by Wren Pyle
Instagram is used by teens all over the world. But, you may have noticed that it looks different for teens with Instagram accounts. The rules enforce that all accounts will be private for users under the age of 18, and many more restrictions. These restrictions are a reaction to the U.S Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s statement that social media could create a profound risk to the mental health of kids and teens.
Experts have found that social media negatively affecting teens’ mental health. Instagram has also been pressured by federal and state lawmakers to regulate and restrict social media use around young Instagram users, while others believe that the new regulations are too strict and is not going to help. Teen accounts are predicted to be a lot more restricted with the new update. The rules include that all children under the age of 18 must have a private account and enable parent supervision. Teens are restricted in their notifications during night hours, who can contact them, what content they can and can’t see, and how much time is spent on the app. New accounts for teens under the age of 18 will automatically have the restrictions while younger users that already have an account are predicted to see the change in around 60 days.
ABC news pointed out that teens could still find ways to get around the new rules and create new accounts within older age. Instagram responded by saying that “if they attempt to create a new account with an adult birthday, we will require them to verify their age in order to use the account.” Experts have also been questioning if the rules are going too far, potentially limiting free expression of teens.
Locally, many students are not happy about the new restrictions. Palisades students were asked how they feel about the new rules. Juliana Hershey, sophomore, said that she thinks it’s good because it gives kids the ability to get away from their screens and go outside. She also thinks that it will be better because it will prevent younger kids from being addicted to their phones. Molly McElhaney, freshman, thinks it is now going to be more dangerous because kids will now just lie about their age. She also thinks that parents should have control of their kids’ Instagram, not their own app. Devine Hayes, freshman, says that it is going to have a positive outlook. He thinks kids won’t be as addicted to their electronics because they won’t be using the app as much. Although there was some positive outlook as an overall group, students are not too happy about the new restrictions.
Time will tell if the restrictions are really worth it. Most experts seem to have a positive outlook on the new restrictions as they think teens will now have a better relationship with social media. On the other hand, students seem to think it is going to cause problems, such as teens lying about their age to get a normal account.
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