Meta is releasing new parental controls and “nudging” Instagram users away from harmful content.

Meta is releasing new parental controls and “nudging” Instagram users away from harmful content. YPulse’s Social Media Behavior Report data shows 48% of Gen Z agree with the statement, “social media makes me feel worse about myself / my life” and in response to the Wall Street Journal investigation, whistleblower, and keen public scrutiny over the course of the past year, Meta is cracking down on the amount of access parents will have over their kids’ accounts. Instagram will now allow parents to approve of downloads their kids make in the Meta’s VR platform, be able to view how much time their children are spending using VR headsets, as well as offer the ability for parents to invite their kids to grant supervision over their Instagram accounts. One of the newer features called Nudge will quite literally “nudge” users in another direction if Instagram sees they’ve been engaging with a specific type of content for too long. These safeguards are intended to mitigate the rising mental health problems research has linked to the platform. (NPR, The Verge)