Social media has the potential to cause harm to children and young people. When online platforms are used excessively or inappropriately, it may lead to social isolation or unhealthy comparison with others. Teenagers are frequently exposed to vulgar and inappropriate content unsuitable for their age. All of these factors can hurt the emotional and social well-being of children and young people. To combat this, monitoring their online activity and educating them about safe internet use is crucial.

From time to time, Meta's social media applications introduce new security features. These updates are typically in response to scandals and mishaps involving the company. In this latest update, Meta focuses on the safety of the youngest Instagram and Facebook users. The company has announced that it will implement measures to protect young people from inappropriate content.

In an official announcement, Meta states that "in line with expert guidelines, we will start to hide more content for teens on Instagram and Facebook". The algorithm will no longer suggest material related to suicide, self-harm and eating disorders to the youngest platform users. However, if children seek news on these topics, they will be redirected to expert resources.

In addition, Meta will automatically place all teens "into the most restrictive content control settings on Instagram and Facebook and restricting additional terms in Search on Instagram". Moving forward, teenagers' access to inappropriate content will be restricted, thanks to new measures implemented by the business owner. Meta also emphasises the importance of regularly updating privacy settings, which will be optimised to ensure maximum protection. To help with this, teens will receive a notification from the app reminding them to upload the latest software version.

Source: Meta