Parent’s Ultimate Guide to Instagram: How Old Do You Have To Be To Have Instagram?

Being a parent in today’s age comes with its own set of worries and problems. Gone are the days when the biggest concern a parent had about their teenage child was falling in with the wrong crowd. And by the wrong group, they meant someone stubborn and frivolous about school. But millennial parents have it worse. Their worries start with how old you have to be to have Instagram, and well, it never ends.

If you witness a teen snapping a selfie, the photo will likely be shared on social media. Frequently, this means Instagram, one of the world’s most popular social image-sharing platforms. So, what’s the big deal?

Instagram is popular among teenagers for various reasons, the most important of which is that it is where their friends are. They can also keep tabs on their favorite celebrities, follow accounts that are relevant to their hobbies, and, of course, maintain their profile (or profiles) that convey an image of themselves to their friends — and occasionally to the rest of the world.

Understanding Why Parents Need To Pay Heed To IG’s Influence

The variables that make teens enjoy Snapchat are the same as any other social media platform. Unfortunately, Instagram can also be a haven for criminals. Anyone can find whatever they want, depending on who you follow or what you search for.

There is a lot of mature content available. And, especially if an account is public, comments on posts can be downright cruel. Many teenagers believe they must maintain an ideal profile, so they continually analyze postings for likes and remove any that don’t meet their standards. And they have to check their feeds for updates from friends all day (and sometimes all night). Instagram also has a business side to it. Embedded advertisements, celebrity endorsements, and product tags abound in children’s feeds. So, it’s natural for parents to feel paranoid about whether or not to let their children use Instagram. But the best part about the coin is that it comes with sides.

However, Instagram can still allow kids to interact and be creative with some direction around settings, time limitations, and constant guidance about approaching content and handling comments. To learn more about how old you have to be to have Instagram and whether IG is safe for your kids, keep reading:

What Age Is Appropriate To Use Instagram?

You must be 13 to use Instagram, but there is no efficient age verification mechanism, making it incredibly easy for children under 13 to sign up. So there is an age limit to use Instagram, but no way to check if it’s being followed. That burden falls on the parents. The way we adults view Instagram is tinted by our protective instinct as a parent, but for kids, it’s the place their friends hang out. If they are not on it, they are missing out. Now that’s something we all can relate to; FOMO has marred us all growing up. So what is the alternative?

How can we balance our kid’s safety on Instagram while ensuring we are not taking away a crucial piece of their social experience?

Why Should You Let Your Child Have IG?

Remember how your parents let you accompany them to the market to help you understand how the world works early on. They wanted to prepare you for the future.

Instagram is your child’s market. If you forbid him from using Instagram, you are taking away his window to learn about the future he will grow up in. Their entire world is going to be online. Understanding and learning to handle Instagram and other online platforms early on will give them an edge over their peers. It will affect all aspects of his social, personal, and especially professional life.

But we can’t turn a blind eye to the emotional and psychological strain these platforms can cause. However, there are various ways you can monitor and control your child’s activities online.

How Do I monitor my kid’s activity on Instagram?

• Use Instagram’s Supervision Feature: Instagram has a supervision feature where it allows one parent to supervise the IG account of a teen(13-18 years) To use the Instagram supervision feature, the teen needs to send a supervision request to the parent’s account. And once the parent accepts the request they can supervise the teen’s Instagram activity from their IG account.
• Create an Instagram account for yourself and follow your child: You’ll be able to see what they publish (until they block you), but you won’t be able to read their DMs (direct messages).
• Follow their Friends:  They will be followed by their pals. It’s not uncommon for parents to be internet friends with their children’s friends (but you should hold back on comments). If you’re close with your children’s pals, you can keep track of their activities.
• Carry out spot checks: These check-ins, which can be random or scheduled, provide you and your child time to sit down and go over their feed. From the start, make it a point to have open communication about the harms of Instagram. Equip them with the knowledge to spot fraud and fakeness on Instagram while teaching them how to use IG constructively.
• Install a monitoring app from a third party: Bark and other parental controls give you a lot of visibility.

Is there a way to limit or restrict my kid’s activity on Instagram, including connecting with strangers?

The Privacy section on Instagram has a lot of options, so if you’re assisting your child with their first account, you should spend some time there. Unfortunately, you can’t lock the Privacy settings, so keep in mind that your children can alter them back. Here are a few more important Instagram privacy settings that you should know about:

• Comment controls: You can limit comments to followers, block comments from particular persons, hide “offensive” remarks, and establish word and phrase filters. This will help you create a smooth IG experience for your child. In addition, you can shield your kid from offensive and inappropriate comments using this setting.

• Resharing to stories: You have complete control over whether or not others can reshare your content.

• Block and Report accounts: Teach your kids when and how to utilize blocking and reporting features on Instagram (and make sure they understand that if they use any of Instagram’s protection measures, they will remain anonymous).

If you decide to allow your teen when he qualifies for Instagram’s age limit to use Instagram, there are a few things you can do to ensure they get the most significant advantages and the fewest drawbacks. First, to get off to a good start, sit down with them and go over the app and its settings with them, noting your concerns, laying out the expectations and potential consequences, talking through any controls you might use (including spot checks), and setting boundaries around when, where, how, and with whom they can communicate.

Now you know how old you have to be to have Instagram and how to ensure your teenage kid has a safe experience using Instagram, learn how to put parental controls on YouTube, and supervise their content consumption.

So let your child explore the ocean of opportunities that Instagram has to offer(with your supervision, of course)!