'Heartbreaking' photo of McDonald's PlayPlace triggers social media firestorm
An X post of a McDonald's PlayPlace in Franklin, Tennessee, goes viral after a customer's photo showed two screens at the location. Social media users share their reactions.
A McDonald's in Franklin, Tennessee, is attracting viral attention after a customer called out the children’s play area.
X user @NancyAFrench posted an image of the PlayPlace, writing, "This is so heartbreaking. I’m at a new McDonald's in Franklin, TN, and look at their ‘play place’ for children. Two screens/two chairs."
The photo showed a corner of the restaurant with a sitting area and two screens embedded in the wall.
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"McDonald’s and our franchisees are proud to provide family-friendly spaces across many of our U.S. restaurants," a McDonald’s spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
"While this restaurant has a few interactive features for younger guests, it does not represent the full PlayPlace design and experience," the spokesperson added.
The X user added a video to her thread, saying, "I went back in to make sure I didn’t miss something."
She continued, "There was this column thing that might be for getting kids to exercise. But I don’t think this is temporary. I think this is it."
The video shows the woman stomping on an interactive music pad along with a "playground safety rules" sign.
The post garnered more than 16 million views and nearly 2,000 comments.
"I hope that’s only temporary! We still have the play equipment at my local McD’s," commented one X user.
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"Upsetting," another user wrote.
"This is more of a punishment place," added another.
A user reminisced about previous times — and "so many joys our kids will never know."
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"The playpits were filthy, and this screen thing is an abomination," declared one woman.
"Nothing says childhood fun like staring at a screen in a slightly different location than home," another person wrote.
One woman commented, "If kids won’t pick up toys to play with anymore and demand screens - businesses provide what the consumer keeps asking for, repeatedly. The digital heroin conditioning."
Other X users didn't appear to be fazed by the play area.
"Seems fine to me," one person commented.
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"McDonald's is not a childcare facility. They are there to eat," another user wrote.
Children ages 8-12 spend four to six hours a day watching or using screens, while teens spend up to nine hours, according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP).
It is advised that children between the ages of 2 and 5 limit non-educational screen time to an hour per weekday and a maximum of three hours on weekends.
For children 6 and over, the AACAP recommends encouraging "healthy habits and limit[ing] activities that include screens."
Too much screen time can cause obesity, irregular sleep, behavioral problems and possible exposure to violent content, according to Mayo Clinic.
