My most recent article has been published on Perfection Pending. This piece was a challenge in that it ended up being so time-sensitive; I am truly grateful to the editor of Perfection Pending for being very quick to get it published!
As my article says, Facebook's Messenger Kids app launched a preview build in December. The internet was abuzz with coverage of the announcement coming from all variety sources: Scary Mommy, Tech Crunch, The Verge, New York Times, Reuters, Techaeris, websites big and small, local news – it was everywhere.
I was excited about the new app; it was just what we had been looking for when my son got his own hand-me-down cell phone about 6 months earlier. Though, right away, I noticed that all the top comments, across all the different types of sites, were flagrantly negative.
"No child under 16 should be using any type of social media including FB. Parents purchasing their children smart phones are ridiculous." - a commenter on New York Times
"Why would anyone allow Children under 13 use mobile phones and tablet?" - a commenter on Tech Crunch
"Sorry, but I cannot believe ANYONE (parents, educators, government etc) would even allow youngsters under about 12 (min) near social media. So so wrong.. Kids should ONLY interact with others in person, or via voice on the phone..." - a commenter on The Verge
"What in the hell ?!! Why would a 7 year old need to be on Facebook 😡!!" - a commenter on Reuters
But most comments were simply like these on Scary Mommy:
"Nope. Not in my house."
"Nope not happening."
"Nope. Just nope."
"Hell no!"
"Nope."
"No."
Still, we downloaded it. We used it. We liked it. So, after having it for more than a month, I thought, "Hey. I should write a piece about why I like it." And I did. I finished the final draft and, wouldn't you know, the very next morning it is all over the internet again! This time, because a group of 100 child advocates and experts wrote a letter to Facebook urging them to kill the app. This, obviously, fanned the flames of the negative comments.
I re-worked my article with the new information and now felt a sense of urgency to get it published. Though I wouldn't usually do simultaneous submissions (I'm pretty sure that is frowned upon by editors), I sent my pitch off to five different outlets, labeling it as timely and letting them know I had pitched to multiple sites.
I was thrilled when Perfection Pending got back to me quickly. Still, the next few days, I kept fretting over the possibility someone else was going to publish a similar article first and mine would be white noise, or there would be some announcement or development and my piece would be old news.
Sure enough, the morning before my piece was set to go live, I was seeing it in the news again! Turns out yesterday was #SaferInternetDay. The hashtag spurred on more discussion of the app and while many were still against it, there were a few more voices starting to speak out in support of Facebook's Messenger Kids app as the safest messaging option available to kids.
I am grateful for the timing and I hope my article – my voice – will be among those circulating as the discussion and debate continue.
