🩷Keeping kids safe online is something every parent worries about. As a mom of a 15 year old who recently started using Instagram, this topic is extra important to me.
❤️Yesterday I attended the @instagram Screen Smart Event. I learned so much, got some great new insights and ideas, and made some new friends too!
🧡The panel of experts who spoke at the event were brilliant and delightful. I could just listen to them speak forever! Dr. Ann-Louise Lockhart was amazing and inspiring.
👉How we have navigated social media with our teen at home so far:
My son really wanted to join Instagram when he turned 15. To be honest, I wanted him to wait until at least 16, but when we found out about the Teen Instagram settings with parental controls, I was more open to the idea. Many of my trusted mom friends had decided to allow their 15 year olds to have Instagram with these settings, so I felt more reassured with that knowledge as well.
The teen setting allows us to have control over who he’s friends with and how much time he’s on the app. It also blocks strangers from being able to message him and only shows him age-appropriate material. We can also see who he adds as a friend.
Like it or not, this is the way most teens communicate with each other these days. Instead of outright denying it, we got curious and asked him why he wanted Instagram (something Dr Lockhart also recommended!)
This situation will look different for every family. In the end, we decided we were going to trust the parental controls and allow him one hour per day on the app. He later told me he was actually grateful for this time limit, as he could see himself getting sucked in to “doom scrolling” without it in place. I was so proud that he came to that discovery on his own! 🥰
He’s a good kid who gets good grades and never gets in trouble. He’s got plenty of extracurricular interests and I think having a small dose of social media with safe boundaries in place is ok for him.
💻To learn more, or to start your own Instagram journey with your kids, go to meta.me/screensmart
#instagramscreensmart #metapartner #paidpartnership