On Tuesday Meta announcedwhich owns Instagram, that the platform introduces so-called “teenage accounts”. The aim is to protect children and young people from harmful content, reduce screen time and give parents more insight into what their children do and see on social media.
Among other things, users under the age of 18 will automatically get private accounts, they will not be able to receive messages from people they do not follow and they will also receive notifications after an hour of browsing the app.
Last year was true 41 states in the USA Metaand argued that they use addictive features on their platforms while exposing children to harmful content.
Whether the teenage accounts will now help is still unclear.
“As we’ve seen with teenagers throughout history, in these types of scenarios, they find ways around blockages,” social media analyst Matt Navarra told BBC.