MANILA – Meta, the company that handles Facebook, has launched new Instagram tools and resources in the Philippines to help keep young netizens safe and support their well-being online just in time for National Children’s Month.

Meta is now offering the Parental Supervision Tools and Family Center that will guide parents to guide their kids’ social media habits.

In the new supervision tools, parents and guardians can manage the time spent by the young ones on Instagram.

They can set screen time limits and schedule breaks for their teens during the day or week.

Parents can also track new connections on Instagram, getting notifications on new accounts that their children are following -- as well as the accounts that follow them back.

The teens can also choose to notify their parents or guardians if they make a report on Instagram so they can discuss what happened together.

Meanwhile, in the Family Center, parents and guardians can access materials and resources to help young people build positive online habits.

Through the Family Center, parents and guardians can now set up new tools to oversee the Instagram accounts of young people in their family. The tools are available in English and Filipino.

It can be accessed via the Instagram app and includes articles, videos, and tips on a range of topics to help parents and guardians start a conversation with teens about social media. It also includes video tutorials on how to set up and use the new Supervision Tools.

Moving forward, the Family Center is eyed to become a key resource to help parents and young netizens manage experiences across all Meta technologies.

The Family Center and Parental Supervision Tools were launched after extensive consultation with experts, parents, guardians, and young people from around the world.

Ahead of the launch, Meta convened roundtables with experts from the government, the academe, and non-profit organizations in the Philippines, including the Department of Information and Communications Technology, Council for the Welfare of Children, Stairway Foundation, Plan International Philippines, UNICEF Philippines, and Save the Children Philippines.

• Meta launches Instagram safety guide for parents

“Understanding Filipino teens’ psychosocial and adolescent development and how the teen brain works can help us better know what measures to work with when dealing with social media supervision. We cannot impose rules without good relationships with your children. We need to make it balanced,” said Dr. Ma. Emma Llanto of the Society of Adolescent Medicine of the Philippines.

Meanwhile, Jesus Far of UNICEF Philippines also noted the role that parents and guardians must play in educating and empowering young people to stay safe online.

“Our intention is for these tools and resources to strike the right balance between young people's desire for autonomy online, whilst allowing for some involvement from parents and caregivers to help ensure their teen is having a safe experience online,” said Clare Amador, Philippine public policy head at Meta.

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