If you ever worry about your teen’s social media use or what they’re seeing online, then you should be aware of what Meta is doing with Instagram Teen Accounts.
According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2023, 47% of teens between the ages of 13 and 17 say they use Instagram and more than 35% say they’re on the app at least several times daily.
A separate survey by Gallup found that “teens spend an average of 4.8 hours on social media daily.”
As social media use continues to grow among the teenage population, Meta (formerly Facebook) is rolling out a new initiative called Instagram Teen Accounts, and it’s goal is to help parents everywhere keep their teens safe while using the app.
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The announcement was made on Tuesday, Sept. 17 and Meta has already began the process of placing teens that already use the app into “Teen Accounts.” Parents can start monitoring activity immediately.
@cbsmornings Meta says it’s trying to make Instagram safer for teens by automatically putting users under 18 into new “teen accounts.” It’s also adding optional parental supervision features that let parents see who their teen has messaged, view topics they look at and set daily time limits. #tech #techtok #socialmedia #instagram
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“Teen Accounts have built-in protections which limit who can contact them and the content they see, and also provide new ways for teens to explore their interests,” the company wrote in a detailed blog post.
Meta wants parents to “feel confident” that their children can use Instagram “without having to worry about unsafe or inappropriate experiences,” while also ensuring they’re “safe with the right protections in place.”
How will Instagram Teen Accounts protect teenagers?
Instagram Teen Accounts is reimagining the way teenagers use social media, allowing parents to monitor who their children are talking to online, what content they’re seeing, and how they’re spending their time.
For starters, all Teen Accounts will be made private by default for anyone under the age of 16. If someone wants to follow them and interact with them, the teenager will have to accept their follow request first.
Likewise, teenagers can only be messaged, tagged, or mentioned by people who follow them, and will “automatically be placed into the most restrictive setting of our sensitive content control,” according to Meta.
Not only that, but offensive words and phrases will automatically be hidden as part of Meta’s anti-bullying feature. And the app will also remind children to limit social media use to one hour per day, and include a “Sleep Mode” which will be activated between 10 PM and 7 AM.
Other ways parents can monitor their child’s social media
Of course, that only scratches the surface of what Meta is doing to give parents more control over their child’s activity on Instagram.
Aside from the automatic changes, parents will have several more options under Meta’s “supervision feature,” including ways to see who your teen has messaged in the past week.
Parents can also choose how much time their kids spend on Instagram, block their teens from using it at specific times of the day or instantly (with the click of a button), and see what topics they’re looking at.
And to ensure teens don’t trick the system, they’ll be required to verify their age in more places.
Meta is also “building technology to proactively find accounts belonging to teens, even if the account lists an adult birthday,” though the technology isn’t expected to roll out until early next year.
Meta will start implementing changes immediately
Meta’s latest “Instagram Teen Accounts” update has already received praise from parents, teachers, and others who work with children on a daily basis, many of whom are excited to see the initiative in action.
Yvonne Johnson, President of the National PTA, applauded Meta for the announcement.
“Given that parents today are grappling with the benefits and challenges of the internet and digital media for their teens, our association applauds Meta for launching Instagram Teen Accounts,” she said.
@itvnews Instagram is to place all teenagers on the platform into new Teen Accounts, but what are they? #itvnews #tech
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Meta is already placing new teenage users into Instagram Teen Accounts and has started notifying existing teens who use the app that their experience will be changing in the near future.
The company hopes to begin moving existing teens into Teen Accounts next week, and hopes to have the process completed within 60 days in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.
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They also plan on rolling out Instagram Teen Accounts worldwide starting in January, and will eventually introduce Teen Accounts on other Meta platforms, which likely includes Facebook and WhatsApp.
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