Setting up a Instagram teen account

Summary

Social media offers opportunities for growth but is risky.
There are different types of Instagram accounts with varying parental controls.
Setting up an Instagram teen account requires parent supervision.

Social media platforms can be a daunting place. Since the rise of social media over the past 20 plus years, the connections people can make online are bountiful. The ways that people can get small businesses off the ground with the help of social media and people can create content that gets them discovered for bigger jobs is a definite plus. Social media also provides an ideal way to stay in touch with friends, family, the news, and the world around you.

It also can be a dangerous place as people don’t have to be who they say they are when they are online. The inherent risks of social media are made clear to most people before they sign up for an account, but that isn’t always the case. Some of the larger companies that own social media platforms have taken into their hands to help younger people set up their social media accounts. There are parental control options that help parents monitor what happens on their child’s social media accounts or limits the amount of access the accounts have on the platforms. Meta, for one, has two such options in place for Instagram and Facebook.

If you’re interested in setting up an Instagram teen account, it varies from a child Instagram account. Teen Instagram accounts have more freedom to use the platform and parents can decide how lenient the app is. This can help gradually introduce kids to the wild world of social media. For those that want to set up an Instagram teen account, here’s how.

Your changes have been saved

Instagram

Instagram is a popular social media app that offers multiple kinds of accounts for youth users, teenagers, and adults. The app features a ton of features that all ages will enjoy.

My digital detox began with deactivating this app

If you’re getting caught in the doomscroll, this is the perfect place to start your social media cleanse.

What’s the difference between Instagram accounts?

There are some major differences

Instagram

People may not realize that there are actually three kinds of Instagram accounts. This is also true for Facebook, as Meta is the parent company of both and has set these stipulations in place for both platforms. There are adult accounts that are unfiltered and have access to all that Instagram has to offer. There are teen accounts that are meant for people between the ages of 13 and 17. These types of accounts offer parents the ability to supervise what their teenager is doing while they use the app. Content can be filtered and both the parent and the teen can set time limits on how much time the teen can spend on the app.

There is also a child’s account, which is for users between the ages of 10 to 13. This must be set up by an adult and offers age-appropriate safety settings that can only be changed by the supervising adult. The parent or guardian is in charge of managing the child’s account. There are added parental controls and data privacy features that limit what the child can do on the social media. It is meant to be an introduction to the world of social media and parents have strict control over what the children can and cannot do on Instagram.

Once a teen ages out of the age-restricted account limit and turns 18, the supervision ability of parents automatically ends. Parents and teens are notified of this via notifications from Meta.

Instagram finally adds a feature that has been on TikTok for over a year

Instagram has added a new feature which lets you add songs from posts to your Spotify account.

How to set up an Instagram teen account

It requires another account to be set up

Instagram app on phone on colored background

In order to set up an Instagram teen account, it requires the parent or guardian to have a Meta account of their own. For kids 13-17, there are protections built in that limit the kinds of content that shows up on the platform, so parents don’t have to worry that inappropriate content is making their way into their kids’ algorithms.

To set up a teen account, the first step is to download the Instagram app and both the teen and the adult need to create an account. For parents to create the invite:

Open up Instagram.
Tap the bottom left corner menu
Then tap Settings
Scroll down and tap on Supervision.
On the left side, there is a button that says Create invite. Tap it.
Review the info, tap Continue and then click Copy invite to share it with your teen.

This will send an invite to link the teen account to the adult account and give the parent supervision and access to the teen’s account. The teen will need to tap Accept in the invite. It is important to note that both the teen and the guardian must agree on the supervision terms. Parents can support up to five accounts and parents must be at least 18 years of age. A child or teen account can only have one parent’s account supervising them.

Instagram finally fixing a problem I’ve been complaining about for years

Instagram is fixing the app automatically refreshing content on your feed while you’re still looking at.

What is the advantage of having parental supervision on Instagram?

There are many features parents are privy to

Pocket-lint

Meta takes some parenting out of the parent’s hands by setting up strict limits on what is shown on an Instagram teen account. Teens get built-in limits on who can actually contact them on the app and they are only eligible to see content that is marked for users 18 and under. A teen account is automatically set to private and teens can’t be messaged by anyone they aren’t connected to. For content that can show up in their algorithm and Instagram Explore page, more sensitive content is not shown. Teen accounts will also only be tagged or mentioned by people they are already connected with. Potentially offensive words are not shown in teen accounts. Teen accounts are also automatically put into sleep mode from 10 PM to 7 AM.

Parents are able to set the time limits for the amount of app time their teen can spend each day. This can range from 15 minutes to two hours each day. In order to create the algorithm for their feeds, teens get the opportunity to explores interests and click on topics they like when they are setting up their account. Parents are able to see who their child is messaging, but not the content of the messages. Teen accounts are currently only available in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.

For parents, all the parental supervision takes place in Family Center. This is accessible through your profile by tapping on the menu button in the profile, and then tapping Family Center. Parents can modify the settings and see what their teen is doing on Instagram through the Family Center. There are also educational links that have guides on how to handle social media as a parent and positive online habits.

Teen accounts are currently only available in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.