Every social media platform should follow this lead, now. Really!
Parents will now be able to rest easy regarding their concerns over their teenage children’s social media use, thanks to Instagram introducing a new feature for teenage users with built-in privacy protections.
This new feature, called “Teen Accounts” was announced personally by Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri on “Good Morning America” on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, local US time. The feature will automatically apply to all Instagram users under the age of 18, and for new users that will sign up.
A parent’s permission will also be necessary for Instagram users under the age of 16 to change any account settings.
According to Mosseri and on the Instagram announcement, “Teen Accounts” will be limiting who teens can contact, the content they will see, as well as provide new ways for them to explore their interests.
He added, “They’re an automatic set of protections for teens that try to proactively address the top concerns that we’ve had from parents about teens online…Things like who can contact them, what content they see and how much time they spend on their device…all without requiring any involvement from the parent.”
The feature has already been rolled out on Tuesday, September 17, with new accounts immediately having it. Those who already have Instagram accounts will see the changes in the next 60 days.
One notable aspect from the feature sees that all Instagram accounts by teens will automatically be on private. To turn their accounts public, they would need their parent’s permission. This means that teens will need to accept new followers into their account and the ones accepted are the only ones that can see their content.
Also, teens will only be able to message the people that they follow and parents will see who have they been messaging. Teens will also be able to choose the content they’ll see on their feeds and parents will also be able to see them too.
Their Instagram accounts will also have a “sleep mode” from 10 P.M. to 7 A.M., in an effort to limit their screen time on the platform.
Mossari mentioned that these protections were put in place in order to block teenaged users from lying about their age, which means that they will need to verify their age whenever they try to change their birthdays.
Reactions to this new feature were mostly positive, especially from the adults who have had trouble interacting with teens online; the same goes with teens having problems of talking to adults. Others also said that other social media platforms should follow suit.
While long overdue (and what should honestly be a bare minimum feature for the platform)–a ‘good job’ is still in order for Instagram for this one. Let’s just hope this continues to create a safer space online for everyone of all ages.
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