A charity that teaches children in Rutland about internet safety welcomes Instagram's teen accounts
This will turn many privacy settings on for children on the app in hopes to make it a safer platform for teenagers
The Warning Zone charity that teaches children in Rutland online safety is urging social media platforms to do more to keep children safe.
Instagram are introducing 'Teen Accounts' for all under 18s.
This will turn more privacy settings on for children with the aim to make it a safer platform for teenagers.
The accounts have built-in protections which limit who can contact them and the content they see.
They also provide new ways for teens to explore their interests.
I think it's anything that takes the sharp edges off any platform or internet experience has to be a good thing
Teenagers are automatically placed into these accounts, and teens under 16 will need a parent’s permission to change any of these settings to be less strict.
The new Teen Account protections are designed to address parents’ biggest concerns, including who their teens are talking to online, the content they’re seeing and whether their time is being well spent.
Craig Lewis, Cyber Programs manager at Warning Zone said:
"I think it's anything that takes the sharp edges off any platform or internet experience has to be a good thing."
"Anything that gives users or the people who are responsible for them a little more control over that experience has to be a good thing."
"I think a lot of the shock we have when we speak to young people is that they've been exposed to things they weren't expecting and to some extent this will reduce that."
They're exactly the same risks we face in real life, and we can't shy away from those
"Perhaps not enough, but anything's better than nothing."
"I think when you understand the benefits, the risks we risks we have to face are probably worth taking with the correct guidance."
"They're exactly the same risks we face in real life, and we can't shy away from those."
"We just have to face them in a more positive way."
"If young people and children think that your first response is going to be to get angry at them for making mistake that they didn't have the life experience to avoid and to remove access to the friends and the things they like, they just won't tell you that something's gone wrong."
That's an absolute gift to people who might be abusing or manipulating them."
"So I think keeping that healthy relationship with technology comes from keeping the healthy relationship with your support network."