Meta Launches Instagram Parental Supervision Tools and Family Center in the PH

This National Children’s Month, Meta launched new Instagram tools and resources in the Philippines to help keep young people safe and support their well-being online.

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, Save the Children Philippines, Youth for Mental Health Coalition, Unang Hakbang Foundation, Society of Adolescent Medicine of the Philippines, and the De La Salle University Social Development Research Center.

“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,” Dr. Ma. Emma Llanto of the Society of Adolescent Medicine of the Philippines said.

Child Protection Specialist at UNICEF Philippines, Jesus Far noted the role that parents and guardians must play in educating and empowering young people to stay safe online. “Spending one-on-one time with your teens is important. How you start and follow up on crucial conversations—this is a skill that parents should also learn,” says Far.

The tools can be accessed via the Instagram app which 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.