Instagram Has Made Changes… But Is It Enough?

This guest blog post was written by The Parents Television and Media Council®, a non-partisan education organization advocating responsible entertainment. Founded in 1995, this national grassroots organization has more than 1.4 million members, and works with television producers, broadcasters, networks and sponsors in an effort to stem the flow of harmful and negative messages targeted to children. 

On September 17, just one day before the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) was scheduled for a markup hearing and vote from the House Energy & Commerce Committee, Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram) announced new Instagram “teen” accounts.

The move was no doubt intended to allay parents’ fears about the people and content their teens might be exposed to while on the social media platform, and perhaps even convince Congress that there is no need for legislative intervention.

Instagram Teen Accounts is a restricted version of the popular app designed to limit what your teenager can access and who can contact them through their Instagram account. The move from Meta was driven, in part, by a numerous news reports of teens falling victim to “sextortion” — a type of online blackmail where a perpetrator uses sexually explicit images or videos to coerce a victim into giving them  money or additional explicit material — on the service.

Here’s what the new Instagram Teen Accounts will provide:

1. Automatic Private Accounts: Accounts owned by users under 16 will be made private by default, meaning only approved followers can see their content.
2. Stricter Messaging Settings: Teens can only receive messages from people they follow.
3. Content Restrictions: Teens will be placed in the “Less” setting to limit exposure to sensitive content.
4. Interaction Limits: Your teen can only be tagged or mentioned by people they follow.
5. Break Reminders: Teens will be encouraged to take breaks after 60 minutes of use.
6. Sleep Mode: Notifications will be paused from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
7. Parental Supervision: Parents can monitor and approve changes to settings, see who their teen is messaging, and track topics of interest.

But is it enough?

These content restrictions only work if the child is honest about their age when creating their account. It is too easy for a child to obtain a free email address from Google, lie about their age and create a second, hidden account where they can continue to engage in unhealthy or unsafe online activity. They could also use accounts created by older friends or siblings. Kids with a certain amount of technical savvy or know-how can usually find ways to work around, disable or bypass parental controls and restrictions.

That’s why it’s crucial for parents to stay engaged and educate their children about online safety.

Help your child find a better way to engage with their friends and peers by helping them to arrange social gatherings and in-person activities so that they are less driven to spend time on social media.

Encourage your child to engage in sports, extracurriculars, and plan activities together as a family to reduce time spent online.

Finally, delay putting a smartphone in the hands of your child for as long as possible. The longer you can keep them off of social media, the better-off your child will be in the long-run, especially with so many studies linking mental health challenges to social media use.