Everything on Instagram looks so much pleasing and wonderful. But one thing should always be remembered, that the gates to hell are always alluring.
Although there are countless positive things that your kids can learn and grab from Instagram. But this is only possible when the use of Instagram is made in an appropriate way.
Even a single step kept on the wrong path while using Instagram can harm your child in many ways. I hope it never happens but if used in an incorrect way, Instagram can act as a slow poison that can kill the ethics and morals that you have been giving your child since the cradle days.
Now the question arises, How to tackle the dangers of Instagram? Not letting your kid use Instagram is certainly not the answer. With this, you’ll be making them even more anxious about the app.
What you can do is, talk to your kids about all the threats that they can face while using Instagram. Briefly discuss with them what are the dangers of Instagram. And how dangerous could Instagram be for them if not used properly? Finally, teach the kids, how it should be used to always enjoy a good experience on Instagram.
So in this article, I’ll let you know about all the Instagram dangers that your child will most probably face while using it. Along with that, I’ll give you some solutions to tackle the dangers and risks of Instagram.
Table of Contents
- Quick Summary
- What Are The Dangers Of Instagram?
- How To Tackle These Instagram Dangers?
- Is Instagram Dangerous? Final Verdict
- FAQs
Quick Summary
Instagram is a great platform to share your photos and be in touch with the latest trends. However, if not used properly Instagram can prove risky for kids. The Instagram dangers kids may face while using it include fake accounts and hacking, exposure to adult content, bad influence, addiction, and more. Parents should be vigilant and ensure their children are safe while using Instagram with the help of Instagram monitoring apps and other methods mentioned in this article.
What Are The Dangers Of Instagram?
1. Fake Accounts And Hacking
The first and biggest risk of Instagram is obviously related to hacking and the fake accounts that can be made using the name and photos of your kid.
It can be really dangerous if a fake account gets created using your kid’s name and photos. The person behind that account can easily distort the child’s image in the public.
The person can edit the child’s image in an inappropriate manner and spread it to the public. Or maybe they start sending unethical and abusive messages to others from that account.
Moreover, it can’t be known to whom that person has been sending the wrong messages. So even if you know about those activities, you don’t understand that to whom you should explain the situation and whom you should not.
2. Adult Content
Another big negative effect of smartphones on kids while using Instagram is related to the adult content that is present all over Instagram. And more importantly, the content cannot even be filtered.
The Instagram models post photos and videos that are totally not fit for the kids to see. And even if the kids don’t open the accounts of those models, the feed on Instagram can show their photos anytime randomly.
More importantly, Instagram even makes it possible to clear the trace of any such activity performed by the kid.
The clear search history option of Instagram is just a click away. After that, no trace is left behind and even if you check the device manually, you won’t be able to track the wrong activities performed on Instagram. Hence making your child unchained from all the suspicions.
3. Bad Influence Over The Kids
Almost every celebrity is present on Instagram today. Be it actors, models, lifestyle influencers, musicians, sportsperson, or YouTubers.
It’s quite obvious that the lifestyle of these people is far deluxe than that of an ordinary person. Whenever they post their photos and videos on Instagram while living a luxurious life, it definitely allures the children. Especially if they’re in their teenage.
Kids start to follow these celebrities and start comparing their life to them. And this is where all the problems begin.
They try to copy the lifestyle of their idols and insist their parents for the things that are quite out of their budget.
It’s just one example of the bad influence that Instagram leaves over the kids. There can be hundreds of other ways too through which Instagram can drag your child to the path that should never be walked.
4. Danger From Unknown Users
If the Instagram account of your kid is private, then the threat from unknown users decreases a lot. The reason is, that the people who are not following your kid won’t be able to see the Instagram posts of your child.
Secondly, if the account is private, any person who is not following the account will not be able to message your kid. Even commenting on your kid’s posts will not be possible.
But this is not the case with public accounts. The posts on the public account will be visible to everyone who reaches your profile. And just like posts, the option to message and comment on the user’s pic will also be present.
There are high chances that any random person might comment on your kid’s pic and the comment is vulgar in some sense. The same thing can happen while posting stories too. Similarly, the kid might also receive abusive messages from someone.
It’s really easy to manipulate the kids. Many people on Instagram are eager to extract the information of others and use it for their benefit. So it’s also possible that someone might contact your kid and convince them to give the details about their account. Or maybe convince them to give some other confidential details.
5. Addiction
One of the main reasons why is Instagram dangerous is due to its addiction. Once your kid enters the world of Instagram, there’s no looking back.
The attractive features of Instagram, amazing feeds from all over the world, messaging, Instagram TV, and many other features make the app simply perfect.
While scrolling through the Instagram feed, you won’t even realize that you have been using Instagram past one hour. So you can very well imagine that if you can be stuck in such a position, how can your kid not get addicted to Instagram?
The problem is not only related to Instagram feeds. The posts from the people and groups that they follow are equally interesting and time-consuming.
After getting bored with the Instagram feed and posts, they also have the option to view the stories of the people they follow. How can you expect such an app to be non-addictive?
6. A Good Place For Hitting Up
Everyone knows about the fact that social media platform like Instagram is a good place to come into a relationship.
If the account is public, anyone can message your kid and who knows, the chat between the strangers might end up in a relationship someday.
The child might get allured by the photos of the stranger. And he/she might even be really sweet while talking. But who knows, the person behind that account might be a hacker who can hack into the Instagram account of your kids.
We all think that Instagram is a user-friendly platform and take it for granted. And for the same reason, we neglect the activities of the kids on Instagram. But the same platform might turn up as the biggest disaster for your kid someday.
7. Your Kid Might Get Viral On Instagram
Getting viral on social media is no big deal, today you post something, and by the next morning, it can become viral and reach the whole world. While getting viral for good reasons is not harmful but if you get viral for bad reasons then it can be very mentally disturbing.
Due to meme culture, people are easily getting viral these days. Suppose your kid uploads an embracing photo of themselves just for fun and somehow it gets viral then consider what will happen. So getting unwanted fame is also a big concern of Instagram that can negatively impact the life of your kids.
8. Risk Of Data Breach
Not just Instagram but the risk of a data breach is there with every other social media platform. However, Instagram is owned by Facebook which already has a bad reputation when it comes to the data privacy of its users. If your kid uses Instagram then there is a chance that their confidential data may leak at some point in time. Moreover, if the sensitive data of your kid lands in bad hands then it can be used for all sorts of illegal things that can spoil their future.
9. Exposure To Harmful Trends
There’s a new trend every day on Instagram, sometime it’s the Ice bucket challenge, while sometimes it’s the Kiki dance challenge. These trends and challenges can prove fatal to your kids. It is possible that they try to follow the trend and for that, they accept to do a challenge that is not safe for them.
10. Pressure To Gain Followers And Likes
Kids these days are under peer pressure of gaining more followers and likes on their Instagram profiles and for that, they can take some extreme measures which can be risky. For example, they can share their intimate photos or do some extreme stunts. This is one of the biggest dangers of Instagram these days.
How To Tackle These Instagram Dangers?
After knowing what are the dangers of Instagram for your kids, you must be thinking that it would be better to remove their account from Instagram.
But it won’t be of any use as it’s not that hard to make another account on Instagram. Moreover, it might cause some differences between you and your kid.
What you should do is, first of all, make them understand these dangers briefly. After that, you have to set a bar for them under which their Instagram activities should remain.
1. Instagram Monitoring Apps
This simple-looking solution can release you from almost every concern that you have related to Instagram and other social media platforms.
If you have a good monitoring app by your side like iKeyMonitor, you can track almost all the activities of your kid’s smartphone. Read our detailed iKeyMonitor review to find out everything about this app. A good monitoring app will also show you the activities on the Instagram account of your child.
The Instagram accounts that your kid opens, Instagram feed and even the messages that they send or receive can be easily monitored using a good Instagram spy app.
Do you think that your child is becoming quite addicted to Instagram? Monitoring apps have a solution to your problem. You can easily set up screen time for them and after that time gets over, Instagram will stop working.
Simply blocking the app is also possible with this app. Besides that, it can also help you track all other activities on their cell phone for example their browsing history, social media activities, and more.
If you are just curious to monitor the Instagram accounts of your loved ones then you can make use of Glassagram or Snoopreport. These tools are dedicated to Instagram monitoring only and hence they provide better insight into someone’s Insta profile. With their help, you can view others’ Instagram stories anonymously so that you can keep a close eye on them.
2. Setting Account To Private
Once the public account gets turned into a private account, most of the problems will automatically get solved.
After taking this simple step, no one other than the followers will be able to send the messages to your child. Only the followers will be able to see what photos or videos your kid posts and what stories they upload.
Since the photos and videos posted and the stories uploaded are not visible to any stranger, it’s impossible for someone other than the follower to comment on them.
3. A Check On The Followers List
It’s really necessary to know the people added to the following list of your kid’s Instagram account.
You should manually check the list from time to time and ask your kid about the person you find suspicious. And if you think that a particular person should not be on the list, that account should immediately be removed.
The pages liked and followed by the kid should also keep an eye on. It should be thoroughly checked that the page doesn’t post any adult content or anything that’s not good for children.
4. Warn Them Not To Post Anything Personal
Kids are not aware of the consequence of sharing personal data on social media platforms like Instagram. So being an adult it’s your duty to warn them about the dark side of sharing confidential information like phone number, location, address, etc. in the public domain. By sharing their private details, your kids are making it easier for scammers and hackers to target them. But if they don’t post anything confidential then the risk of getting scammed on Instagram reduces by a significant margin.
5. Enable Two Factor Authentication
2FA is a safety feature that is provided by Instagram to its users so that no one can log into their account without their permission. You must enable this feature on your kid’s Instagram account so that even if someone steals their login credentials they won’t be able to sign in to your kid’s account. A 2FA-enabled Instagram account only opens with the help of a code that is received on your kid’s cell phone.
6. Report A Suspicious/ Fake Account
If you see someone has created a duplicate account with your kid’s name and photos, you can report it to Instagram. They will look into it, and if they find it violates their terms and conditions then they will delete that account. By reporting a scammer you are not just protecting your kids but also helping other people on Instagram from falling prey to scams.
7. Talk To Your Kids
Kids may have low self-esteem looking at the luxurious life and perfect body of influencers on Instagram. You need to talk to your kids and tell them that all that glitter is not gold. You should also remind them that nobody is perfect in this world and people that seem successful and happy on Instagram are not actually the same in real life. A small chat with your child can boost their confidence and help them live a better life.
Is Instagram Dangerous? Final Verdict
Yes, Instagram can be dangerous for your kids, and in this article, I have warned you about the dangers of Instagram that kids may face while using this platform.
It’s not like parents should completely deny their kids from using Instagram. But total freedom should not be given either. A proper balance needs to be maintained.
And to maintain that balance we have provided you the list using which it will be easy for you to keep an eye on the Instagram account of the kids.
FAQs
Can you put parental control on Instagram?
There are no specific tools available on Instagram for parental control. But you can switch the public account of your child to private. You can also make your own Instagram account and closely monitor the activities of your kids.
How to track activities of kids on Instagram?
If turning account to private does not work for you, in that case, you can easily take help of a good monitoring app. With this you will have total control over the kids Instagram account.
Can you block someone on Instagram?
Absolutely yes. You can easily block someone on Instagram. The person getting blocked will not be able to reach your account. So automatically it becomes impossible for that person to contact you, message you or view your posts.
What is the good age for using Instagram?
Legally speaking, the appropriate age for making an account on Instagram is 13 years. While making an account on Instagram, it even asks about the age. The account of someone less than 13 years should clearly state that the account is being managed by the parents or manager.
How to enable privacy settings on Instagram?
Click on the profile icon, tap on the hamburger icon and then tap on Settings. Next, tap on Privacy and control different settings. You can choose the Account Privacy option and toggle on the button from Public Account to switch the account to private.
