What is life without Instagram? Well, it will not be long until you find out.
Beginning in early September Meta began rolling out their new “Teen Accounts.” The new protocol automatically makes accounts of teens 16 and younger placed under a parent account, privatizes their account if they are public, and gives the teen user more restrictive settings which their parents can control.
“I think parents need to be involved as active participants in monitoring their teenagers’ social media use. It is a safety concern. Youth are starting accounts at younger and younger ages, and the negative impacts can be most detrimental for the youngest users,” school psychologist Laurie Ottehenning said.
Meta decided on the update to promote the protection of young users on Instagram in the face of the negative effects of the app, including mature content, sexual exploitation, bullying and more.
This initiative follows the proposed Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which was put before Congress in 2022 and would create guidelines that social media platforms would be required to follow in order to remove the addictiveness of the app and protect minors from any harmful content. The bill has not been passed and has faced criticism from Meta already.
Though Meta is not legally held to meeting the requirements of the bill, the changes to Instagram will give parents control over their teens’ experience online so that it can be molded to each teens needs.
It is expected that not all teens will be happy with this change.
“Some teens might appreciate the concern and feel safe, while some others might feel frustrated and rebellious,” junior Saara Farahmand said.
Accounts of users 18 and younger will automatically become private when creating a new account and Meta plans to discover ‘adult accounts’ of teens who have lied about their age through new AI software.
Restrictions for teens include limited messaging and tagging to only include accounts teen users follow, as well as restrictions on recommended and searched content that go beyond profanity, nudity, and the like to include content containing fighting or cosmetic procedures, etc.
A screen time limit will also be set in place to limit users, urging them to leave the app after 60 minutes of activity. Additionally, from 10pm to 7am, sleep mode will be enabled, muting notifications and sending automated messages when other accounts direct message users.
When asked about the impact of social media on teens, Ottehenning replied: “Many studies show that social media use can lead to increased depression, anxiety, sleep deprivation and body image distortion. It also provides significant exposure to content promoting suicide and eating disorders.”
Parents will be able to monitor who their teen is messaging but will be unable to read conversations. Meta explains this is so parents can ensure their children are having safe interactions. They are able to see the topics of content their teen is viewing to connect with their interests. For users 16 and younger, Meta’s new protections can only be removed with the approval of their parents.
“This change is really good for teens’ mental health because it provides a sense of security and safety for them. It can help parents mediate early if there is a problem and can offer support when needed,” said Farahmand.
This update should already be hitting teen accounts in the United States and should come into effect across the world by the beginning of the new year.
While the addition of Teen Accounts is supported, some critics worry that they might limit teens too much, possibly disable young users from learning good social media literacy, learning from their mistakes, or even once they surpass 18, becoming more reckless online after being ‘freed’ from the heavier restrictions placed on them as teens.
“I think it is the proper role of parents not to protect their children from making bad decisions, but to support them and catch them when they do make bad decisions, so they learn from that. But they have that safety of family, that safety of parents to help them back on their feet and get them going again,” History and Social Studies teacher Andrew Freeman said.
Others are concerned that Meta does not truly care about the safety of their young users but instead made the change more to escape lawsuits, legislation, and criticism from the general public on the issue.
Time will be the test on whether the addition of “Teen Accounts” to Instagram will actively better the health and safety of teens on the app.
“I’m not sure if this specific update will have much of an impact or not. I hope that parents are actively involved and understand the updates so that they can monitor and ensure the updated protections are actually effective,” said Ottehenning.
