Instagram Parent Restriction

Instagram is a popular app that kids, teens, and adults like to use to share their lives. Kevin Systrom released Instagram on October 6th, 2010. In a couple of months, Instagram had become so popular, gaining over 1 million downloaders. Since then, Facebook has been updating and changing the app for all the users after Systrom sold Instagram to Facebook. On September 17th, 2024, Instagram added new parental controls for their users under 18. 

In Instagram’s new update, the profiles of users under 18 years old will become private by default, meaning that people who aren’t following the account will be unable to view the profile or their posts and stories. They also decided to stop notifications from being sent from 10 PM to 7 AM to allow minors to get more sleep. Instagram introduced a new setting for parents to see who their kids message on the app. These latest updates will help calm the concerns of their kids being on social media.

Kids under 16 can only change their default settings with one of their parents’ permission. 18-year-olds will be able to change their settings without getting their parents’ permission. Parents are also getting options to see who their kids interact with, how long they spend on Instagram, and what sort of content they can see. These settings allow parents to limit how long their kids spend on Instagram. 

Seventh grader, JunMin Lee, “I think the new update is good because kids under 18 are not mature enough to control their own accounts. I also think that kids will easily get addicted to social media without their parents controlling the account.” adds what he thinks about Instagram’s new updates. 

“In my opinion it seems messed up because parents shouldn’t be able to know everything their child is doing, the kid is their own person. I understand if the child is very young, but for 16-17 years old I think it’s an invasion of their privacy. Since they are already mature enough and shouldn’t be controlled by their parents.” Sasha Danda, 7th grader, states. 

Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook received a lot of backlash and criticism for the unsafety of minors using the app. Many state attorneys have filed lawsuits against his company, causing him to try and find a solution to keep kids more safe on the internet. After the constitutional meeting, Zuckerberg started brainstorming a new solution in January. 

All these new updates in Instagram are to keep minors safe on social media. The new settings and controls are to meet the parents’ concerns about their kids being on the internet. The safety of children on social media are the main concerns that are trying to be resolved by the owners of Instagram. As time passes, we may see more restrictions and updates implemented regarding safety of minors. 

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/17/technology/instagram-teens-safety-privacy-changes.html