Instagram's New Safety Features: A Guide for Parents and Teens

By: Aaliyah Michael, Seasonal Public Relations Intern | Digital4Good

Instagram has taken initiative to protect their users with new safety features. Accounts with users under the age of 15 will, by default, be private. Now, parent’s have the ability to view who their child is having conversations with. These changes not only give the parent a piece of mind but keeps youth safe on social media. 

Instagram's Progress Over the Years

• In 2021, Meta took a stricter approach on what is recommended to teens on Instagram. They stopped people from tagging or mentioning teens that don’t follow them, redirected teens towards different topics if they noticed one topic has been viewed for an extended time, and launched the Take A Break feature in the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. - Meta’s ‘Raising the Standard for Protecting Teens and Supporting Parents Online’ Blog
• In 2021, Instagram also developed AI to find and remove underaged accounts, and worked to create new solutions in verifying people’s ages. - Meta’s ‘How Do We Know Someone Is Old Enough to Use Our Apps’ Blog
• Earlier this year, in April, Meta launched their 2024 Screen Smart program to help parents navigate conversations with their families on using devices safely. They also assisted parent’s in learning more about Meta’s parental supervision tools. - Meta’s ‘Supporting Parents Online With Our Screen Smart Program’ Blog 

Recent Updates and Features

• Instagram Teen Accounts will automatically place teens in built-in protections and reassure parents that teens are having safe experiences. 
• Teen Accounts will limit who can contact teens and the content they see, and help ensure their time is well spent.
• Teens under 16 will need a parent’s permission to change any of the built-in protections to be less strict within Teen Accounts.

• Meta’s ‘Introducing Instagram Teen Accounts: Built-In Protections for Teens, Peace of Mind for Parents’ Blog 

These updates will ensure that younger users online are more conscious of their decisions. Additionally, these changes will protect them from the harmful effects of increased screen time, comparison, and inappropriate content. 

Key Changes in Parental Controls

• Parental supervision will be required for 13-15 year old users, while 16 and 17 year olds will be able to change their user settings themselves.
• Parents can now view who their child is messaging, set screen time limits, block accounts, and even have access to what content their teen is searching and engaging with.
• Restrictions placed on age inappropriate content
• Sleep mode notifications

Additionally, restrictions have been placed on “age inappropriate” content. Other changes include notifications when a user has been on the app for an hour or more, “sleep mode” notifications that encourage users to have a consistent sleep schedule, and parental control features.

Parents will have access to monitor the following: 

• Get insights into who their teens are chatting with: While parents can’t read their teen’s messages, now they will be able to see who their teen has messaged in the past seven days.
• Set total daily time limits for teens’ Instagram usage: Parents can decide how much time their teen can spend on Instagram each day. Once a teen hits that limit, they’ll no longer be able to access the app. 
• Block teens from using Instagram for specific time periods: Parents can choose to block their teens from using Instagram at night, or specific time periods, with one easy button.
• See topics your teen is looking at: Parents can view the age-appropriate topics their teen has chosen to see content from, based on their interests.

• Mega’s ‘Introducing Instagram Teen Accounts: Built-In Protections for Teens, Peace of Mind for Parents’ Blog 

Promoting Digital Wellness

With these updates, teens will be safer online and ultimately learn the importance of digital safety. 

Benefits of the new features:

• Protected accounts and Limited Interactions: Accounts for users under 16 will automatically be made private. In addition, teens can only be tagged or mentioned by people they follow and the hidden words feature will filter out offensive words from comments and DM requests. 
• Filtered Contents: Teens will be protected from inappropriate content by being placed under the highest level of protection of Meta’s sensitive content control. With this feature, younger users are less likely to come across sensitive content. This content will be hidden even if shared by someone they follow.
• Time Management: Notifications will inform users every hour to take a break from the app which promotes mental well-being. With gained mental clarity, users will have more time to invest in other activities outside of social media such as academics, hobbies, and spending time with family and friends.
• Individuality: Comparison is inevitable when time online is increased. Insecurities can develop from seeing other people’s accomplishments and lives regularly. The new features encourage users to spend less time online which comes with increased exploration in hobbies, academic performance, and confidence.
• Parent Involvement: With engaged parents, digital literacy will be instilled in the household, fostering an environment where the children feel safe to mention issues and concerns they’re experiencing. 

Similar features seen on Tiktok that encourage users to put their phones down and touch grass or in better words, take a break to reduce screen time, have been added to the app.

Tips for Parents

Encourage open communication

Open communication empowers children to express themselves and come to their own solutions. This practice can be helpful for when your teen uses the internet and needs to make informed decisions on their own. For example, an unfamiliar account contacts your child asking them to send them $20. Regular communication with your child on their emotions will encourage them to come to you when making decisions such as this one. This will allow your teen to feel comfortable reaching out when they have questions or concerns.

Education on privacy and sharing

Teaching your child the importance of privacy and sharing will encourage your teen to be respectful. This respect for others' will translate to healthy behavior online. Informing your child on when to share content and details online will encourage your child to keep important personal information offline. 

Advise being responsible online 

Responsibility online will transfer to other areas, such as academically. Your teen will encourage their circle to engage in being good digital citizens! Responsible use of social media can help foster a positive environment while helping users build community with others. This behavior will keep your child safer allowing them to make informed decisions

Utilize these new features to ensure safety

Having access to these features will give you peace of mind. The changes also encourage digital literacy. Having this knowledge as a parent will protect your child online through the following:  being able to monitor what type of content they come across, viewing who their child is messaging, setting screen time limits, and blocking accounts.

Building a safer online community

Some may argue that these new features invoke fear in young users and restrict them from fully expressing themselves online. Digital4Good strives to educate and empower users! Our mission aligns with the new features through cultivating a safer online environment. These updates will urge the importance of education on digital citizenship.

Navigating the numerous aspects of social media can be intimidating but there are resources available to help! Guidelines offered online, in addition to organizations like Digital4Good can adequately prepare you in being a responsible digital citizen. Raising awareness on digital safety and educating users on how to navigate social media will help create a positive online community. 

To learn more about topics like this check Digital4Good out on TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook.

Resources:

Social Media Literacy Curriculum

Parent Guidelines for Youth Digital Safety