KNOW HOW TO TALK
WITH YOUR TEEN
ABOUT INSTAGRAM:
A PARENT’S GUIDE
A collaboration between
Instagram and National PTA
If you’re reading this, you’re probably a parent.
We know from research that many parents have
concerns about their teen’s safety online. As
parents who also work at Instagram as well as
parents who volunteer with National PTA, we want
to address those concerns. It’s with our teens in
mind that we go into work every day. Parenting is
both an awesome responsibility and an amazing
opportunity. For all of the incredible opportunities
parenting brings, there are some challenging
ones too — we’re raising the rst generation of
digital natives, for whom the online world is just
as important as the ofine one.
We know that as a parent it may be hard to
understand what your teen is doing online and
why they’re spending so much time on their
phones. While it might seem like posting photos
and videos is second nature for teens, many
of them actually put a lot of thought into what
they share online. It’s hard to know how to have
an open conversation with our teens and keep
A LETTER FROM
THE PARENTS
OF INSTAGRAM
them safe while we’re learning to navigate the
landscape ourselves. We share these concerns,
as does everyone who works at Instagram.
That’s why we’re collaborating and have created
this guide. We know it might feel daunting to
have these conversations with your teens. We
want to make sure you feel equipped with the
tools you need to start the dialogue and hope
this guide will make things a little easier.
We feel a great responsibility to make sure
Instagram is a supportive community for teens
to connect and share, and we want to make sure
you as a parent feel informed and empowered to
help guide them. We believe that the rst step is
understanding why they use Instagram, and what
tools are available to make sure their experience
is positive, intentional and safe.
For more information, and to watch a video
where we explain these tools for you, go to
parents.instagram.com.
A Parent’s Guide to Instagram 3
5
WHAT IS INSTAGRAM? .....................................7
MANAGE PRIVACY
Privacy ................................................. 13
Block Unwanted Interactions ............ 15
MANAGE INTERACTIONS
Manage Comments ........................... 21
Block Comments and Accounts ........ 23
Filter Out Comments ......................... 27
MANAGE TIME
View Your Activity ................................33
Set Daily Reminder ............................35
Mute Push Notications .................... 37
You’re All Caught Up .......................... 39
TEN QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU
TALK WITH YOUR TEEN
................................ 43
GLOSSARY ................................................... 45
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
A Parent’s Guide to Instagram
7
Instagram is a social media app
used to share photos, videos and
messages. Whether it’s through
Stories, Feed, Live, IGTV or Direct,
our mission is to bring people
closer to the people and things they
love. In order to do this, we believe
it’s essential that Instagram is a
safe, supportive place for people to
express themselves. The minimum
age to have an Instagram account
is 13. Teens use Instagram to
celebrate big milestones, share
everyday moments, keep in touch
with friends and family, build
communities of support and meet
others who share their passions
and interests.
To learn more about the ways teens
use the Instagram app, see the
glossary at the end of this guide.
WHAT IS
INSTAGRAM?
A Parent’s Guide to Instagram: What is Instagram?
amethyst_grl lil_lapislazuli
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7
9
“WHEN I’M USING
INSTAGRAM,
I DON’T THINK
ABOUT IT AS BEING
ON MY PHONE,
I THINK ABOUT IT AS
BEING MY VOICE.”
TEEN JOURNALIST MALICK MERCIER,
@CLASSYMALICK
A Parent’s Guide to Instagram
11
MANAGE
PRIVACY
There are a number of tools you can
share with your teen that will give them
more control over their digital identity
and footprint. One of the rst things
you want to talk about with your teen
is whether their account is going to
be public or private. Making sure they
understand that they have control over
who sees and interacts with the things
they post online will empower them to
feel like they can be themselves
on Instagram.
A Parent’s Guide to Instagram: Manage Privacy
ACCOUNT PRIVACY
The rst choice you can make with your
teen is whether their account is public or
private. If your teen’s account is private,
they approve the people who follow
them, and can remove followers at any
time. Private accounts mean your teen’s
content can’t be seen by anyone they
haven’t approved. If your teen is public,
anyone can see the content they post
on Stories, Feed, or Live, and can follow
them without needing approval. If your
teen already has a public account, they
can switch to private at any time; they
can also go from private to public. They
can remove followers, choose who can
comment and more. Your teen can also
turn off “Show Activity Status” so friends
can’t see when they’re online.
13
MANAGE
PRIVACY
A Parent’s Guide to Instagram: Manage Privacy
HOW TO
Your teen can choose a
public or private account
by selecting “Account
Privacy” in settings.
15
BLOCK UNWANTED
INTERACTIONS
Your teen can block accounts they
don’t want to interact with. This
will block people from seeing and
commenting on their posts, stories,
and Live broadcasts. When you
block an account, that person is
not notied. You can unblock an
account at any time.
HOW TO
Your teen can block an account
by tapping “...” on their profile,
then tapping “Block.”
MANAGE
PRIVACY
A Parent’s Guide to Instagram: Manage Privacy
17A Parent’s Guide to Instagram
“MY MOM HELPS
ME BY MAKING
SURE THERE ISN’T
ANYBODY NEGATIVE
IN MY COMMENTS.
WE EITHER IGNORE
THEM OR BLOCK
THEM OUT.”
AUTHOR, LEXI P.,
@CURLANISTAS
19
MANAGE
INTERACTIONS
There is no place for bullying of any
kind on Instagram and it’s against
our policies to create an account,
post photos, or make comments for
the purpose of bullying or harassing
someone else. Let your teen know
that if they spot an account, photo,
video, comment, message or story
that is intended to bully or harass
someone, they can report it from
within the app by tapping “...” on
the top right corner of the post or
prole, swiping left on the comment,
or tapping and holding the message,
and tapping “Report.”
Reporting is totally anonymous; we
don’t share your teen’s information
with the person who has been
reported.
A Parent’s Guide to Instagram: Manage Interactions
MANAGE COMMENTS
Your teen is in control of who can
comment on their photos and videos. In
the “Comment Controls” section of the
app settings, they can choose to: allow
comments from everyone, people they
follow and those people’s followers, just
the people they follow, or their followers.
Teens can also remove comments
entirely from their posts.
21
MANAGE
INTERACTIONS
A Parent’s Guide to Instagram: Manage Interactions
HOW TO
In your settings, select
“Comment Controls.” Your
teen can tap “Allow Comments
From” to control who can
comment on their posts.
23
BLOCK COMMENTS
Teens can block accounts that they don’t
want to interact with. Comments will no
longer appear from a blocked account.
Teens can turn off comments from all
posts or individual posts.
MANAGE
INTERACTIONS
A Parent’s Guide to Instagram: Manage Interactions
HOW TO
Your teen can block comments by
selecting “Block Comments” within
the Comments Controls section.
25A Parent’s Guide to Instagram
“HAVING THIS
ACCOUNT HAS
CHANGED MY LIFE,
BECAUSE I’VE
[HAD] A LOT OF
EXPERIENCES AND
MET A LOT OF PEOPLE
I NEVER THOUGHT
I WOULD MEET.”
DANCER LIZZY HOWELL,
@LIZZY.DANCES
27A Parent’s Guide to Instagram: Manage Interactions
FILTER OUT COMMENTS
We have controls that help you manage
the content you see and determine when
comments are offensive or intended to
bully or harass. We’ve built lters that
automatically remove offensive words
and phrases and bullying comments.
Your teen can also create their own list of
words or emojis they don’t want to have
appear in the comments section when
they post by going to “Filters” in
the Comment Controls section.
MANAGE
INTERACTIONS
HOW TO
Your teen can tap “Manual Filter”
and a field will appear where they
can enter any words, phrases or
emojis that they never want to see
on their posts.
29A Parent’s Guide to Instagram
“SOCIAL MEDIA CAN
BE INCREDIBLY
HELPFUL AND
IMPACTFUL. IT
CAN GIVE YOU
A COMMUNITY
WHERE YOU DON’T
OTHERWISE HAVE
THAT COMMUNITY.”
ACTIVIST ELEANOR WHEELER,
@ELLIEWHEELS
31
When it comes to spending time
on Instagram, there’s no right
or wrong answer when it comes
to how much is too much or just
right. There are a number of
tools to help you and your family
understand and take control of
the time your teen is spending on
the app. You can work together to
decide what the right balance is
for your family.
MANAGE
TIME
A Parent’s Guide to Instagram: Manage Time
3333
MANAGE
TIME
VIEW YOUR ACTIVITY
Your Activity Dashboard shows your
teen how much time they’ve spent
on Instagram for the past day and
week, as well as their average time
on the app. Your teen can tap and
hold the blue bars to see how much
time they’ve spent on Instagram on
a certain day.
A Parent’s Guide to Instagram: Manage Time
35
MANAGE
TIME
SET A DAILY REMINDER
Your teen can use the daily
reminder to set a limit on how
much time they want to spend on
Instagram. Talk with your teen about
how they feel while using the app.
Is there a point when they don’t get
as much out of it? Setting the daily
reminder together can be a good
way to talk about how your teen is
using Instagram throughout the day.
HOW TO
Your teen can turn off
or change their daily
reminder at any time.
A Parent’s Guide to Instagram: Manage Time
37
MUTE PUSH NOTIFICATIONS
Your teen can use the “Mute Push
Notications” feature to silence
Instagram notications for a period
of time. When the preset time is up,
notications will return to their normal
settings without having to reset them.
MANAGE
TIME
A Parent’s Guide to Instagram: Manage Time
HOW TO
How to: To mute their
notifications, your teen can tap
“Notification Settings.”
39
YOU’RE ALL CAUGHT UP
Teens can feel pressure to see and
interact with all of their friends’ posts.
When they scroll through every post
on their feed since they last logged
on, they’ll see a message that says
“You’re All Caught Up.”
This way, they’ll know that they’re up
to date on everything their friends and
communities are up to.
A Parent’s Guide to Instagram: Manage Time
MANAGE
TIME
HOW TO
“You’re All Caught Up” is
enabled automatically.
41A Parent’s Guide to Instagram
“MY SON CONSIDERS
[INSTAGRAM] TO BE
THE KEY FOR HIM
TO RELATE WITH
HIS PEERS.”
PHOTOGRAPHER AND DAD RUDDY ROYE,
@RUDDYROYE
43
TEN QUESTIONS
TO HELP YOU
START THE
CONVERSATION
We partnered with social media and education
expert Ana Homayoun, M.A., P.P.S., author of Social
Media Wellness, to create a set of 10 questions
you can use to guide a conversation with your teen
about Instagram. Our intention is that you use these
questions to learn more about how your teen is
using Instagram, and to ensure they’re using the
app in a positive way.
What do you like about Instagram?
01
03
What do you wish I knew
about Instagram?
02
04
05
How do likes and comments affect
how you feel about a post?
What are the top ve Instagram
accounts that you enjoy following?
43
06
What are some things you think
about before you post something
on Instagram?
07
Do you know your followers? (If your
teen has a private account, ask them
how they decide who follows them.)
What do you do when someone you
don’t know tries to contact you via
direct message?
08
If you have multiple Instagram accounts,
what do you share in each account?
10
Have you ever felt uncomfortable with
something you saw or an experience
you had online?
A Parent’s Guide to Instagram: Discussion Questions
What would you do if you saw
someone being bullied on
Instagram? (Do you know about the
reporting tools and the offensive
comment lter on Instagram?)
09
How do you feel about the amount of
time you spend online?
45
GLOSSARY
OF INSTAGRAM
TERMS
Instagram Direct is where teens can
message each other individually or in groups.
They can also share photos and videos with
just the people they’re messaging.
DIRECT
Block is a tool your teen can use if someone
is bothering them on Instagram. When your
teen blocks someone, the other person
isn’t notied, but they’ll no longer be able to
interact with your teen in any way.
BLOCK
A comment is a reaction to the content
someone posts on Instagram. Comments
appear below posts on your teen’s feed.
Comments can use words or emojis.
COMMENT
A Parent’s Guide to Instagram: Glossary
We want to foster a positive, diverse
community. Everyone who uses Instagram
must adhere to our Community Guidelines
which are designed to create a safe and
open environment for everyone. This
includes things like no nudity or hate
speech. Not following these guidelines
may result in deleted content, disabled
accounts or other restrictions.
COMMUNITY GUIDELINES
47
Reporting is a way your teen can let Instagram
know that a post, account or comment is
inappropriate. Your teen can report any post
or comment that they believe violates our
community guidelines.
REPORT
Your teen’s Instagram prole is where their
friends and followers will nd their posts, and can
access their stories. It also includes a short bio.
If your teen’s prole is private, only their main
prole picture and bio is visible.
PROFILE
A Parent’s Guide to Instagram: Glossary
Stories disappear from the app after 24 hours,
unless your teen has enabled archiving, which
makes their expired stories available only to
them. Your teen can share them in their Stories
Highlights. Anyone who can view your teen’s
stories can screenshot them.
STORIES
Your teen can go live to share with their followers
in real time. When live, they can invite friends
to join them, co-host a live session or leave
comments and send hearts. They can also video
chat in Direct with up to four people.
LIVE AND VIDEO CHAT
IGTV is a place for longer vertical video up
to one hour. Your teen can nd videos from
their favorite creators, and can make their
own longer content. IGTV is a standalone
app as well as within Instagram.
IGTV
A post refers to the media your teen is putting
on their Feed or on Stories. This can be video
or photos.
POST
Feed is where teens can see posts from the
accounts they follow. Teens generally see
feed posts as being more celebratory or
special. Feed posts can be photos or videos.
FEED
GLOSSARY
OF INSTAGRAM
TERMS
Explore is where teens will see photos
and videos from accounts and tags they
might be interested in. Explore is different
for everyone — the content changes
depending on accounts and hashtags your
teen follows.
EXPLORE
For more tools and resources to
help you navigate healthy social
media habits with your teen, visit
parents.instagram.com
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