Meta has upgraded Instagram safety features for teens, the company said in an email obtained by NewsNation.
Meta said in the email to The Hill’s partner that the upgrades include teenagers being able to “see options to view Safety Tips and block an account prominently displayed at the top of new DM [direct messaging] chats, as well as the date the person joined Instagram.”
The company said those upgrades are intended “to give teens more context about who they’re chatting to and help them spot potential scammers.”
As the use of social media has gone up over the last two decades, concerns about the mental health of teens and children have also risen dramatically.
A survey of 2,035 American adults from 2023 found that 50 percent of parents who had children below 18 believed their child or children’s mental health had deteriorated in the prior year due to social media use.
In April, Meta announced fresh “built-in protections” for its Instagram Teen Accounts, including needing parents to consent for children under 16 to go “live” on the platform.
Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy earlier this year reiterated that in an interview that parents should regulate their children’s social media usage to safeguard their mental health, especially at younger ages.
“Delaying the use of social media for your kid as long as possible is important,” Murthy told NBC News’s Kristen Welker.
“The bottom line is these devices, these platforms, in particular, social media platforms, are having an effect on our children,” he added.
