Popular photo-sharing application, Instagram, has announced a slew of tools to ensure young Indians are safe online. Instagram has introduced parental supervision tools and Family Centre in India. The Meta-owned application has rolled out these features to ensure that parents get more involved in their teens’ experiences on the application.
Family Centre is a new place introduced for parents and guardians to access supervision tools and resources from leading experts. The latest update comes in the wake of the rising global concerns around the negative effects of social media on young users. These issues include concerns over body image and the addictive nature of the social media apps.
“Meta has been working closely with experts, parents, guardians and young people from India, to understand the needs of parents and young people,” the statement said. Instagram said that one of the biggest needs at the moment is to educate parents about digital services.
This education would allow parents and guardians to help their teens manage their online experiences. With this context, Meta launched Parental Supervision Controls and a Family Center in the US in March this year, and is now rolling it out to India,” the read the statement.
Supervision Tools
The tools, according to Instagram, will allow parents and guardians to manage the time spent by their wards on Instagram. The tools will also enable young users to manage their time on Instagram by setting screen time limits and schedule breaks. These tools will also allow parents to view what accounts are followed by their children and those that follow them. “Allows you to stay up to date with who your young person connects with on Instagram,” the statement said.
Another important feature is that the new tools will also notify parents if young users report someone. Meta has announced that it will be working with Kidsstoppress.com, a leading platform for parenting needs. This is to engage with parents and spread awareness about the tools supervision tools on Instagram.
Family Centre includes an education hub where parents and guardians can gain access to resources from experts, helpful articles, videos and tips on a variety of topics to engage young users.