Instagram users 18 and under are having new restrictions on their accounts added. Instagram says the new limits, which began on Tuesday, Sept. 24, will “reassure parents that teens are having safe experiences.”
Since 2023, many people have sued Instagram and other social media platforms for mental health reasons. Social media negatively affects teenagers’ mental health creating issues like body dysmorphia and addiction.
“What happens on social media totally impacts how they do in school and the drama that happens on social media comes into school, it just drags in on the daily,” health teacher Paula Cross said.
The developers are making changes that address these concerns including private accounts, messaging restrictions, sensitive content restrictions, limited interactions, time limit reminders and sleep mode.
However, users 16 and up can have fewer restrictions with parents permission.
“If they have that option most of them are going to opt out and we will be back to square one,” Cross said.
New and existing accounts for people under 18 will default to private accounts over the next 60 days. These accounts will, according to Instagram’s parent company Meta, have “the strictest messaging settings.” Teen users will only be able to message accounts who they follow back.
“It’s keeping the platform and the kids a safer place and keeping them safer in a way, there [are] some weird people on Instagram,” junior Gage Familant said.
Teens will also automatically get the most restrictive setting of sensitive content control, restricting things on the Explore page and Reels. Words and phrases are hidden to limit the effects of hate-speech or cyberbullying.
“With teens automatically placed in Teen Accounts and certain privacy settings turned on by default, this update demonstrates that Meta is taking steps to empower parents and deliver safer, more age-appropriate experiences on the platform,” National PTA President Yvonne Johnson said.
There will also be time restrictions and an addition to sleep mode. Teens have time reminder notifications to leave the app after 60 minutes a day. Sleep mode will continue between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., muting notifications and even sending auto replies to direct messages.
All of these modifications to Instagram teen accounts aim to improve teenagers’ mental health. This is the first step to protect teens from the dangers of social media.
