Great summary, Catherine. But I'll join you in the cynicism. Because what we're doing is celebrating a decision to show less explicit content to seventh graders, disallow strangers from talking to seventh graders, and encouraging seventh graders to get enough sleep. Wait, Instagram, why did that take 14 years? And how did you convince us to celebrate slightly less negligence toward children? Almost feels like gaslighting.
I keep seeing that this will limit the time on "the app." Is the time restriction linked to the teen account or to the app? In other words, would the time restriction prevent the teen from logging into instagram through the web browser on their phones or other devices?
That is a GREAT question, Tiffany. I don't know the answer. I'll see if I can track it down -- and if anyone who reads this finds info, please share it!
So, does that mean as an adult, I could change my birthday to being under 16 and then I would get these features on my account? You make a great point about the fact, we as the product, after all these years, still don't have any control over the algothim. Again a reminder about how sinister it all is.
That's an interesting question, Chloe! They're developing tools that will supposedly help them catch kids and young teens who are trying to pose as adults . . . but what about adults posing as teenagers? (As I type that, I could see how that could go poorly in a DIFFERENT way -- but what about adults who genuinely just want the ability to shut themselves out of IG?) It's all so complicated that my own personal solution is to use Instagram as little as is humanly possible! (Or at least as little as is possible for someone whose career demands that she have at least SOME presence on it!)
I think you're being way too optimistic about instagram deleting accounts of the under-13s. The complete absence of any mention of this massive group speaks volumes.
Other than that, yes! I think it will be great to have these options if my kids every go on insta. In the mean time I will do everything within my power to keep them off it. I already ditched all social media myself, and since last year my smartphone too. Chose a school with the least screen use in our town (they do have tech lessons with screens, which is great! But no screens in the regular classrooms, and I notice very little smartphones in the school yard). Filling our lives with offline fun as a family, both in nature and to the cinema, explore crafts and arts and books and sports and baking and allow for boredom, and make them weave a carpet out of goat hair (oh no, that was something else) and do all the things the anti-screen goeroes tell me. But I am a teacher myself, so at the same time I realise my attempts will seem laughable as soon as they get over 10... But there has to be a way to avert the seemingly inevitable?! To which god do I sacrifice our pet goat??
I don't disagree with any of this overall, but for queer teens in unsupportive households, this type of oversight could shut off one of their only sources of community and connection. This population is one of the groups most positively impacted by social media, maybe the ONLY group positively impacted by social media, because it allows kids who feel completely alone to reach others like them. I worry for these kids whose parents now have even more power to isolate them. As a school librarian, the number one question I have been asked this year is about how to find the "rainbow" books ~ teens need support from every corner they can get, and for many teens I know, online is how they find that community.
This is an interesting piece - thanks! I think the case about a teen whose account blew up like that is a bit of a non-issue for most teens I know, and private accounts would definitely solve that problem. The issue I take with this is the additional parental oversight that lets parents see exactly what topics their child is viewing and who they communicated with. I don’t worry about this with kids from supportive families, but for those who need any lifeline possible, I do, even just in situations like following queer musicians and artists and queer support accounts. This is an incredibly nuanced discussion, and I have three teenagers myself who are experiencing living online in very different ways. I just know as an educator that more parental oversight, for some kids, is not a safe thing. Less time online, that would be great. Of course, having all adults be supportive, and all spaces safe for queer kids would be a million times better than any social media - if that were the case, ban social media all together.
This is a discussion going on in my country, one of the main arguments against limiting social media for teens. I am also a teacher and I find this a difficult one. Parents checking their kids every move like that will probably do that anyway? Parents can already restrict social media use, check up on their internet usage through parental supervision apps etc.
I was a (pre)teen during the early days of internet when almost every platform was anonymous and it was amazing for my development to have pretty wild arguments with teens from all over the world about identity, culture, ethics, you name it. I really grew from that experience and it grew the seeds for a more open mind to the experience of others. But with social media it's all so... public? I think with social media we lost the option to have different sides to our personality, be different versions of ourselves in different social settings. Our grandparents are on social media and our colleagues and our neighbours and our nightlife friends... A lot of my gen Z students have been told "it's okay to be gay" still don't come out until way into their twenties, and a couple of times now I've heard "I couldn't just come out to my parents/ a few good friends/ go to queer spaces for a couple of times first and not come out to EVERYONE (= school & the football team)" because of social media... So I feel like perhaps the INTERNET (DM function on social media, or better even anonymous forums) could give people a safe haven, but social media accounts are not safe nor anonymous.
So I am not so sure social media is the answer. Not sure what is though. And I feel bad for cutting off ANYONE that would need that lifeline. And teens with controlling or neglectful parents probably need that more than anyone. But also teens with fine parents sometimes need to just bounce off their outrageous thoughts without ever hearing back about it again hahaha. And the internet can be great for that. There are other spaces & people, but it's just easier to find online I think.
But also I wish for them to be offline more. It's a tricky one!
Thank you for everyone's thoughtful and respectful comments in this thread -- I really appreciate it.
Katy, I've been following the LGBTQ+ social media argument for a bit, and it's interesting: while yes, no doubt social media can be a force for good in helping kids feel less alone/find peers, etc, the "but what about LGBTQ+ youth? argument is one that, in many cases, is being pushed by the tech companies themselves to try to get lawmakers on both sides to oppose it. (They use the LGBTQ+ to lobby the political left, and a "it'll restrict free speech" argument to lobby the right -- it's so manipulative and misleading. For example, contrary to the story that the lobbyists are pushing, the senate version of the bill didn't have restrictions on the type of content kids could search for themselves; it only restricted the type of content that could be served up by algorithms.)
One very important note is that, whereas the Senate version of KOSPA was designed in a way that FairPlay and its allies were comfortable with (in terms of LGBTQ+ related issues), the *House* version that just got out of committee has some of those protections taken out. That's one of the reasons it's SO important to call your rep and tell them to support Senate version of KOSPA.
I also wanted to say that I totally hear you on the concern over the surveillance tools in the new Instagram Teen accounts.
Thank you so much, Catherine! I fully admit to just having a very emotional reaction to reading about the Instagram parent surveillance controls after having multiple middle schoolers tell me this week that their parents “hate gay people”, so they can’t bring certain books home, tell them about their own identity, etc. That’s honestly the part of all of this that upsets me and I probably didn’t clearly state that in my original comment. It breaks my hearts that PARENTS are the ones I feel the need to protect some kids from online :-( Also, I’m the only parent I know who doesn’t track my teens on their phones, so the over-surveillance of kids is also a bit of a hot button issue! Thanks for offering so much information in such a safe space - I so appreciate your work.
Great summary, Catherine. But I'll join you in the cynicism. Because what we're doing is celebrating a decision to show less explicit content to seventh graders, disallow strangers from talking to seventh graders, and encouraging seventh graders to get enough sleep. Wait, Instagram, why did that take 14 years? And how did you convince us to celebrate slightly less negligence toward children? Almost feels like gaslighting.
I keep seeing that this will limit the time on "the app." Is the time restriction linked to the teen account or to the app? In other words, would the time restriction prevent the teen from logging into instagram through the web browser on their phones or other devices?
That is a GREAT question, Tiffany. I don't know the answer. I'll see if I can track it down -- and if anyone who reads this finds info, please share it!
So, does that mean as an adult, I could change my birthday to being under 16 and then I would get these features on my account? You make a great point about the fact, we as the product, after all these years, still don't have any control over the algothim. Again a reminder about how sinister it all is.
That's an interesting question, Chloe! They're developing tools that will supposedly help them catch kids and young teens who are trying to pose as adults . . . but what about adults posing as teenagers? (As I type that, I could see how that could go poorly in a DIFFERENT way -- but what about adults who genuinely just want the ability to shut themselves out of IG?) It's all so complicated that my own personal solution is to use Instagram as little as is humanly possible! (Or at least as little as is possible for someone whose career demands that she have at least SOME presence on it!)
I think you're being way too optimistic about instagram deleting accounts of the under-13s. The complete absence of any mention of this massive group speaks volumes.
Other than that, yes! I think it will be great to have these options if my kids every go on insta. In the mean time I will do everything within my power to keep them off it. I already ditched all social media myself, and since last year my smartphone too. Chose a school with the least screen use in our town (they do have tech lessons with screens, which is great! But no screens in the regular classrooms, and I notice very little smartphones in the school yard). Filling our lives with offline fun as a family, both in nature and to the cinema, explore crafts and arts and books and sports and baking and allow for boredom, and make them weave a carpet out of goat hair (oh no, that was something else) and do all the things the anti-screen goeroes tell me. But I am a teacher myself, so at the same time I realise my attempts will seem laughable as soon as they get over 10... But there has to be a way to avert the seemingly inevitable?! To which god do I sacrifice our pet goat??
I don't disagree with any of this overall, but for queer teens in unsupportive households, this type of oversight could shut off one of their only sources of community and connection. This population is one of the groups most positively impacted by social media, maybe the ONLY group positively impacted by social media, because it allows kids who feel completely alone to reach others like them. I worry for these kids whose parents now have even more power to isolate them. As a school librarian, the number one question I have been asked this year is about how to find the "rainbow" books ~ teens need support from every corner they can get, and for many teens I know, online is how they find that community.
https://www.afterbabel.com/p/tech-hypocrisy
This is an interesting piece - thanks! I think the case about a teen whose account blew up like that is a bit of a non-issue for most teens I know, and private accounts would definitely solve that problem. The issue I take with this is the additional parental oversight that lets parents see exactly what topics their child is viewing and who they communicated with. I don’t worry about this with kids from supportive families, but for those who need any lifeline possible, I do, even just in situations like following queer musicians and artists and queer support accounts. This is an incredibly nuanced discussion, and I have three teenagers myself who are experiencing living online in very different ways. I just know as an educator that more parental oversight, for some kids, is not a safe thing. Less time online, that would be great. Of course, having all adults be supportive, and all spaces safe for queer kids would be a million times better than any social media - if that were the case, ban social media all together.
This is a discussion going on in my country, one of the main arguments against limiting social media for teens. I am also a teacher and I find this a difficult one. Parents checking their kids every move like that will probably do that anyway? Parents can already restrict social media use, check up on their internet usage through parental supervision apps etc.
I was a (pre)teen during the early days of internet when almost every platform was anonymous and it was amazing for my development to have pretty wild arguments with teens from all over the world about identity, culture, ethics, you name it. I really grew from that experience and it grew the seeds for a more open mind to the experience of others. But with social media it's all so... public? I think with social media we lost the option to have different sides to our personality, be different versions of ourselves in different social settings. Our grandparents are on social media and our colleagues and our neighbours and our nightlife friends... A lot of my gen Z students have been told "it's okay to be gay" still don't come out until way into their twenties, and a couple of times now I've heard "I couldn't just come out to my parents/ a few good friends/ go to queer spaces for a couple of times first and not come out to EVERYONE (= school & the football team)" because of social media... So I feel like perhaps the INTERNET (DM function on social media, or better even anonymous forums) could give people a safe haven, but social media accounts are not safe nor anonymous.
So I am not so sure social media is the answer. Not sure what is though. And I feel bad for cutting off ANYONE that would need that lifeline. And teens with controlling or neglectful parents probably need that more than anyone. But also teens with fine parents sometimes need to just bounce off their outrageous thoughts without ever hearing back about it again hahaha. And the internet can be great for that. There are other spaces & people, but it's just easier to find online I think.
But also I wish for them to be offline more. It's a tricky one!
Completely agree with all of this!
Thank you for everyone's thoughtful and respectful comments in this thread -- I really appreciate it.
Katy, I've been following the LGBTQ+ social media argument for a bit, and it's interesting: while yes, no doubt social media can be a force for good in helping kids feel less alone/find peers, etc, the "but what about LGBTQ+ youth? argument is one that, in many cases, is being pushed by the tech companies themselves to try to get lawmakers on both sides to oppose it. (They use the LGBTQ+ to lobby the political left, and a "it'll restrict free speech" argument to lobby the right -- it's so manipulative and misleading. For example, contrary to the story that the lobbyists are pushing, the senate version of the bill didn't have restrictions on the type of content kids could search for themselves; it only restricted the type of content that could be served up by algorithms.)
There's also a lot of research on how kids from traditionally marginalized groups (be it in terms of sexual orientation, gender identity, or race) are often harassed at *greater* rates on social media than their peers. Totally hear you on this being a very nuanced issue, but here are a couple resources I've found useful: Jon Haidt and Zach Rausch's recent Atlantic piece ( https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/09/social-media-lgbtq-teens-harms/679798/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email ) their NYT op-ed about Gen Z (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/17/opinion/social-media-smartphones-harm-regret.html ) and this page from FairPlayForKids.org, one of the main advocacy groups in this space, about KOSPA and, in particular, what effect it might have on LGBTQ+ youth -- and how FairPlay has worked with LGBTQ+ advocacy to fight for adjustments to KOSPA to protect those teens in particular. (https://fairplayforkids.org/fairplay-support-for-the-kids-online-safety-act/ )
One very important note is that, whereas the Senate version of KOSPA was designed in a way that FairPlay and its allies were comfortable with (in terms of LGBTQ+ related issues), the *House* version that just got out of committee has some of those protections taken out. That's one of the reasons it's SO important to call your rep and tell them to support Senate version of KOSPA.
I also wanted to say that I totally hear you on the concern over the surveillance tools in the new Instagram Teen accounts.
Thank you so much, Catherine! I fully admit to just having a very emotional reaction to reading about the Instagram parent surveillance controls after having multiple middle schoolers tell me this week that their parents “hate gay people”, so they can’t bring certain books home, tell them about their own identity, etc. That’s honestly the part of all of this that upsets me and I probably didn’t clearly state that in my original comment. It breaks my hearts that PARENTS are the ones I feel the need to protect some kids from online :-( Also, I’m the only parent I know who doesn’t track my teens on their phones, so the over-surveillance of kids is also a bit of a hot button issue! Thanks for offering so much information in such a safe space - I so appreciate your work.