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What Parents Should Know About Instagram Teen Accounts

by Alexa Villano
September 18, 2024

Meta launches its latest tool for teens as people press for online safety for kids and teens on social media

Social media has become part of people’s lives and teens scroll Instagram for inspirations and latest updates from the people they follow. Meta is changing things up anew as it rolls out its latest tool called Instagram Teen Accounts for 16 years old and below.

Here’s what we know so far from Meta’s announcement:

Limitations on the account

In its announcement, Meta said that Instagram Teens will have some limitations including interaction online.

“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. “

Recognizing that teens can change their age, it must have their parent’s permission first which the parent will have to activate.

Safety concerns of parents

Meta said that they recognize the growing concerns of parents in the use of social media of their teen kids. The Instagram Account for Teens, they explained gives teens new features wherein they can select what they want to see on their social feed.

Built-in protection for usage

In creating Instagram for Teens, Meta said that they made this tool with the feedback of parents regarding the people their teen kids interact with. Some of the features in the app include:

Private accounts – teens need to accept those who follow them and those who don’t follow them don’t see their account or able to interact.

Messaging – Teens will have limited restrictions to messaging meaning those who they follow and connected to can message them.
Sensitive content restrictions – Teens will not be able to see content classified sensitive such as cosmetic procedures or violence.
Limited interaction – Teens can only be tagged by those who they follow and can also activate the Hidden Word to prevent anything that can result to bullying.
Time limit– They will get a reminded that they are only allowed for an hour on the app.
Sleep mode enabled – Sleep mode will be activated from 10 pm to 7 am and will automatically mute overnight messages.

Supervision feature

Meta recognizes that parents want to be proactive in their kids’ social media consumption so they have created a supervision feature, wherein parents can:

Get insights into who their teens are chatting with
Set total daily time limits for teens’ Instagram usage
Block teens from using Instagram for specific time periods
See topics your teen is looking at

Roll out for the Instagram Teens started Wednesday, September 18 Manila time.

Is it enough to protect our kids?

While the Instagram for Teens has just started, it remains to be seen if this will work. There still needs a lot of tests to be done. But the good thing is that social media companies are hearing the parents’ concerns as the world becomes more connected thanks to technology.

There will be some hiccups along the way so we just have to wait for the results from parents and teens who have been testing the app so far.