With the rise of social media, it’s easy for anyone to bypass simple restrictions and put malicious content online. Young teenagers are often exposed in this way because they don’t know how or where else such things come from.
Instagram recently launched parental controls to create a safer online experience for teens. This is great news because many people don’t know how they can protect their children when it comes down to social media use.
These new features have been available in the US since March, including setting daily time limits and parents putting requests to be supervisors.
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Instagram’s new “nudges” feature will encourage teens to explore different topics if they’re searching for similar types of content on the platform. The idea is that it might push them into discovering things outside their comfort zone.
“We designed this new feature because research suggests that nudges can be effective for helping people — especially teens — be more mindful of how they’re using social media in the moment. Meta said in a blog post. “In an external study on the effects of nudges on social media use, 58.2% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that nudges made their social media experience better by helping them. ecome more mindful of their time on-platform.”
Experts are excited about the new policies, but they also point out some limitations.
Priya Kumar, an assistant professor at Pennsylvania State University’s College of Information Sciences and Technology stressed. The importance for platforms to take responsibility in regards with their services or products’ effects on users.
“Developing features to help teens and other people manage their use of the app is helpful,” she shared. “But the features on their own, of course, aren’t going to resolve these complex issues.”
The assistant professor in computer science of engineering at the University of Minnesota, Stevie Chancellor say that Instagram’s new features are a step in the right direction.
Intertwined with creativity, Instagram has become a popular platform for young people to share their work. The new feature will help artists connect and grow by providing funding as well education on creating responsible content online; this way they can make better decisions about what goes up next.
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