Meta recently released new built-in protections for Teen Accounts on Instagram. This action is a step towards ensuring a safer online environment for its younger audience. This new initiative is a step toward the company’s mission. Its goal is to address negative mental health effects associated with social media use in teenagers.
Safety will be boosted for Teen Accounts on Instagram with these new guidelines. They will only be contacted by users they follow themselves, or those who have messaged them first. This new restriction helps limit inappropriate outreach and helps keep users safer. For example, teens under the age of 16 are not allowed to go live on the platform. They will need to obtain clear consent from their parents prior to engaging in this activity.
Meta’s Commitment to Healthy Usage Habits for Teens
Meta claims that they care about the healthy usage habits of teens. To accomplish this goal, they plan to send everyone reminders to log off after using the social networks for one hour per day. Furthermore, teens under 16 will require parental consent to disable a feature that blurs images containing suspected nudity in direct messages. Our policy recommends these findings, based on a new study from Ipsos. In our qualitative study, we found 94% of parents agreed that Teen Accounts would help them monitor their children’s online conversations.
Since the initial rollout of Teen Accounts last September, Meta has aggressively moved 54 million teens into these specialized accounts. These accounts are purportedly created to prevent teens from being exposed to sexual and explicit content. The company has promised to extend these protections to Facebook and Messenger, too. They’re starting this rollout in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Canada, with intentions to expand to more markets down the road.
The updates unveiled Tuesday signal that Meta is making moves toward creating a more positive digital space for young people. According to the same Ipsos survey, 85% of parents believe that Teen Accounts facilitate a more positive experience for their teens on Instagram. What’s more, teens aged 13-15 retain these built-in protections as the study reported that 97% of this age group continue to use them.
Meta’s recent moves highlight the need to tackle mental health concerns associated with social media use in teens. The platform owner expands privacy and control features for Teen Accounts. This helps parents make informed choices and encourages young users to develop healthier online habits.
Author’s Opinion
Meta’s decision to expand protections for Teen Accounts is a crucial step toward fostering a safer online environment for young users. With rising concerns about the impact of social media on mental health, these measures can help mitigate risks and empower both parents and teens to navigate the platform responsibly. While the focus on privacy and content control is promising, the real test will be how effectively these initiatives are implemented and whether they can achieve their goal of improving the digital experience for teens.
Featured image credit: BM Amaro via Pexels
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