Suhani Gupta

Awareness over the dopamine-hooking features of social media platforms like Instagram to retain user engagement has also grown in recent years.Teen Accounts contains a feature that turns off notifications from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., provide reminders for a screen time break and a set a time limit that can only be modified by parents. 

Meta’s recent announcement of Instagram Teen Accounts, its latest addition to Instagram, comes following a rise in concern over child safety online. In their announcement, Meta detailed changes that hint at a broader shift in social media companies regarding online safety. 

Teen Accounts monitors content and limits which users can directly contact teens. Teens under 16 need parental approval to modify restrictions set by Teen Accounts. The account seeks to provide teens with a safe online environment in which they consume only safe, friendly content and freely use Instagram while being safeguarded from any unknown individuals online. 

Academic counselor Kelly Leahy-McKeown agreed with the concept of limiting teens’ unrestricted access to social media throughout the day, as well as the monitoring of content. McKeown urged awareness over the possibility of social media taking away from a student’s personal development. 

“If you’re scrolling through everyone else’s ‘avatar,’ you’re comparing your own,” Mckeown said. “Developing self identity is really critical, and without that, people can roll into depression, anxiety, loneliness. They might feel very alone because the more time they spend creating their image, the less time they’re in real life with people.”

However, the impacts of social media do not stop at loneliness and depression. Exposure to abusive and exploitative content remains a possibility on platforms like Instagram. 

Teen Accounts notably followed a barrage of scrutiny in early 2024 from the EU, when they announced their investigation into whether Meta’s platforms “stimulate behavioral addictions in children.’” The announcement came after the groundbreaking Digital Services Act, an EU law seeking to advance child safety. In New Mexico, the attorney general sued Meta over allegations that Meta-owned platforms enabled sex trafficking and exploitation. 

Over 30 states joined a federal suit last year against Meta for its alleged exploitation of young people which they claimed continues to fuel the youth mental health crisis. Citing Meta’s recommendation algorithm, which guides users towards viewing content they specifically enjoy, the suit sought to declare Meta’s features unlawful and demand change to Meta-owned platforms. 

Psychology club officer Alexis Leo (10) acknowledged Meta’s history of failing to fully account for cases of child exploitation on its platforms. Child exploitation facilitated by parents also remains an important issue on platforms like Instagram. 

“The Teen Account has a good thought behind it, but I think that social media needs to step up their game with policing accounts which involve using children to get views, clicks and likes,” Alexis said. “A lot of girls [are] posing in revealing clothing at 4 years old.”

Awareness over the dopamine-hooking features of social media platforms like Instagram to retain user engagement has also grown in recent years. In an effort to control the possibility of teens’ incessant use of the app, Teen Accounts contains a feature that turns off notifications from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., provide reminders for a screen time break and set a time limit that can only be modified by parents. 

Senior Naiya Daswani, a passionate researcher on mental health, commented on the effects of an unrestricted Instagram on time and productivity. 

“There are addictive properties to social media; someone could be scrolling and not even realize hours have gone by,” Naiya said. “The parental control [which] sets daily app usage limits can help ensure social media usage isn’t compromising productivity or sleeping enough hours.”

While Teen Accounts appear a solid premise for tighter regulation of teens’ access to social media, Mckeown voicse the importance of parents’ role in social media regulation. 

“I think parents are pressured by children, especially teenagers, to the point where some of them might make new decisions,” Mckeown said. “They wouldn’t keep the Instagram new guardrails in place, they would bypass it. They would let their kid have full access again.” 

Fellow academic counselor Jonah Alves agreed with Mckeown, citing the importance of parental education concerning social media, instead of just students. 

“There are definitely a lot of parents who are aware, but there are also a lot of parents who are not aware of how impactful social media is for their child,” Alves said. “We can only do so much in school, but it goes back to educating the parents. Because it’s likely most of those parents didn’t grow up with social media.” 

Despite the many questions on boundaries and safety that millions of users grapple with each day, Alves reaffirmed the positive benefits of social media and urges others to view solutions with the viewpoint of fruitfully coexisting with technology, rather than simply accepting its harm. 

“There are a lot of really great things about [social media], and again, it’s only going to continue to evolve,” Alves said. “It’s one of those things where I would really love to figure out, ‘How do we create healthier relationships with technology?’ rather than just assuming [the harms are] here to stay.”