Instagram Answers Criticism with Tools Aimed at Protecting Young Users
2021-12-09
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1Instagram has announced tools it says are designed to keep young users safe and help them limit time spent on the picture-sharing service.
2The announcement came the day before the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, appeared before American lawmakers to discuss measures to protect children online.
3Instagram is owned by Facebook, which recently changed its corporate name to Meta Platforms.
4Meta has been under increasing pressure from governments in several parts of the world to improve its safety and privacy policies to protect young users.
5In October, a former Facebook employee accused the company of ignoring research that suggested Instagram could cause body-image issues and harm the mental health of users, especially girls and young women.
6Mosseri described the new tools in an online post this week.
7He said one change is that Instagram would aim to be "stricter" about the kinds of content it suggests to young people.
8In general, social media networks such as Facebook and Instagram are designed to offer and suggest content that users have shown interest in.
9This is a way to keep users coming back and staying online for longer periods.
10But Mosseri said Instagram plans to launch a new feature that will suggest that users move on to something else if they have been staying on one subject for a long time.
11This feature is still being developed and tested.
12Staying centered on one subject for a long period can cause users to make unhealthy social comparisons, said Phillippa Diedrichs.
13She is a professor of psychology at Britain's University of West England in Bristol.
14She has been working with Instagram to find ways to improve the Instagram experience for young users.
15Diedrichs said suggesting to users to move on to another subject has "been studied as a way to improve users' experiences online without compromising their freedom and personal choice.
16Another tool is called "Take A Break."
17This feature sends a message to people who have been using Instagram for an extended period to consider taking a break from the service.
18In addition to the messages, young users will be urged to set their own reminders to take more breaks going forward.
19"Take a Break" is already live for Instagram users in the United States, Britain, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
20Instagram plans to launch the tool in the rest of the world early next year.
21Mosseri said Instagram was also turning off the ability for people to "tag," or mention young people who do not follow them on the service.
22And starting in January, young Instagram users will be able to easily remove all photo and video content at once, as well as any past likes and comments.
23Instagram says next March it will launch its first tools designed to give parents advice on how to discuss social media use with their children.
24The tools will let parents see how much time their children spend on the service and permit them to set usage limits.
25Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn criticized the company's new offerings as "hollow."
26She said she sees the moves as an attempt by the company to turn attention away from past mistakes "by rolling out parental guides, use timers, and content control features that consumers should have had all along."
27An Instagram spokeswoman said the service plans to continue its delay on the development of a planned child version of the service.
28The company suspended its plans for that project in September after facing intense criticism from major child rights groups as well as U.S. lawmakers.
29I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Instagram has announced tools it says are designed to keep young users safe and help them limit time spent on the picture-sharing service. 2The announcement came the day before the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, appeared before American lawmakers to discuss measures to protect children online. 3Instagram is owned by Facebook, which recently changed its corporate name to Meta Platforms. 4Meta has been under increasing pressure from governments in several parts of the world to improve its safety and privacy policies to protect young users. In October, a former Facebook employee accused the company of ignoring research that suggested Instagram could cause body-image issues and harm the mental health of users, especially girls and young women. 5Mosseri described the new tools in an online post this week. He said one change is that Instagram would aim to be "stricter" about the kinds of content it suggests to young people. 6In general, social media networks such as Facebook and Instagram are designed to offer and suggest content that users have shown interest in. This is a way to keep users coming back and staying online for longer periods. 7But Mosseri said Instagram plans to launch a new feature that will suggest that users move on to something else if they have been staying on one subject for a long time. This feature is still being developed and tested. 8Staying centered on one subject for a long period can cause users to make unhealthy social comparisons, said Phillippa Diedrichs. She is a professor of psychology at Britain's University of West England in Bristol. She has been working with Instagram to find ways to improve the Instagram experience for young users. 9Diedrichs said suggesting to users to move on to another subject has "been studied as a way to improve users' experiences online without compromising their freedom and personal choice. 10Another tool is called "Take A Break." This feature sends a message to people who have been using Instagram for an extended period to consider taking a break from the service. In addition to the messages, young users will be urged to set their own reminders to take more breaks going forward. 11"Take a Break" is already live for Instagram users in the United States, Britain, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Instagram plans to launch the tool in the rest of the world early next year. 12Mosseri said Instagram was also turning off the ability for people to "tag," or mention young people who do not follow them on the service. And starting in January, young Instagram users will be able to easily remove all photo and video content at once, as well as any past likes and comments. 13Instagram says next March it will launch its first tools designed to give parents advice on how to discuss social media use with their children. The tools will let parents see how much time their children spend on the service and permit them to set usage limits. 14Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn criticized the company's new offerings as "hollow." She said she sees the moves as an attempt by the company to turn attention away from past mistakes "by rolling out parental guides, use timers, and content control features that consumers should have had all along." 15An Instagram spokeswoman said the service plans to continue its delay on the development of a planned child version of the service. The company suspended its plans for that project in September after facing intense criticism from major child rights groups as well as U.S. lawmakers. 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from The Associated Press, Reuters and Instagram. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 18We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 19_____________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21strict - adj. demanding complete observance or obedience 22feature - n. a typical quality or important part of something 23psychology - n. the study of the human mind and feelings 24compromise - v. to agree to something that is not exactly what you want 25remind - v. to make someone remember something or remember to do something 26mention - v. to briefly speak or write about something or someone 27hollow - adj. having a hole or empty space inside 28consumer - n. someone who buys or uses goods or services