« Back to List

Is Instagram Safe For Kids?

Key takeaways about Instagram safety for kids

  • Instagram is an extremely popular, yet potentially harmful, photo-sharing social media app.
  • Parents are concerned about ineffective age verification and parental control features on Instagram.
  • People are filing lawsuits against Meta, the parent company of Instagram. They allege that Instagram causes serious mental health issues in young people.

What is Instagram?

Instagram is a popular photo-sharing social media app. Fifty-nine percent of teenagers in the United States use Instagram, and about half use it daily. Despite its popularity, many teens say Instagram hurts their body image, produces fear of missing out (FOMO) and disrupts their sleep.  

Instagram launched on mobile devices in October 2010. On the first day of its release, the app had 25,000 users. Instagram had 30 million users when it was acquired by Facebook’s parent company, Meta Inc., in 2012. In 2024, more than 1.4 billion people worldwide use Instagram every month.

Instagram began as a photo-sharing app where users could post filtered images, follow other users, and like or comment on posts. In 2013, Instagram started to support short videos that users could enhance with the app’s special filters. Meta introduced “Reels” on Instagram in 2020. Reels are short videos available on an algorithm-driven feed, a format similar to TikTok.
 
As the popularity of Instagram continues to rise, many parents are beginning to wonder if the application is safe for kids. Seemingly defective features like lax age restrictions and ineffective parental controls are creating concerns.

How old do you have to be to have Instagram?

Instagram requires users in the United States to be at least 13 years old. However, Instagram relies on users to report their ages to create an account. Social media lawsuits argue more age verification measures are needed.
 
Instagram uses age estimation technology to deliver targeted advertisements. Some claim Instagram could use this technology to identify underage users and deny them access to the app.

Instagram first launched in 2010 but didn’t ask new users to enter their age during the sign-up process until 2019. Even then, existing users didn’t have to disclose their ages. That lack of oversight essentially grandfathered in underage users. In April 2020, Meta was aware of the ages of only approximately 55% of its users. Instagram users trying to change their age from under to over 18 did not have to verify their age until 2022.

Meta knows its age verification procedures are not keeping underage users off Instagram. Yet, it still allows users to misrepresent their age without asking for proof. If users enter a birthdate indicating that they are under 13 years old, they can’t create an account. However, they can immediately reapply to open an account with a birthdate that falsely indicates they are 13 or older. The only restrictions to creating an account are that it must be linked to a cell phone number or an email address.  

Instagram’s lack of age verification allows predators to lie about their age. They can pretend to be children, endangering actual children on the platform. Research found that as many as 500,000 underage users receive “inappropriate interactions with children” every day.  

Is Instagram safe for teens?

Instagram can be unsafe for teens. Instagram says it is unaware of the app’s negative impact on teens’ mental health. However, people are concerned about Instagram’s deeply harmful effects on young audiences and Meta’s alleged effort to entice children into social media at increasingly younger ages.

Studies have shown a link between apps like Instagram and a significant increase in teenage anxiety, depression and self-harm. The research found social media is not only connected to emotional problems in teens; it causes them.

Is there a kid version of Instagram?

No, there is no kid version of Instagram. Meta planned to develop a kid’s version for children under 13. However, experts, parents and regulators expressed concern about the safety of younger users on the platform. Meta postponed the plan in September 2021.

Contact an Instagram mental health attorney

If your child has suffered negative mental health effects due to the use of social media applications like Instagram, you might be eligible to file a legal claim. Contact Motley Rice today to learn more about filing a social media lawsuit against Meta, the parent company of Instagram.

Contact a lawyer today.

What are parent concerns with Instagram?

Parents are concerned about their children’s addiction to Instagram and the related mental health effects. Two examples of Instagram’s addictive design include the “Stories” feature and endless scroll.

  • Instagram Stories: Instagram’s “Stories” feature allows posts of full-screen photos and videos that are viewable for 24 hours. After that time they disappear. Instagram Stories is designed to encourage daily use or risk missing out on social interactions. This feature is especially addictive for younger users. They feel tremendous pressure to view all their friends’ stories before they disappear. This pressure can lead to compulsive use and potential addiction to the platform.
  • Endless Scroll/Endless Feed: a design feature that allows users to scroll seamlessly through content without reaching an endpoint.

Instagram addiction can present as several mental illnesses. Some signs of mental distress concerned parents can watch for include the following:

  • Body dissatisfaction. Instagram’s image editing promotes unrealistic body ideals that cause users to negatively compare their bodies to filtered images. These comparisons are widespread among adolescent girls. They are especially vulnerable to social pressures related to their bodies and the physical changes that occur during puberty.
  • Eating disorders. Teenage girls report that their eating disorders got worse after joining Instagram. The long-term effects of eating disorders may include bone loss, brain matter loss, changes to the endocrine system, damage to the nails and hair, fertility problems, gastrointestinal conditions, heart damage and hormonal issues.
  • Social comparison. Meta’s own research found that Instagram’s “likes” negatively impact younger users. They tend to be overly fixated on the number of likes they receive (or don’t receive). Meta expanded the likes feature on Instagram, allowing users to like comments and posts. This expansion increases the feedback teen users receive on their posts. It also takes advantage of their inherent need for validation through social comparison. 

Instagram parental controls

Instagram lacks sufficient parental controls and hampers parents’ ability to protect their children from harm. Children can create an unlimited number of anonymous accounts without parental approval. The app intentionally undermines parental supervision to boost teen engagement.

Adequate parental controls are readily available, affordable and relatively simple to implement. Yet, Instagram fails to:

  • Allow parents to enact maximum daily usage limitations or to prohibit use during certain hours
  • Ask for parental approval before a minor can follow new accounts
  • Notify parents about children’s interactions with adult accounts
  • Notify parents when child sexual abuse material (CSAM) appears on a minor’s account
  • Provide parents with reports of a child’s activity on the app
  • Require children’s accounts on Instagram to be linked to their parents’ accounts

Meta does not supply a phone number for parents and children to immediately report child abuse. Instagram’s online reporting system does not allow for a response in real time, no matter how serious the issue is. When people make online reports, Meta frequently doesn’t respond, blaming technical issues instead.

Instagram legal rights for parents

Parents have a right to expect controls to help them monitor the frequency, time of day and duration of their child’s Instagram use. Lawsuits allege that Meta has a duty to notify parents when their child’s use becomes excessive or happens during sleep time.  Instagram addiction can cause sleep deprivation in children.
 
People have filed many lawsuits against Meta Inc., the parent company of Instagram. The lawsuits are over Meta’s alleged role in creating and perpetuating a mental health epidemic in young people. Many claim Instagram is to blame for their children’s severe harm, including suicide. If you or your child experienced mental harm from Instagram, you could be eligible to file an Instagram mental health lawsuit.

Our experience helping families and children

Motley Rice attorneys have been fighting for families for decades. Our experience includes representing people dealing with the harm tech companies have caused. If you or your child attempted or died by suicide, was treated for self-harm, or were diagnosed with a mental health issue related to Instagram use, our lawyers can help you file a lawsuit for social media harm. Our team prioritizes client well-being.

Read more on our social media litigation experience

Sources
  1. Brown Undergraduate Journal of Public Health. What Makes TikTok so Addictive?: An Analysis of the Mechanisms Underlying the World’s Latest Social Media Craze.
  2. Business Insider. Facebook's internal research found its Instagram platform contributes to eating disorders and suicidal thoughts in teenage girls, whistleblower says.
  3. Business Insider. What happens to your brain when you get a like on Instagram.
  4. Cleveland Clinic. Anorexia Nervosa.
  5. Healthline. Science Behind Why Instagram Stories Are So Addicting.
  6. Instagram Help Center. Tips for Parents.
  7. Keleş-Gördesli B, Mccrae N, Grealish A. A systematic review: the influence of social media on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents. International Journal of Adolescence & Youth. (202) 25:1, 79–93.
  8. Letter from Facebook, Inc. to Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Senator, and Marsha Blackburn, U.S. Senator. (Aug. 17, 2021).
  9. Letter from Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Senator, to Mark Zuckerberg, Chief Executive Officer of Facebook. (Aug. 4, 2021).
  10. Meta. Introducing Instagram Reels.
  11. NPR. Instagram Is Pausing Its Plan To Develop A Platform For Kids After Criticism.
  12. Pedalino F, Camerini A-L. Instagram Use and Body Dissatisfaction: The Mediating Role of Upward Social Comparison with Peers and Influencers among Young Females. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 19(3), 1543.
  13. PetaPixel. Instagram is Adding View Counts to Your Videos.
  14. Pew Research Center. Teens, Social Media and Technology 2022.
  15. Royal Society for Public Health. #StatusOfMind. Social media and young people's mental health and wellbeing.
  16. TechCrunch. Instagram Launches 15-Second Video Sharing Feature, With 13 Filters And Editing.
  17. The Washington Post. Instagram will soon let you like comments — or even turn them off completely.