Instagram has launched a new initiative aimed at making social media safer and more positive for teenagers. The “Instagram Teen Accounts” are designed to offer a tailored experience for teens, guided by parents, with built-in protections that limit who can contact them and what content they can view. This move addresses ongoing concerns from parents about their teens’ safety and well-being in the online space.
Reimagining Teens’ Experiences on Instagram
Instagram recognizes that parents want their teens to connect and explore their interests safely without encountering inappropriate or harmful content. This reimagined experience includes stricter default settings and safeguards that provide parents with peace of mind. For teens, there’s an added bonus—a new feature that lets them select topics they want to explore more in their feeds, enhancing the fun and positivity of their online interactions.
Built-In Protections Addressing Key Concerns
The Teen Accounts were created with direct input from both parents and teens. These accounts automatically activate protective measures focused on three key areas: online interactions, content exposure, and time management. Here’s a breakdown of the main features:
- Private Accounts: Teen accounts will default to private, meaning teens need to accept new followers. People who do not follow them cannot see their content or interact with them.
- Messaging Restrictions: Teens will only be able to receive messages from people they already follow or are connected to. This ensures that unwanted contact from strangers is minimized.
- Sensitive Content Restrictions: Teens will be placed in the strictest setting of Instagram’s sensitive content control, reducing their exposure to content like violence, explicit material, or content promoting cosmetic procedures.
- Limited Interactions: Teens can only be tagged or mentioned by users they follow. Instagram will also automatically turn on the most restrictive anti-bullying feature, Hidden Words, which filters out offensive language in comments and direct messages.
- Time Management: Teens will receive notifications reminding them to take breaks from the app after using it for 60 minutes each day. Additionally, the app will enter “Sleep Mode” between 10 PM and 7 AM, muting notifications and sending automatic responses to DMs.
These measures ensure that teens are placed in a safer environment automatically. For those under 16, parental permission is required to make these settings less restrictive, giving parents the ability to oversee their teen’s online activities.
Parental Control and Supervision
Instagram Teen Accounts introduce an option for parental oversight, especially for younger teens under 16. To enable this, parents must set up supervision on Instagram. This allows them to approve or deny changes to their teen’s account settings. Soon, parents will also be able to modify these settings directly to offer greater protection.
For older teens (16+), parents who wish to have more oversight can enable supervision. This new approach aims to give parents more insight while still respecting teens’ independence. Dr. Rachel Rodgers, an Associate Professor of Applied Psychology, notes that “Instagram Teen Accounts reflect the importance of tailoring teens’ online experiences to their developmental stages, implementing appropriate protections.”
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More Ways for Parents to Get Involved
Instagram is enhancing its supervision feature to allow parents to play an even more active role in their teens’ social media experience. Here’s what they can do:
- Insights into Messaging: While parents won’t be able to read messages, they can now see who their teen has been messaging over the past seven days.
- Daily Time Limits: Parents can set daily limits on how long their teen can use Instagram. Once the limit is reached, the teen will be blocked from further app access that day.
- Block Usage During Specific Times: Parents can prevent app usage during specified periods, such as late-night hours, with the click of a button.
- Monitor Interests: Parents can view the age-appropriate topics their teen has selected, giving them insight into what content their teen is engaging with online.
Enforcing Teen Accounts
Instagram is addressing the issue of teens who may falsify their age. The platform will require age verification in more places and use advanced technology to proactively identify accounts that may belong to teens, even if the account lists an adult’s age. This proactive approach aims to place all teens into the safe environment that Teen Account settings provide.
Ensuring Age-Appropriate Content
Parents are understandably concerned about the exposure of their teens to mature or inappropriate content. To mitigate this, Instagram will automatically place teens in the most restrictive content control settings. Content that violates Instagram’s rules will be removed, and potentially sensitive material, even from accounts that teens follow, will be hidden.
When to Expect These Changes
Instagram will begin placing new teen users into Teen Accounts immediately. Existing teen users will receive notifications about these changes, with the goal of moving them into Teen Accounts within 60 days in the U.S., UK, Canada, and Australia. In the European Union, the rollout will begin later this year, with the rest of the world following in January.
In the words of Lucy Thomas, CEO & Co-Founder of Project Rockit, “These updates offer a balanced approach, empowering parents with essential oversight while respecting teens’ right to participate and explore.”
This initiative by Instagram marks a significant step towards creating a safer, more tailored online experience for teens, offering them room to grow while giving parents the tools to ensure their safety and well-being.
