Can Instagram’s Changes Positively Impact Teen Mental Health?

After years of parental concern and an apology from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg during a Senate hearing about online child safety, Meta is introducing a major Instagram update: teen accounts with built-in safety features. Social media and mental health statistics show that nearly half of US teens aged 13 to 17 using Instagram daily. These changes could significantly impact how young people interact on social media. Existing Instagram accounts belonging to minors in the United States, Canada, Australia and the UK will be migrated over to the new restrictive teen accounts within the next two months. For minors worldwide, the changes are expected to go live in January.

While some people are skeptical about the effectiveness of these updates, others see it as a positive step toward safer social media and mental health practices and appreciate Meta’s effort to address these concerns. 

Dr. Patrick McGrath, Chief Clinical Officer at NOCD, emphasizes that social media can play a significant role in contributing to issues like eating disorders, low self-esteem, and cyberbullying among teens. Although there might be some negative impacts of Instagram, Dr. McGrath sees Meta’s new guidelines for teen Instagram accounts as a positive step toward protecting young users from these harmful influences. “It’s a great start, but other people have to step up and do these things, too,” Dr. McGrath shared.

With this new update, Meta is hoping to help make Instagram a safer space for young users. Naomi Gleit, head of product at Meta, told the The Associated Press, “The three concerns we’re hearing from parents are that their teens are seeing content that they don’t want to see, or that they’re getting contacted by people they don’t want to be contacted by, or that they’re spending too much time on the app,” she explained. “So teen accounts are really focused on addressing those three concerns.”

How are Instagram teen accounts different?

Teen accounts differ from standard Instagram accounts in a few ways. Here are some of the new social media safety features integrated into the teen accounts:

1. Default private accounts

When anyone from ages 13-17 signs up for the Instagram app, they are automatically given a teen account that is set to private. If the user is 16 or younger, they will need parental permission to change their profile to the public setting. 

2. Direct message restrictions

Minors will not be able to message accounts they don’t follow or receive direct messages (DMs) from accounts they don’t follow. 

3. Sensitive content protection

Teens will automatically be placed in the strictest sensitive content setting, limiting what they see in areas of Instagram such as Explore and Reels, restricting access to violent content like fight videos, or posts promoting cosmetic procedures.

4. Interaction restrictions

Teens can only be tagged or mentioned by people they follow, and offensive words or phrases will automatically be filtered out of their comments and DM requests.

5. Time limits

Teens will receive notifications after 60 minutes of daily app use, encouraging them to take a break.

6. Sleep mode

Sleep mode will activate between 10 PM and 7 AM, muting notifications and sending automatic replies to direct messages during that time.

Parental involvement in teen accounts

With the new updates, parents will have a lot more visibility on who their children are speaking to and what they are doing on Instagram. In order for teens to use less restrictive settings, they must set up a parental supervisor. Parents can then give permission to make certain changes (for example, making the account public). 

With social media being such a big part of teenagers’ daily lives, it’s crucial for parents to stay informed about what their kids are up to online. This can help prevent potential risks and dangers, like exposure to harmful content or online predators.

Here are some of the ways parents can be more involved and aware of their children’s usage. 

1. See who your teen is talking to online

Parents won’t be able to read their child’s messages, but they will be able to see who their teen has messaged within the past seven days.

2. Set daily usage time limits

Parents can set daily time limits for their teen on Instagram. Once that limit is reached, the app will become inaccessible for the rest of the day.

3. Remove Instagram access at certain times

With just one button, parents can block their teens from accessing Instagram during specific times, like at night.

4. See topics your teen is looking at

Parents can see the age-appropriate topics their teen has selected to follow, based on their interests and preferences.

Creating a more balanced online experience

With added security and safety features, the new teen accounts have an opportunity to help keep young people away from some of the more harmful areas of social media, such as repeated exposure to plastic surgery and weight loss ads, violent Instagram Reels, and sexual content. By limiting these influences, teens are less likely to develop negative self-comparisons and harmful body image issues that lead to feelings of inadequacy. 

Additionally, shielding teens from violent or explicit content can protect their mental well-being, preventing unnecessary stress and emotional disturbance. These new changes to Instagram teen accounts help create a healthier, more balanced online experience. “Every parent has a right to choose what they want their child to have access to or not,” shares Dr. McGrath.  

The new screen time limit can also help create healthier habits by encouraging teens to log off after a certain amount of time. Overall, these new features aim to add an extra layer of security that helps teens consume content in a healthier, more mindful way.

That being said, there are some concerns about children not being able to express themselves because their parents aren’t supportive of their sexual orientation or gender identity. These teens might not want to follow certain accounts or message certain friends out of fear their parents will find out, creating a potentially more isolating adolescence. If this is the case, Dr. McGrath says, “There’s plenty of channels other than Instagram. You can always do research and find other safe places to be able to do this.” 

One example of an online support group many young LGBTQIA+ people use is TrevorSpace by The Trevor Project. This platform is made to help people between the ages of 13 and 24 explore their identity, get advice, find support groups, and make friends in a safe, affirming online space.

Will these changes help teens experiencing mental illness?

Living with a mental illness can often make relationships with things a little more complex, including social media usage. Whereas someone without mental illness might not fixate too much on their social accounts, teens with mental illness may have deeper connections, both good and bad. 

Many teens with mental health conditions find connection, reassurance, and community through social media. For example, there are pages and community group chats dedicated to sobriety where people can talk about their struggles and wins with others who truly understand what they are going through. That being said, there are negatives to social media usage, too. If overused, social media can become a black hole of obsession, self comparison, and unhealthy habits. 

For kids with social anxiety, depression, or obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), the new Instagram teen accounts may be a way to set healthy boundaries and limits.

Social anxiety

Social anxiety disorder, or social phobia, comes with a constant, overwhelming fear of being judged or embarrassed in front of others. It’s more than just shyness—it’s an intense anxiety that can disrupt everyday life, making social situations feel daunting. 

People with social anxiety sometimes use social media as a substitute for in-person connection because there’s a feeling of getting interaction online, without actually having to interact with anyone in real life. Dr. McGrath points out, “If somebody has social anxiety and they’re relying on social media as their way to be social, they’re hiding behind a persona.” He says that this can cause teens to feel like others only like them for the persona they have online, not the real them.

For young people with social anxiety, the new account restrictions can help remind them when to get offline and make real connections with people. Obviously, this can be hard for someone who is very anxious about face to face interactions, but the time limit restrictions on Instagram paired with anxiety treatment can help build healthier, less isolating habits.

While the new features on Instagram teen accounts are a great start for managing healthy usage, it is important to note that if you have an anxiety disorder, seeking proven, clinical treatment is key. Exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy is the go-to treatment for social anxiety disorder. ERP helps individuals face their fears and give up behaviors that reinforce their anxiety. This treatment works by slowly and safely putting people in situations with their anxiety triggers. Over time, they learn how to deal with the discomfort instead of trying to find an immediate way out.

Depression

Depression is a mental health condition marked by persistent sadness, loss of interest, and feelings of hopelessness. For teens experiencing depression, social media can be a tempting escape from the pain of their day-to-day life. However, Dr. McGrath explains that young people may stumble upon harmful information, like instructions for self-harm, which can deepen despair and increase suicidal ideation. Social media also exposes users to unfiltered stories from other people with mental health issues, which can lead to a toxic “echo chamber” that reinforces negativity and hopelessness. 

Fortunately, the recent Instagram updates are designed to block out harmful and triggering content. This added layer of protection helps reduce the likelihood of teens coming across dangerous posts, offering some peace of mind for those who may be vulnerable to using this information in harmful ways.

Additionally, these safety features can potentially block out the dangerous content and encourage interaction with posts that are positive and recovery oriented. “I would hope that there could be messages that people see out there for [mental health] awareness. That people might find it amazingly inspiring and think, oh my gosh, I’m not the only person in the world who’s thought this,” shares Dr. McGrath. 

If you are experiencing depression, it is important to seek treatment. While social media can be useful in providing a sense of community, it is crucial to find help from a licensed therapist. 

Obsessive compulsive disorder

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a condition where people get stuck in a cycle of intrusive, unwanted thoughts or fears (obsessions) that lead them to perform repetitive behaviors or mental rituals (compulsions) to try and ease the anxiety. These compulsions might provide short-term relief, but in the long run, they only reinforce the cycle, making it even harder to find lasting comfort. 

Teens with OCD may develop Instagram-based obsessions, like scrolling through their feed a certain number of times, refreshing it constantly to make sure they didn’t miss anything their friends posted. “There’s people who will watch videos over and over again until they feel like they’ve done it ‘just right’ or they got the absolute message out of it, and they can get very stuck on it,” shares Dr. McGrath.

He points out that this phenomenon is nothing new. “People did that with books. They would read the sentence over and over in a book or a newspaper feeling they didn’t get it just right either. So it’s just the next evolution of [OCD and] printed media.” Dr. McGrath explains. 

Since social media is a part of most teens’ daily lives, making sure that the content they see is limited to certain subjects, cutting off access after a certain period of time, and sending hourly reminders about social usage can help encourage limitation. In turn, this can stop users with OCD from falling into the pattern of performing their social media compulsions because they are physically reminded to either leave the app or their access turns off. 

While the new Instagram reminders and restrictions certainly help, it is important to seek proper treatment for your OCD so it does not become worse or manifest in other ways. Exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy is the recommended treatment for OCD.  ERP is an evidence-based therapy involving gradually facing your triggers while learning strategies to tolerate your distress and prevent compulsive responses. 

For a teen with an Instagram-based obsession, ERP could involve slowly and safely exposing them to their fear (for example, not checking Instagram) while teaching them how to sit in discomfort instead of giving into the compulsive behavior (constant refreshing). Over time, this teaches the teen how to create healthy boundaries with social media use and how to fight against the urge to compulse.

The Bottom Line

Instagram’s new updates are a positive step toward making social media a healthier space for teens. By adding features like automatically private accounts for minors, stronger content filters, and time limits, Meta is aiming to protect young users from some of the negative aspects of social media. These changes can also support teens with mental health challenges, helping them create better habits around social media and finding an appropriate way to use it for them.

Ultimately, while these updates won’t fix every issue surrounding mental health and social media, they’re a step in the right direction. With healthier boundaries in place, teens may find it easier to navigate social media in a way that benefits their mental well-being, rather than harming it.