Today's teens are digital natives in an Internet-centric world. They experience the benefits of online exploration, self-expression, and staying informed, but also encounter negative experiences like bullying and harassment. In a move to prioritize the safety and well-being of young users, Meta has unveiled a range of new parental control tools across Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger.
Meta's Family Center will offer new parental tools, featuring a hub in Messenger for parents to oversee their teen's online activities. The tools also enable blocking unwanted messages on Messenger and Instagram to prevent harmful interactions and send reminders to teens to take breaks from their online engagements.
Image Credit–Meta
These newly introduced tools grant parents or guardians access to their teen’s privacy and safety settings, enabling them to monitor changes in the Messenger contact list and assess the amount of time spent on the app. Parents will also receive notifications when their teen reports someone.
Image Credit–Meta
If, for example, your teen reports someone, they can choose whether or not to notify you by sending a notification. And if you wonder how to react, Meta's Education Hub is available to parents and provides guidance on addressing issues and supporting their child in the best possible way.
In addition to the parental control tools, Meta is implementing notifications to alert teens when they have spent 20 minutes on Facebook, encouraging them to set daily time limits, which can also be set by the parent. For Instagram users, the company is exploring a new feature that prompts teens to close the app if they have been scrolling through Reels late at night.
Image Credit–Meta
Given that teenagers spend an average of 7 hours and 22 minutes per day in front of screens, this feature might just be what all other online platforms should have.
Recommended Stories
While Facebook has long provided parental controls for its Messenger Kids platform, the new tools are specifically designed for the main Messenger app, catering to parents with teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18.
It is important to note that using these parental control tools requires mutual consent and awareness between the parent and the teenager. Either the parent or the teen must initiate an invitation to enable the tools.
The new parental controls will be launched in the US, the UK, and Canada. However, Meta has expressed its commitment to expanding the availability of these tools to other regions across the globe. And this initial batch of parental supervision tools might be just the beginning, as Meta plans to introduce additional features and enhancements over the next year.
Follow us on social media to catch the latest trending stories, watch exclusive videos, and join the conversation with our vibrant community!
Tsveta, a passionate technology enthusiast and accomplished playwright, combines her love for mobile technologies and writing to explore and reveal the transformative power of tech. From being an early follower of PhoneArena to relying exclusively on her smartphone for photography, she embraces the immense capabilities of compact devices in our daily lives. With a Journalism degree and an explorative spirit, Tsveta not only provides expert insights into the world of gadgets and smartphones but also shares a unique perspective shaped by her diverse interests in travel, culture, and visual storytelling.
Recommended Stories
Loading Comments...
COMMENT
All comments need to comply with our
Community Guidelines
Phonearena comments rules
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: