Instagram has released Family Centre, a place for parents and guardians to access supervision tools, resources from Australian experts and wellbeing tools on Instagram.
Family Centre will be a new place for parents to oversee their childrens accounts within Meta technologies, set up and use Supervision Tools, and access resources on how to communicate with their young people about internet use.
Instagram’s vision for Family Centre is to allow parents and guardians to help young people manage experiences across Meta technologies, all from one central place.
Family Centre which can be accessed via mobile in-app only includes an education hub where parents and guardians can access resources from experts and review articles, videos and tips on topics such as: how to talk to young people about social media.
In Australia, Instagram has worked with groups including Butterfly, Orygen, PROJECT ROCKIT, ReachOut and eSafety to make their educational resources available to more parents, guardians and young people through Family Centre.
Instagrams supervision tool allows parents and guardians to:
- Manage how much time their young people spend on Instagram.
- View and receive updates on what accounts their children follow and the accounts that follow them in return.
- Be notified when their child reports someone.
Mia Garlick, director of public policy for Meta Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands said: “We recognise our responsibility to protect the safety of people who use Meta’s services - especially the safety of young people."
"Their safety is of paramount importance to us, and we want them to have an experience that is both fun and safe, and we want to support their parents to assist them in doing this.”
Lucy Thomas, Co-founder & CEO, PROJECT ROCKIT said: "As Australia's youth-driven movement against (cyber)bullying, PROJECT ROCKIT's long-standing collaboration with Instagram has mobilised thousands of school students with the skills to tackle difficult situations online. That's why we are proud to support the launch of Instagram's new Family Centre.”
Tracey Campbell, marketing director, ReachOut said “Research by ReachOut found that 36 per cent of parents in Australia feel unsure about the role they can play in keeping their teens safe on social media and 32 per cent aren’t quite sure how to use the safety controls."
"Parents' top concerns about their teens' use of social media include bullying, exposure to inappropriate content, unwanted contact or grooming, sexting or sharing nudes, and privacy concerns.
"At ReachOut, we share the concerns Australian parents and carers have about online safety and acknowledge the impact it can have on the mental health of young people. ReachOut is committed to working with social media platforms, including Instagram, in order to provide advice and support and to reach young people with important mental health messages."
Family Centre is available to all parents and guardians wishing to use the parental supervision tool effective immediately.
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