Even as its faces flak for having adverse impact on youngsters, social media platform Instagram has announced the launch of its 'parental supervision' tools in India, through which parents can keep a tab (and control) on their kids' usage of the platform. It is also introducing a 'family centre', a space for parents and guardians to access supervision tools and resources from experts.
The rollout in India seems to be part of the global expansion of supervision controls and family centre that were first launched in the USA in March this year.
Natasha Jog, head, public policy, Instagram, Facebook India (Meta), said: "The supervision tools and the family centre will add to our efforts on keeping young people safe. Our intention is to strike the right balance for young people's desire for some autonomy when using Instagram, but also allows for supervision in a way that supports conversations between parents and young people when it is helpful."
New supervision tools: How can they help the parents
Thanks to the new supervision tools, parents can view how much time their teens spend on Instagram and set time limits. They can also set specific times during the day or week to limit their teen’s use of the platform.
Parents can be notified when their teen chooses to report an account or post, including who was reported and the type of content. Further, they can also keep tabs on what accounts their teens follow and the accounts that follow them. Parents can now send invitations to their teens to initiate supervision tools. Initially, only teens could send invitations.
Family centre allows parents to view the accounts that they supervise on Instagram and manage supervision settings. Family centre will also give access to resources in English and Hindi languages from experts and review articles, videos and tips on topics like how to talk to young people about social media. Parents can also watch video tutorials on how to use the new supervision tools, the company said in a statement.
A parent can go to the 'Family Centre' by tapping profile or your profile picture in the bottom right. Tap more options in the top right, and then tap settings. Finally, tap 'Supervision'.
Meta is also working with Kidsstoppress.com, a discovery platform for parenting needs, to engage with parents and spread awareness of the tools.
