Instagram, one of the world’s largest social media platforms, announced earlier this week that they would be rolling out a new set of restrictions and accounts for their teenage users, which make up a lion’s share of the platform’s user base. The restrictions come after years of intense scrutiny and pressure on social media platforms to moderate or restrict their use by teenagers, thanks to the platforms contributing to many health and social issues (such as addiction to the application or problems in school). Large social media platforms, such as Twitter (now known as X), Reddit, and TikTok often fought back against calls for moderation, labeling them as attempts to restrict free speech. In TikTok’s example, they even posted an announcement on the platform that the US Government was trying to censor free speech on the platform, which backfired and caused more concerns about Chinese influence on the platform.

Instagram, which is owned by US-based conglomerate Meta (formerly Facebook, Inc.), has been given similar sharp criticism by both the US government and concerned parents across the country. Instagram’s main point of criticism is its mysterious and often addictive algorithm, which is designed to feed the user content that interests or aligns with them to keep them on the platform for as long as possible. Thanks to most of Instagram’s user base being made up of North American teenagers, this has led to an epidemic of addiction to the platform, and the spread of misinformation and violent content to teenagers, which has contributed to the widespread mental health epidemic among North American teenagers, along with the Coronavirus pandemic.

Instagram’s corporate headquarters in Menlo Park, United States. (Buzzvoice.com)

Instagram has finally seemed to respond to these growing concerns with its announcement of new restrictions and rules for teenagers who use the platform. The biggest changes, which will be rolled out throughout this week, are that teenagers who are under 16 will automatically have their accounts private, and will also need to have a parent or guardian oversee any changes to their account settings. In addition, the platform will automatically give parents the ability to set time limits for how long it can be used. Instagram has also stated that they will now use their new “Video AI” feature to analyze and detect the age of the user (alternatively, users can submit an ID photograph to verify their age). Users 16 and above can remove these new restrictions and settings on their own, and revert the new policies.

Many experts, including Instagram itself, have pointed out that these changes will likely result in a short-term loss in revenue and user engagement since many younger users will likely switch to other platforms or leave the platform entirely. However, Instagram expects that they will achieve long-term success with these new rules, especially among concerned parents who helped push for these new restrictions.