For many parents, the revelations from whistleblower Frances Haugen this week showing an internal Facebook study of the harms of Instagram for teens only intensified concerns about the popular photo-sharing app.
Haugen said in Senate testimony Tuesday that the patterns children establish as teens stay with them for the rest of their lives.
Children who are bullied on Instagram, the bullying follows them to the house. It follows them to their bedroom. Haugen said the last thing they see before going to sleep at night is someone being cruel to them. Children are learning that their own friends, the people they care about, are cruel to them.
So, what can you do to protect your children? Experts say that open lines of communication, age limits and, if necessary, activity monitoring are some of the steps parents can take to help children navigate the dangers of social media, while still Allow them to chat with peers on their own terms.
Is 17 the new 13?
Ever wonder why 13 year olds can be on Instagram and other social media apps? That’s because the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 2000 went into effect before today’s teens were even born (and when Facebook cofounder Mark Zuckberg was just a teenager, for that matter).
Its goal was to protect children’s online privacy by requiring websites and online services to disclose clear privacy policies and, among other things, to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information on their children. In order to comply, social media companies generally prohibit children under the age of 13 from signing up for their services, although it is widely documented that children do this with their parents’ permission. or without signing up.
But times have changed, and online privacy is no longer the only concern when it comes to getting kids online. There is bullying, harassment and, as Facebook’s own research has shown, the risk of developing eating disorders, suicidal thoughts, or worse.
In his testimony, Haugen suggested raising the age limit to 16 or 18. There has been a push among some parents, educators and tech experts to give kids phones and wait until they’re older to have access to social media, such as the wait until the 8th pledge in which parents can’t wait until the 8th grade. sign a pledge not to give smartphones to their children. But neither the social media companies nor the government has taken any concrete steps to increase the age limit.
There isn’t necessarily a magical age, said Christine Algersma, a social media expert at the nonprofit Common Sense Media. But, he added, “13 is probably not the best age for kids to get on social media.
It’s still complicated. There is no reliable way to verify a person’s age when signing up for apps and online services. And the apps popular among teenagers today were first built for adults. Companies have added some security measures over the years, Algersma said, but these are piecemeal changes, not fundamental rethinking of services.
He said that developers should start building apps with children in mind. And no, he doesn’t mean Instagram Kids, with Facebook last week halting the project amid widespread backlash. We cannot trust a company that did not start with the best interests of children in mind.
talk, talk, talk
Start sooner than you think. Algarsma suggests that parents go through their own social media feeds with their children before they are old enough to be online and have an open discussion about what they see. How would your child handle a situation where a friend of a friend asks to send them a photo? Or if they see an article that annoys them so much that they want to share it right away?
For older children, approach them with curiosity and interest.
If teens are giving you grunts or one-word answers, sometimes asking what their friends are doing or not asking direct questions like What are you doing on Instagram? But hey, I hear this influencer is really popular.”
Don’t put that off when your child is scrolling for a long time, says Gene Rogers, director of FairPlay, a nonprofit that advocates for kids to spend less time on digital devices.
It’s not respectable, Rogers said. It doesn’t respect that they have their whole life and whole world in that device.
Instead, Rogers asks them questions about what they do on their phone, and see what your child is willing to share.
Algersma said children are also likely to respond to social media veiled parents and teachers and sometimes insidious tools companies use to keep people online and engaged. Watch documentaries like “The Social Dilemma,” which explores social media’s algorithms, dark patterns, and the dopamine feedback cycle. Or read with them how Facebook and TikTok make money.
She said that kids love to learn about these things, and it will give them a sense of power.
adjust settings
Rogers says most parents have had success with taking their kids’ phones out overnight to limit their scrolling. Sometimes kids may try to snatch the phone back, but it’s a tactic that works because kids need a break from the screen.
They need an excuse with their peers not to be on their phones at night,” Rogers said. “They can blame their parents.
Parents may need to put their own limits on phone use. Rogers said it’s helpful to explain what you’re doing when you hold the phone to your child so they understand you’re not scrolling aimlessly on sites like Instagram. Let your child know that you’re checking work email, looking for a recipe for dinner, or paying the bill so they understand you’re not just there for fun. Then tell them when you plan to turn off the phone.
you can’t do it alone
Parents should also understand that this is not a fair fight. Social media apps like Instagram are designed for addicts, says Roxana Maracchi, a professor of education at San Jose State University who studies data loss. Marachi said that without new laws that govern how tech companies use our data and algorithms to push users toward harmful content, there is only so much parents can do.
Companies are not interested in the well-being of children, they are interested in keeping an eye on the screen and maximizing the number of clicks. Marachi said. Period.
Disclaimer: This post has been self-published from the agency feed without modification and has not been reviewed by an editor
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