With the exploding popularity of social media in general and Instagram in particular, it becomes imperative to monitor what your teen is doing on their smartphone.
As a parent, we want to ensure that our kids are not exposed to inappropriate things and still use social media to connect with their friends and have fun.
This blog will explain how parental controls can help parents monitor their kids on Instagram, the role of IG viewer, and more.
Keep reading.
What Parents Should Know about Instagram?
Teens love to use Instagram to connect with their friends and family and have fun. They may be exposed to content not appropriate for their age and mental maturity.
Creators of every type and style post on Instagram and some of this content may include risky maneuvers. While some content creators even buy Instagram followers just to promote their content to a larger audience. Kids are easily influenced by these people and may develop low self-esteem and anxiety issues.
Parents must know how their kids are using the app and ensure they consume fair content. If you feel there is something wrong, you should talk to your teen about using other ways to communicate with their friends with increased privacy measures.
You must talk with them about online safety and privacy to keep them guarded against cyberbullying and harassment attempts. Friendly communication is essential in this regard. Your kid should have confidence they can share everything, about their online social activities and such issues, with you without a backlash.
Parental Supervision by Instagram?
Earlier in 2022, Instagram announced it will implement parental control functionalities on the platform. Meta plans to include parental supervision, all age verification methods, and Family Centre in the app. Family Centre will be available in the United States only.
Parental Supervision is a set of Insights and Tools designed to enable parents to support their teens (ages 13-17) on Instagram. Both parties have to agree to participate. Anyone can leave the supervision and the other party will be notified. Parents can do the following things:
- Set a specific time limit on how long their kid can use Instagram each day. This will include the total time they can spend across all devices.
- Set up scheduled breaks on individual days of the week when the kid can not use the app and take a break from their phone screens.
- Know exactly how many minutes or hours your kid is spending on the app each day and specific days in the last week.
- They can also see which accounts their kid is following. In case you believe that an account is posting inappropriate content or it is harassing your kid, then you can report to Instagram about the issue. Moreover, you can use third-party tools like Instagram profile downloader to download the profile photos of these nasty accounts and share them with online communities to guard their kids against.
- See which accounts are following their teen.
- See which accounts their teen is currently blocking. This can lead to a discussion between parents and kids about what made them take this step.
Note: If your kid wants to become an Instagram influencer and pursue this as a career, then you should encourage them. You can help them buy Instagram likes UK to get started fast in building an audience.
What is a Family Centre?
Family Centre is a place where parents can see which accounts they are supervising and can manage supervision settings. There is an education hub as well linked in the Family Centre that provides useful resources from experts about building positive online habits with teens.
If your teen is under your supervision, then the Family Centre can help them see what you are supervising as a parent.
How To Set Up Supervision on Instagram?
Here are a few steps to set up parental supervision on Instagram and monitor your kids:
Step#1: Create a Private Account
Setting up a private account for your kids should be the top priority. This will only show their content to their followers and the people they approve of.
- Open the Instagram app.
- Go to the profile and tap Settings.
- Select Privacy and turn on the Private account tab.
Step#2: Block Unidentified Users
Parents can block suspicious or unidentified accounts that might be spying on their kids’ activities and locations. Here is how to block them.
- Open the Instagram app and go to the profile section.
- Select Settings by tapping on the three dots in the top-right corner.
- Tap on Privacy and then tap on Blocked Accounts.
- Tap "Add Block" and type in the username of the user you want to block. Tap "Block" to confirm.
Step#3: Limit Users:
This feature will allow you to get rid of disturbing or unwanted comments on the kid’s posts. Here is how to limit users.
- Open the Instagram app and go to the profile section.
- Select Settings by tapping on the three dots in the top-right corner.
- Select Limits. Tap continue.
- Select the time and user you want to limit.
- Tap Turn on.
Step#4: Restrict an Account
This setting will restrict unwanted accounts from accessing your kid’s profile. Here is how to do that.
- Open the app and go to your kid's profile.
- Tap the three dots in the top right corner to go to Settings.
- You will see the "Restricted Accounts" option. Tap that.
Step#5: Manage Messages
This feature will allow you to filter unwanted messages, inappropriate words, IG live settings, and IG post interactions.
Go to Settings from your profile and then select Privacy. Here you need to configure Messages.
Step#6: Manage Comments
Instagram users have been complaining about their inability to block inappropriate comments and phrases. Users can now block specific words and phrases. They can also set up filters to hide offensive or disrespectful remarks in the comments.
From your profile go to Settings. Select Privacy and then select Comments. You can block comments from suspicious profiles depending on your configurations.
Final Words
While Instagram is taking protective measures to make its platform safe and a fun place to connect and share their lives, this is not enough.
Parents or guardians should use parental supervision controls on the platform to better monitor and help their kids.
