The Family Central tab will be available on Instagram, worldwide, starting this Thursday (15). The feature allows parents to know who they follow and who is followed by their children, be notified when the young person reports a profile, see how much time children spend on the platform and set a daily limit for use.
The tool, which has been seen since March in the United States, links the teenager’s profile to the account of one of his tutors. Supervision is only possible if authorized by the child, and can be stopped by both parties at any time.
The family will not see the messages exchanged by the young person, their search history or the content they liked. According to Instagram, parents’ access to only part of the activities is a way to ensure protection without harming the minor’s autonomy.
“It is important that adolescents have privacy to explore the world around them and their identity. This has always been something important for us. It is not to control, but to guide. We want this to trigger conversations in the family”, says Natália Paiva, leader of Instagram public policies for Latin America, in an interview with Sheet.
The Center will also have educational material to help the family in supervision. “Parents felt their hands were tied and wondered how to guide the children if they themselves do not know the network. We tried to show that technical knowledge does not supplant socio-emotional knowledge”, says Paiva.
See in the video how to activate supervision in Central Family
To arrive at the current format, Meta, responsible for Instagram, listened to young people aged between 13 and 17 and their parents, in at least eight countries, including Brazil. The work is ongoing and has the help of specialists. According to Natalia, there is a concern to ensure that the flap is attractive to both parties and that it meets the greatest possible diversity of families.
“In Brazil, more than in other countries, the family is extended and control is not only centered on the father and mother. Caregivers also want more flexibility, for the child to use Instagram for a while at night, which is different of the day. On the weekend, that also changes”.
Central da FamÃlia joins other platform initiatives designed for the well-being of young people. Since 2021, all accounts opened by children under the age of 16 are private “by design”, that is, from the moment of creation. In addition, the network launched in 2022 the “Take a break” feature, which displays reminders for young people to moderate their browsing time.
The latest announcements come after a scandal hit the social network in 2021. Several documents showed that Instagram knew that the network causes a lot of damage to the mental health of young people, especially girls, and did not act to try to reduce the damage.
“We want to empower teenagers to make good decisions. We are increasing security in the basic experience and using a lot of technology to protect the most vulnerable”, says the network’s public policy leader.
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