Youth and particularly teenagers are getting more connected to social media than they have ever been in the present world. This increased usage points to the need to protect young users from various dangers, which exist in the cyberspace. Instagram, which is among the list of most used social networks among teenagers, has been acting in different ways to protect them going out new protective measures that are directed to adolescents. These updates are further in line with the company’s mission of making the platform more safer for the youngsters.
New Features to Control Privacy and Interactions
The latest changes introduced in Instagram are aimed mainly at regulating the Mores and interactions, and settings for teenagers. One of the new initiatives is setting accounts as private for new users who are teenagers. This means that the IDs of every person who creates an account below the age of 16 (or 18 in some countries) will be set to private by default, restricting the audience from engaging with them. This change is intended to empower teenagers and put them in charge of their ‘digital skin’ from the ground up.
Another major feature include further improvements in measures that prohibit adult contact with minors. Today, Instagram uses artificial intelligence to ‘recognise’ such accounts and subsequently restrain their communications with teenagers. This could include restricting the interaction of, for instance, other people from teenagers’ posts or being able to follow the teenagers on that social media platform.
Limiting Exposure to Harmful Content
Aside from privacy and interaction controls, the platform is adding features in order to reduce the amount of negatively impacting content. The app has improved the personalization of the content so that teenagers will not be exposed to any unwanted sensitive or incorrect posts in Feed, Explore, or Reels. The AI technologies used in Instagram are being adapted to be better at identifying problematic content that should be blocked.
Instagram is also beginning to launch new notifications that will remind teenagers about the amount of time they spend on this platform. This ‘Take a Break’ feature is aimed at tackling the problem of youthful dependency on apps by sending notifications on the amount of time they have been in use and then advising on taking moments off. This endeavour complies with Instagram’s goal to ensuring that the platform is a safer and healthier social point for all clients specifically children and youths.