A week ago, Instagram announced changes to its rules for “Teen Accounts.” All new teen users will be defaulted into these accounts, and current teen users will transition over the next two months.
I listened to a podcast in which Naomi Gleit, Instagram’s head of Products, discussed these changes, and one comment surprised me. She mentioned that teens aged 13 to 16 will need parental permission to have a public account, hoping this would encourage dialogue between teens and parents about social media use. However, I feel this still puts too much responsibility on parents when we need broader societal solutions.
While I’m glad to see these changes, they’re late and not the full answer.
Gleit talks about how Instagram employees spoke with many parents and narrowed down their main concerns in the following three areas. Insta got this right — these are the three big ones:
So, let's go over the changes:
The biggest change is that teens will default to private accounts. Teens between 13 and 16 will need parents to give them permission to change their accounts to public.
To get permission, teens must set up parental supervision on Instagram. If parents want more oversight over their older teen’s (16+) experiences, they simply have to turn on parental supervision. Then, they can approve any changes to these settings, irrespective of their teen’s age.
Once supervision is established, parents can approve and deny their teens’ requests to change settings or allow teens to manage their settings themselves. Soon, parents will also be able to change these settings directly to be more protective. Learn more about how to manage Teen Accounts.
Another significant change is that only people the teen follows or is connected can message that teen. This is a much-needed change.
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.
Fortunately, the company is saying that they will make it easier for people/ parents to report issues on the site, such as harassment, and that they will respond faster. I really hope this improves because trying to get these platforms to respond to their concerns is a major issue that parents face.
Sensitive content restrictions: Teens will automatically be placed into the most restrictive setting of our sensitive content control, which limits the type of sensitive content (such as content that shows people fighting or promotes cosmetic procedures) teens see in places like Explore and Reels.
Regarding parent involvement in content teens see, a new feature allows parents to see what kids are searching for. This is via a new “interest” feature the Teen account has.
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.
And then there are things around time management, such as teens getting reminders to leave the app after 60 minutes of being on it.
Sleep mode now halts all notifications from 10 pm to 7 am.
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.
Insta says there are new ways to check whether teens are opening new accounts and ways to prevent that. Interestingly, they plan to get a teen’s ID to verify age, and since some teens do not have IDs, they will use a video tool, i.e., look at the person to know that they do not have another Insta account. I must confess, I am not entirely sure how this will all work. Insta also mentions that requiring parents’ permission to open an account will play into this.
A 1998 law states that teens under 13 should not use social media, given that private information about users on the platform is gathered. However, it is well known that youth under 13 have used false birthdates to access the platform.
Insta is working on systems for the future that can get ideas if a holder of an account is younger than 13 to shut down their account then,
I should be more excited about Instagram’s “Teen Accounts” announcement, but the truth is I am frustrated. We, the millions of parents, work so hard to raise healthy kids in the face of this tech avalanche. Instagram’s changes still put a lot of burden on us.
I’m also concerned about the lack of transparency and oversight over these companies. Researchers, government agencies, and civil society organizations have very limited access to see what's really happening inside the company. Frances Haugen, the Meta whistleblower, has stressed the need for transparency so we can identify and fix the issues.
Thankfully, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) passed in the Senate and is heading for a House vote. COPPA 2.0 is also moving forward. Fingers crossed for more progress.
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A week ago, Instagram announced changes to its rules for “Teen Accounts.” All new teen users will be defaulted into these accounts, and current teen users will transition over the next two months.
I listened to a podcast in which Naomi Gleit, Instagram’s head of Products, discussed these changes, and one comment surprised me. She mentioned that teens aged 13 to 16 will need parental permission to have a public account, hoping this would encourage dialogue between teens and parents about social media use. However, I feel this still puts too much responsibility on parents when we need broader societal solutions.
While I’m glad to see these changes, they’re late and not the full answer.
Gleit talks about how Instagram employees spoke with many parents and narrowed down their main concerns in the following three areas. Insta got this right — these are the three big ones:
So, let's go over the changes:
The biggest change is that teens will default to private accounts. Teens between 13 and 16 will need parents to give them permission to change their accounts to public.
To get permission, teens must set up parental supervision on Instagram. If parents want more oversight over their older teen’s (16+) experiences, they simply have to turn on parental supervision. Then, they can approve any changes to these settings, irrespective of their teen’s age.
Once supervision is established, parents can approve and deny their teens’ requests to change settings or allow teens to manage their settings themselves. Soon, parents will also be able to change these settings directly to be more protective. Learn more about how to manage Teen Accounts.
Another significant change is that only people the teen follows or is connected can message that teen. This is a much-needed change.
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.
Fortunately, the company is saying that they will make it easier for people/ parents to report issues on the site, such as harassment, and that they will respond faster. I really hope this improves because trying to get these platforms to respond to their concerns is a major issue that parents face.
Sensitive content restrictions: Teens will automatically be placed into the most restrictive setting of our sensitive content control, which limits the type of sensitive content (such as content that shows people fighting or promotes cosmetic procedures) teens see in places like Explore and Reels.
Regarding parent involvement in content teens see, a new feature allows parents to see what kids are searching for. This is via a new “interest” feature the Teen account has.
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.
We have created a table that compares the 4 most common social media platforms and the specific ways they are similar and different. Spoiler alert, they are way more similar than different. It makes perfect sense since companies see what young people use on other apps and incorporate such features into their own apps.
READ MORE >
We released a new Screenager’s Podcast episode which is my candid interview with 3 teenage girls about Instagram. And it is, in my unbiased opinion, an awesome interview :). In today's blog, I highlight some key points we discussed and encourage you to listen to the podcast with the youth in your life and use the discussion questions at the end of this blog.
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I thank my daughter, Tessa, for this guest blog where she discusses TikTok and, most importantly, links to 7 TikTok posts that came into her feed. When watched with your child, these clips provide a unique, and I would add an awesome, way to have a conversation about TikTok and related media without having to look directly at your child’s feed (if they have TikTok).
READ MORE >for more like this, DR. DELANEY RUSTON'S NEW BOOK, PARENTING IN THE SCREEN AGE, IS THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR TODAY’S PARENTS. WITH INSIGHTS ON SCREEN TIME FROM RESEARCHERS, INPUT FROM KIDS & TEENS, THIS BOOK IS PACKED WITH SOLUTIONS FOR HOW TO START AND SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE FAMILY TALKS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND IT’S IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL WELLBEING.
