How to Make Instagram Safer for Your Teen: A Comprehensive Guide

Jack Newenham

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March 6, 2024

how to make instagram safer for your teen a comprehensive guide (1)

In the digital age, ensuring the safety of our teens on social platforms like Instagram is a top priority for parents. Instagram, while a popular venue for expression and socialization, can also pose risks such as exposure to inappropriate content and unwanted interactions. Fortunately, Instagram offers various settings to enhance user safety. Here’s how you can make Instagram a safer space for your teen.

Table of Contents

Accessing Settings and Privacy

Step 1: Begin by launching Instagram and navigating to your profile. You’ll find a menu icon in the top right corner—tap on it.

Step 2: From the menu, select "Settings and Privacy." This area allows you to manage critical safety and privacy settings.

Customizing Notifications and Screen Time

Step 3: Within settings, look for options to manage notifications and screen time. Here, you can:

Adjust which push notifications your child receives, reducing distractions or potential exposure to harmful content.
Monitor and limit their Instagram use by setting daily time limits and reminders to take breaks.

Controlling Content Visibility

Step 4: Delve into content management settings where you can influence what appears on your child’s feed. Options include:

Selecting favorite profiles to prioritize their content.
Managing muted accounts to hide unwanted content.
Adjusting suggested content settings to influence the type of content Instagram recommends.
Setting sensitive content controls to limit exposure to potentially inappropriate material.

Enhancing Account Privacy

Step 5: Ensure your child’s account is set to private. This limits content visibility to approved followers only.

Step 6: Encourage your child to use the Close Friends feature for sharing stories, providing them with control over who sees their posts.

Managing Interactions and Supervision

Step 7: Take control of how others can interact with your child’s account by:

Limiting who can message them, reply to their stories, tag, or mention them.
Controlling who can comment on their posts and share or remix their content.
Enabling your child to restrict or limit interactions with specific profiles.

Step 8: Consider enabling supervision on your device to monitor your child’s Instagram activity closely.

Step 9: Explore additional settings and features to discover more advanced safety measures.

Conclusion

As parents, it's crucial to promote a safe and healthy digital environment for our teens. By taking the time to configure Instagram's safety settings, you can significantly reduce the risks associated with online socialization. Encourage open conversations with your teen about digital safety and privacy to complement these technical measures. Together, let's work towards fostering a positive and secure online experience for our children.

Author
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Jack Newenham

Jack is the Marketing Manager at Carrots&Cake, where he channels his extensive background in app development across various sectors into making a positive societal impact. Attracted by the company’s commitment to addressing the challenges of children's screen time, Jack integrates his expertise in technology, psychology, and education to enhance digital parenting practices.

With an academic foundation in psychology and hands-on experience as a volunteer teacher, Jack is uniquely positioned to foster healthier digital habits among children. His dedication to staying current with the latest advancements in screen time and digital parenting allows him to effectively steer and influence this evolving field.

Personally, Jack is a staunch advocate for healthy living. He keeps active with regular gym visits and various sports, reflecting his professional focus on promoting balanced digital behaviors among children. Jack’s diverse interests and his deep commitment to making a real difference shine through his efforts at Carrots&Cake, helping to lead the way towards more positive screen time experiences for kids.