Anna Hartz
People worry a lot about how much time teenagers spend online. Many parents try to keep up, but it is not easy when apps change so quickly.
Social media can be fun and helpful, but it can also expose young people to things they are not ready to handle. Because of that, Instagram is rolling out a new tool that gives parents more insight into what their teens might be searching for.
Monitoring sensitive searches
Instagram will introduce a system that monitors certain sensitive searches made by teen accounts, reports Ziare. The feature will notify parents if their child repeatedly looks for terms linked to suicide or self-harm. This is the first time Meta Platforms has chosen to send active alerts to parents based on search behavior. Until now, the company mainly blocked certain content or guided teens toward support resources.
The new function will be part of the Teen Accounts program. It will first reach users in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and Canada. Meta plans to expand the feature to more countries later. The system is designed to notice sudden shifts in what teenagers search for. If a teen enters troubling terms several times within a short period, the platform will send a message to the parent or guardian. They may receive it by email. They may also receive it through text message, WhatsApp, or inside the Instagram app.
Difficult conversations
Meta says the alerts will include information created with the help of mental-health experts. The goal is to give parents something useful to lean on when they start difficult conversations with their children. The company admits the technology may not always be perfect. There is a chance of false alarms. Meta says it prefers to act cautiously rather than miss a real warning sign.
Not everyone agrees with the approach. The Molly Rose Foundation, created by the family of a British teenager who lost her life in 2017 after viewing self-harm content, has raised concerns. The group argues that sudden alerts could frighten parents. They also believe the messages could create more stress in homes that may not be ready for these talks. Still, the tool marks another step in the long debate over how to protect teenagers online.
