How to make sure strangers can't contact your kids on social media

Instagram has announced it is taking steps to make it more difficult for strangers to contact teenagers through its app. A new feature will ban adults from sending direct messages to people under age 18 who don’t follow them. If an adult tries to do so, they’ll receive a notification explaining they can’t direct message the account. A blogpost from Instagram’s parent company Facebook explains this is just one of the updates they are implementing in their efforts to “keep our youngest community members safe.” If an adult is social media friends with a teenager, Instagram may prompt the teen to be cautious if they decide to have private messaging conversations. The safety notices will tell young people if an adult they are interacting with is exhibiting potentially suspicious behavior. For instance, if an adult is trying to send messages to a lot of people under 18, the young account holder will get a safety notification from Instagram. The notice gives teenagers the option of ending the conversation and then restricting, blocking or reporting the adult. If kids really want to chat with adult strangers, they can always lie about their age when they sign up. But Instagram says it’s…
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