Posted by By Staff Writers, Lila Ackerman & Lujayn Eljamal
Images of girls my age at the beach and on vacation.
A group of skinny, tan friends posing for a 0.5 picture.
Some of these posts have hundreds of comments from friends and strangers. They look like they have perfect bodies and are what society would consider stereotypically “pretty”.
“This would help prevent people from developing body image issues, and likely wouldn’t cost Instagram any significant amount in profits.”
Charlie Depoala
I just downloaded Instagram yesterday for the first time. My goal was to determine for myself how it might affect me. After asking for my personal information and contacts, it began cluttering the Home page with videos and posts from people I knew. At first I wondered why I was seeing this type of content. But before I thought deeply enough about it, I got caught up watching a reel of someone baking peanut butter cookies. A few minutes later, I remembered what I downloaded the app for, and didn’t feel like I had gained any more valuable knowledge. Having just installed the app, the algorithm already started to tailor to my demographic. I had only inputted my age, gender, and name.
Continued exposure to idealized and unrealistic standards has proven to be harmful for teenagers’ self-esteem. After intense pressure from lawmakers, Instagram recently introduced new regulations pertaining to teen usage. The app is well known for being home to cyberbullies, hackers and even predators. Research has demonstrated the need to protect kids from the dangers of social media. This isn’t only the job of a parent, but of social media companies as well.
Not all are convinced of the efficacy of these new limitations. Ms. Depoala, a mother of three children, believes that kids will find a work around.
“They might create more tensions because parents don’t really understand the way kids communicate in this day and age,” she says.
She highlights the need for parents to have conversations with their children about their experiences on Social Media. Her son, Charlie Depoala, somewhat agrees with his mother. “It will definitely create tension in some households, however once the change has been in place for a while, most people will just come to accept it.”
“They might create more tensions because parents don’t really understand the way kids communicate in this day and age”
Ms. Depoala, A New Paltz High School teacher
Instagram is now adjusting their system to ensure that teens cannot falsify their ages. They would require them to submit a video, which would then be analyzed using “age-estimation” technology.
Here’s what Instagram is planning:
Private Accounts
Instagram users younger than 18 will automatically have their profiles defaulted to private. Instagram users younger than 16 will need parental permission to change their profiles back to public. These account changes are being distributed on an individual basis as Instagram thoroughly reviews teen profiles.
Notifications
Meta, Instagram’s parent company, plans to stop notifications between 10 pm and 7 am, for minors who have accounts.
This new feature would encourage teens to have healthier sleep habits. Sleep is an essential part of development and overall adolescent mental health.
Parental Supervision Features
Here are some examples of what information parent’s will have access to:
- What type of posts and topics their kids regularly view, and adjustments made to their content filter.
- Information about who their kids message on Instagram. (Although they won’t be able to view the content of the messages to preserve the childs’ privacy).
- The amount of time their teen has spent on Instagram in the last 7 days.
- Which accounts their teen follows, as well as their followers.
Some parents will utilize these new features in order to better manage their child’s online use. But for others, it doesn’t make much of a difference.
“I do not monitor my kids on Instagram, but I do talk to my kids about good choices. I try to trust my kids even though they will probably make mistakes,” says Depoala. Charlie believes these restrictions are necessary, “as minors, particularly girls, are highly susceptible to mental health conditions arising from content on social media.”
Social media platforms are designed to be addictive, and teen brains aren’t fully developed yet so they lack self control. That’s why parental involvement is crucial. The regulations alone aren’t enough.
These regulations are a step in the right direction but the responses we received recommended a few more. Charlie said that parents should have the ability to control the amount of reels watched by their child. He also brought up an interesting idea that has been considered by many– “[Instagram could] clearly delineate what posts are made using filters and which ones aren’t. This would help prevent people from developing body image issues, and likely wouldn’t cost Instagram any significant amount in profits.”
“as minors, particularly girls, are highly susceptible to mental health conditions arising from content on social media”
Charlie Depoala, A student at New Paltz High School
Whether you’re grappling with the effects of Social Media, or you believe it can be beneficial, it’s important to question your online use.
Depoala believes there are some really positive things that can come along with social media, but it’s also addictive and affects self esteem tremendously. “I don’t know the answer, but that’s why communication with teens is so important.”
Navigating a potentially harmful app is difficult for anyone. Despite the fact that the goal of these regulations is to protect teens and take some of the responsibility off parents shoulders, parental involvement is arguably still necessary. Communication between parents and their child makes it so that teens don’t have to feel alone.
The Maroon 