Meta on May 21 organized the ‘Talking Digital Suraksha for Teens’ roundtable, in partnership with 1M1B to build parental awareness on Meta’s approach to online safety and share best practices to safeguard the wellbeing of teens engaged in the online world.
The session discussed ways of empowering parents to confidently manage their teens’ usage of smartphones and devices – including on Meta’s platforms, while also gathering insights from parents and educators on their feedback around teen usage of social media and other online trends. The roundtable was attended by a select group of educators and parents from 10-15 selected schools in the city to learn more about digital safety initiatives and discuss experiences of their teen’s social media journey.
Speaking on the occasion, Natasha Jog, Director, Public Policy in India, Instagram, said, “We recognize the need for our young users especially to spend time online meaningfully, to do all the things that they love while staying safe. Through this series of conversations across India, we are seeking ways to engage with educators and empower parents to manage their family’s online experiences, with the boundaries and protections that work best for them.”
As part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the user safety ecosystem, Meta held the ‘Digital Suraksha Summit’ last year, which was built on a continuous endeavor to provide for a safe and balanced online experience for youth and women. Meta has also announced a two-year partnership with the Department of Electronics, Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science & Technology (ITBT), Government of Karnataka to empower students across schools and colleges, and educators on information, awareness and education on online safety and digital citizenship.
Over the past three years, Meta has launched 50+ safety tools and features to promote online safety. Recently rolled out features around teen safety include, ‘Night Nudges’, which encourages users to shut down the Instagram app when being used late at night, as well as ‘Quiet Mode’, which help give teen users more control over the time spent on Instagram and what they see. Further, with Instagram’s Parental Supervision feature, parents can view the accounts their child follows, the accounts that follow their children and be more involved in their online experiences. Meta’s ‘Family Center’ also provides parents and teens to find information on how to safely navigate the platforms.
