Picnic is a community-based social platform which lets you talk about shared interests, upload fun photos, videos, and other media, and connect with other people who love the same things you do. Developed by Amber Technologies Global, Inc, the free app already has over a million downloads on the Google Play Store. Its makers state that they designed Picnic to be “a safe, cool place where you can connect with others, share information, hang out, and have a good time.” At first glance, Picnic seems like a relatively tame space for kids to talk about interests and connect with others who like the same things they do.
The problem, just like with any social community-based app, is that it’s highly likely that kids will run into strangers that make them feel uncomfortable, read toxic comments, or be sent inappropriate messages during their time on the app. In our research, we found kids as young as 6 using Picnic. Kids this age would be fully unequipped to deal with stranger interaction online, and the risks that come along with it. Picnic is rethinking the way people buy food. Without physical stores, we use an app-only approach and a user-centric philosophy, to make grocery shopping quick, simple, and fun.
