Instagram to restrict Korean teenagers' screen time starting today
Published: 22 Jan. 2025, 12:54
Updated: 22 Jan. 2025, 18:08
![An edited photo of a person using a phone and the Instagram logo. [GETTY/INSTAGRAM]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/22/92c01f80-d096-4257-8b63-660d41ab87a0.jpg)
An edited photo of a person using a phone and the Instagram logo. [GETTY/INSTAGRAM]
Instagram accounts of Korean users aged 14 to 18 years old will be automatically set to private starting Wednesday as the app's Teen Account setting takes effect globally.
Owners of teen accounts will receive a reminder to close the app after using it for 60 minutes. A restricted mode will also be activated from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., disabling notifications and enabling auto-replies to messages. Parents can monitor who their children are chatting with and limit their children's screen time.
Instagram introduced the feature last year to limit exposure to inappropriate content and reduce excessive screen time for teenage users.
Currently, Korean users can open an Instagram account if they are 14 years old or older.
The latest update also includes built-in restrictions on who teens can contact, preventing them from messaging anyone who they don't follow.
To change an account to public, users 14 to 16 will need parental permission, while those 17 and older can make the change independently.
The features' global rollout will be complete within the first half of this year. It's already in effect in the United States and Australia, who rolled it out in late 2024.
Instagram plans to hold an event on Feb. 11 to provide more details about the setting.
Priyanka Bhalla, Meta's head of safety policy in the Asia-Pacific region, said at the Youth Safety Roundtable last November that the setting had been developed following "years of discussions with teens, parents, and experts," emphasizing the importance of age-specific restrictions and addressing parents' concerns about the type and amount of content their children consume.
The Australian parliament passed a bill last November to restrict social media use for those younger than 16 without parental consent, while Norway is currently considering raising the minimum age for social media use from 13 to 15.
BY WOO JI-WON [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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