Instagram parent Meta (META) announced a series of features on the social network on Tuesday that it says are designed to protect new users from interacting with inappropriate accounts and content. Meta says it will begin automatically adding new users under the age of 16 to Instagram Teen Accounts starting today. This feature sets limits on who teens can message, who can tag them, and what they can see in the app.
User accounts will be set to private status, meaning that young people will need to accept new followers and unfollowers will not be able to see their content. Teens will be able to send messages to people they follow or are related to.
Advanced content management will prevent new users from seeing content such as fighting or porn-promoting ads in their Explore and Reels tabs, while periodic reminders will tell new users to exit the app via after using it for 60 minutes a day. Sleep mode will be activated between 10 pm and 7 am, silencing notifications and sending automatic replies to messages.
Teens under 16 will have to get their parents to change any settings, and in the future, the company says, parents will be able to change app settings without teens having to. send applications first.
Meta’s Instagram Teen Accounts comes after 42 federal attorneys asked Congress to allow Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to file a warning letter on social media platforms last week. In the letter, the lawyers said that social media platforms are causing “mental health problems” among young people and that the surgeon general’s warning is about algorithm-driven social platforms. can help solve this problem.
“A growing body of research links youth use of social media to a number of serious psychological risks, including depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts,” the lawyers wrote in the letter. theirs goes to Congressman Mike Johnson and Senator Chuck Schumer and Mitch. McConnell.
“Algorithm-driven social media use is also interfering with the daily lives of young people by constantly disrupting their sleep with irresistible algorithmic recommendations, scrolling through endless, and a series of reminders designed to keep kids engaged on stage.”
The letter follows New York Times reporter Murthy’s June op-ed in which he laid out his case for why social media needs general doctor’s warnings and called on Congress to pass legislation reducing the impact of social media on new users.
“Legislation by Congress should protect young people from online harassment, abuse and exploitation and exposure to extreme violence and sexual content that often appears in algorithm-driven feeds,” he wrote.
Meta says it’s working to make sure teens don’t get content outside of Instagram Teen Accounts by requiring them to verify their age if they try to use a new account linked to their account. the old one with the birthday of the adults to make them look older.
The company also said it is building technology to identify accounts created by young people who lie about their birthdays to get the full experience of Instagram. Meta says the capability will allow it to automatically remove offending accounts from Instagram Teen Accounts even if they use adult birthdays.
However, the company points out that it will take more than app changes to prevent young people from breaking app rules, saying it is important for companies and governments to work together to find a solution.
Meta is facing an onslaught of lawsuits related to youth use of its social media tools. In 2023, a series of countries filed a lawsuit against Meta for allegedly designing its platform to be addictive to young people. In February, New York City joined a long list of school districts suing social media companies for what they say are the negative effects of their platforms.
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