Instagram’s Teen Accounts Are a Step In the Right Direction
by Judith Rodman
President & CEO

Instagram recently announced it was creating “Instagram Teen Accounts” which would allow teens to be online but still have parental control. With this change, the app is automatically restricting teens’ content and ensuring there is more privacy and control when it comes to who has access to their account.
There were many different additions to tailor content for teenagers and to change any of these settings for users under 16, it has to be done through parental controls. This way, all changes to turn off those teen privacy settings have to be approved by the parent.
While this is a step in the right direction for protecting children online, it is not a replacement for parental oversight of their child’s social media.
Navigating how to keep a child safe while they are online can be hard when apps change each day. There are so many people and so much content they can be viewed whenever they want, so these privacy settings are important to make sure they are seeing age-appropriate content and keeping unsafe users from their accounts.
To learn more about social media and how to use it safely, Sunflower House offers a training program, Keeping Kids Safe Online, to anyone in the community over 18 years old who wants to learn about potential dangers on the internet and how to prevent them as best they can.
In the hour-long training, parents and guardians can learn about how to see their child’s activity on many different apps, how to set parental controls, and what controls may be a good idea to set. They will also learn how to teach children who are online how to respond to negative comments, how to explain how important privacy is, and how to tell if someone they’re talking to online is who they say.
Online safety can seem like a daunting task when there are so many platforms and so much content a child can be exposed to, but knowing the dangers and what to look out for can keep your child safe. Visit us for one of our Keeping Kids Safe Online training to be equipped with the knowledge on how to keep unwanted viewers, inappropriate content and so much more away from your child.
About Judith Rodman
Judith (Judi) Rodman is the President and CEO of Sunflower House, the Child Advocacy Center serving Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas. Ms. Rodman has more than 25 years experience in community mental health, family services, therapeutic intervention with children and families, and nonprofit leadership. Ms. Rodman has extensive nonprofit experience in program development and evaluation, staff leadership, and managing state, federal, and private grants. Read More.