Earlier this year Instagram announced a new update for teenagers with the app. The update is designed to provide protection, privacy, and supervision for Instagram users under 18. Although teen accounts were created with good intentions, controversy surrounds this subject as it affects teens everywhere.
“I was kind of shocked when I heard about the update”, said Sydney Horvath’ 25. “I feel like in some ways it’s an invasion of privacy- some of the new restrictions are ones that I’m not a fan of.”
Some of the new policies for teen accounts include private accounts by default, messaging restrictions, sensitive content restrictions, limited interactions, time limit reminders and a sleep mode. While some of these elements seem helpful, others have proved to be a nuisance for everyday usage.
“It’s annoying to have my account automatically set to private,” said Horvath. “Also I can’t message people that I don’t follow, which makes things difficult.”
Although certain provisions are annoying and unnecessary for some, others may have positive effects. Mr. Brenning, a parent of 3 teens comments on how an update like this can be helpful.
“It [the update] gives parents some control over a social media platform that could be used in harmful ways”, said Brenning.
The internet can be an uncertain and often dangerous place. Putting restrictions on interactions, limiting screen time, and limiting content access could potentially benefit this generation of teens.
“This could be a great tool to help parents help their kids manage social media in a responsible way”, said Brenning. “Having provision like this in place would definitely give me some peace of mind as a parent.”
There are undoubtedly some benefits to an update like this one, but what really matters is what the teens who have the update think of it, and how they respond to the limitations it provides.
“I kind of like the time limit reminder- it doesn’t kick you out or anything but it reminds you to maybe stop scrolling”, said Horvath. “Overall I don’t think the update is the worst Instagram could have done, although there are definitely some changes I would make.”
