The Twitter app Vine is more popular than Twitter every really thought it would be, and now the company is launching a Vine that’s aimed directly at little kids. The new Twitter Vine for kids will include only appropriate content while removing anything that little kids shouldn’t see.
The new app is called ‘Vine Kids,’ and it promises to be a lot of fun for any kids that love Vine, but shouldn’t catch a glimpse of adult content, which is currently impossible to filter out through the regular Vine app.
What’s Not Included
If you look through Vine right now, you’ll see a lot of sexy dance moves, some swearing, and some very adult content - not exactly the kind of stuff that you want your two year old to look at. The new Vine Kids will include some animated characters that help kids get through the app, pictures of things like puppies and cats, and other Vines that kids will love. So, it’s basically everything that the regular Vine has without any of the crewdness.
So, why did Twitter suddenly decide to focus on a toddler audience? Twitter reps have told press that the idea came about during an office meeting when someone mentioned that their two year old loves Vine, but some of the content is inappropriate. This led the Twitter team to think of ways to create a kid-friendly Vine, and thus Vine Kids was born.
Fun for Kids
If you have a toddler and need a distraction at times, Vine Kids is a safe alternative to any other app option (or most app options, anyway). Vine videos that are kid appropriate will play whenever you child looks at the app, and that should keep them entertained for a while, at least! Twitter recently shared some Vine stats, and the company reports that Vine videos were watched by more than 100 million people per month, which includes both the Vine app and website.
Twitter might have some issues getting Vine Kids to spread, though. Currently, there’s a somewhat heated debate in the child development world about whether or not screen usage at a young age is bad for developing brains. A lot of parents now allow kids to use tablets and phones nonstop, and some researchers claim that this will cause a stunt in brain development and growth.
Availability
If you don’t have a problem with your kids using screens regularly, the Vine Kids app is currently available through iOS and and Android version is being worked on at the time of this writing. Twitter really hopes that this app will spread, and that parents will allow kids to enjoy Vine Kids. But, some of those recent reports about child’s brains may sway some parents, and the case against screen time just keeps building up.
For now, though, information about whether or not screens are bad for kids is limited, and there’s no real answer to that question. If you do like the idea of Vine Kids, you can check out this app now.