Here's how TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube aim to make social media safer for your child
Bedtime might be easier with some of these regulations in place.
From age eight upwards, children are able to operate a phone and participate in social media spaces such as TikTok and YouTube. One can never know who and what their child is exposed to on these platforms. Fortunately, the social media giants, including Instagram, are introducing stricter child safety regulations.
If you had previously struggled to be firm with 'no phones past bedtime', you might be happy to know that TikTok has turned off notifications for children past bedtime.
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It might not completely turn off the app, but once they put their phone away, nothing will nudge them to check their phones after bedtime.
Another regulation keeping children safe applied by Instagram will see targeted adverts disabled for under-18s entirely. This will mean all the unsolicited content that we randomly see as 'Sponsored' posts will not appear for underage users.
Finally, YouTube has turned off autoplay for teen users. This follows Britain's introduction of a new set of regulations aimed at protecting children online.
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The UK had introduced a new set of regulations aimed at protecting children, which nudged the three social media platforms - YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, to make last-minute changes on their platforms not only in the UK, but globally.
In the talks between the UK, law firms in the country, the Information Commissioner’s Office, and these social media platforms, it was shared: Teens are tech savvy and reluctant to be treated differently, so it remains to be seen how much of an impact filters and nudges towards positive behaviour can make.
We do hope that these changes bring about more safety and a less dangerous user experience for your child on social media platforms.
They deserve to enjoy these spaces without you constantly peeking over their shoulder.
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