Instagram has announced Parental Supervision Tools to help parents become more involved in their teen’s online experience. It also launched a ‘Family Center’that will enable parents and guardians to access supervision tools, resources, and information from leading experts on child safety.
Speaking at the launch in Kochi, Natasha Jog, Head, Public Policy, Instagram, Facebook India (Meta) said Meta has been working closely with experts, parents, guardians, and young people to understand their needs. One of the biggest needs continues to be tools and resources to educate parents about digital services. This education will allow parents and guardians to help their teens manage online experiences.
“Over the years, we have introduced many age-appropriate features and resources that help in enhancing young people’s experience on Instagram. With the launch of these supervision tools, we are trying to strike a balance between young people’s desire for some autonomy when using Instagram, but also allow for supervision in a way that supports conversations between parents and young people when it is helpful,” she said.
The Supervision Tools on Instagram will allow parents and guardians to manage how much time their children spend on Instagram, view what accounts they follow and the accounts that follow them; and be notified when their children report someone.
Family Center includes an education hub where parents and guardians can access resources from experts and review helpful articles, videos and tips on topics like how to talk to young people about social media. Parents can also watch video tutorials on how to use the new Supervision Tools to get the most out of the platform.
From India, the Center includes resources such as the Parents Guide, the ‘Dealing with Exam Stress’ guide developed in partnership with Fortis Mental Health and Sangath, an LGBTQ+ guide on being safe online, developed in partnership with the Queer Muslim Project. The Center will be available in English and Hindi.
Recently, to help children and parents address concerns of online safety, Meta supported the RATI Foundation (Aarambh India Initiative) to launch ‘Meri Trustline’. The first-of-its-kind helpline is dedicated to offer support to children under the age of 18 years facing distress due to online safety concerns, such as cyber-bullying and loss of control over sensitive media including self-generated child sexual abuse material.
In Kerala, Meta partnered with Kerala Police Cyberdome and Bachpan Bachao Andolan to launch “Koottu’‘, an awareness campaign to protect children from cybercrimes.