for a machine to squeeze juice out of a bag.
Most likely people who have more money than they know what to do with, at any rate.
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Pet rocks!
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And fidget spinners.
All this stuff ends up in the landfill eventually.
They might just as well have sent it there to begin with.
Just charge people for it and send it to the dump.
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Eventually they will put an end to all this pseudoscience in advertising, and to advertising itself, by implanting beliefs into our genes so that we are born with product loyalty to Facebook. Hyperbole, yes it is, but not by that much.
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They target younger and younger, trying to outdo one another for customers and their precious data.
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Oh, I forgot to mention it when it happened, Marvel Studios offered prizes to the schools in my area for a writing contest recently. The topic of the writing contest? Marvel superheroes, of course.
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I think people already have a “Facebook center” (as well as a Twitter center) in their brain, which developed and was selected for over thousands of generations because it gave people a reproductive advantage (somehow)
It’s just a matter of stimulating it.
It could probably be done right now with an implanted microdevice: a “Twitbit
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And didn’t we have this conversation and legislation in the 70’s about the advertising practices directed at children…. sugar cereal, junk food, etc. Then there was the Cool Joe Camel campaign directed at kids and the tobacco companies got a big smack down from that. Why should tech be any different?
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Twitbit
Because being a twit is easier than you think!
Today, Panda Express was allowed to do a forty minute advertisement at a schoolwide assembly. Sometimes I think the only people I know with any sense of ethics are the people I meet here in Diane’s virtual classroom.
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I fear there is only one explanation for these alliances — the advocacy organizations want the money.
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That should entirely be on the parents. Would they take their kids to an inappropriate movie? Feed them inappropriate beverages? Etc. Our family is mostly grown, with 4 grand babies amongst us. None of the grand babies (the eldest is 7) is on facebook. Mostly, we use facebook amongst ourselves to keep in touch and create events and share photos and the like. I can’t imagine allowing our grand babies to utilize facebook. Most of the “kids” in their 30s don’t even use their full names for reasons of privacy. But yes, to Zuckerberg, $ is the bottom line, always.
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I would NEVER share photos on FB….especially of my children….even in a protected account. Once those photos are out there, they are out there forever. So many things can be done with those photos it would make your head spin.
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