Instagram is one of the most popular apps among young people. Experiences are shared as stories, influencersshowwhat’s hot at the moment, users find out about a news feed or are simply entertained.
Instagram, or Insta for short, is more than just a picture platform. Above your own feed (accessible in the app via the house icon), you will find the latest stories and live streams from users you follow. These disappear again after 24 hours, but can also be saved by the person who posted the story on their own account as a so-called highlight. The feed also displays the newly posted photos and videos of the subscribed channels and people.
Users can find a wide variety of content on Insta: Posts by stars and starlets, about brands and products, current challenges and even personal profiles of friends. You can respond with likes and comments.
You can create and edit your own posts with filters, emojis, fonts, etc. directly in the app. In captions, your own content – i.e. photos and videos – can be assigned to topics with a hashtag. Under Instagram Reels (accessible below the feed via the video icon) you can find short videos in TikTok style.
The popularity of Instagram lies, among other things, in its focus on photos and videos. Various and easy-to-use tools help to get the best out of your own image. It is particularly appealing for young people to present themselves in the best light and test their effect on others. The app also makes it quick and easy to document and share the best moments with friends or family.
Children and young people are constantly finding new content about their idols on Instagram. They can follow what they are doing virtually around the clock, comment on pictures, like them, save them and forward them to other people. Insta is a great way to while away the time waiting for the bus or to keep an eye on what your crush from the next class is doing in his free time.
Influencers, stars and people with a creator account can create broadcast channels. With the help of an invitation link, users can join and invite other people. Children and young people find out even more about the (public) lives of their stars in the broadcast channels and receive news before people outside this channel.
At the end of 2023, Meta also launched the app in Germany Threads app in Germany. This is (closely) linked to Instagram.
The joint privacy policy of Facebook and Instagram, which all users agree to when registering, allows the sharing of user data with other services of the parent company Meta and with third parties. The app enables so-called crossposting. This means that a photo can also be posted on Facebook can be shared. If you have a Facebook account, you should check the settings carefully when publishing posts.
Instagram can determine the location of users via the posts they make. Privately set accounts prevent this. In addition, access to the location can be set both in the app and in the app permissions on your own smartphone and tablet. Then Instagram cannot see the location of public accounts either. However, a location can be added to each posted image manually afterwards.
Content on Instagram is subject to payment if children and young people not only follow an account, but also subscribe to it. The monthly price is set by the creators themselves and the subscription can usually be canceled on a monthly basis. Subscribers have access to exclusive content such as pictures, reels and stories. If you would like to subscribe to an account, you will find a “Subscribe” button next to “Follow”/”Followed” and “Messages” on the profile. A single click on this button does not yet lead to a subscription, but must first be confirmed with further clicks.
Certain content on Instagram can be problematic for young people: Inappropriate content such as erotic images, dangerous challenges and disinformation, but also advertising. Influencer business models play a special role here, which young people do not always recognize.
Instagram harbors various communication risks through functions such as chats and comments. For example, contact from strangers, hate speech or online bullying can occur.
The official minimum age for using Instagram is 13, but there is no effective age control so far. Until your child is 18 years old, you must consent to its use. There are extensive usage and setting options. If your child is under the age of 13, they can use Instagram if you manage the account. This must be included in the profile description. Accounts of children and young people under the age of 18 are automatically set to private after creation. However, this can be changed in the settings afterwards and the profile can be set to public. At Handysektor you can read a short version of the terms of use and download a flyer with the most important safety information about Instagram for young people.
Since June 2022, there has been “parental supervision”, which allows parents to link their account to that of their child. We present all the setting options in this article. You can find out how Instagram itself wants to make the app safer for young people directly on the Instagram website.
Together with your child, decide at what age and according to what rules he or she is allowed to use Instagram. Make various settings together so that your child can useInstagram as safely as possible. Not all photos have to be shared with everyone or even just with friends via the internet!
Talk to your child about communication risks on Instagram, from online bullying to cybergrooming. Show your child how they can block or report other users and explain to them when these functions are useful – for example, if someone insults your child in the comments. Your child should also not simply accept subscription requests from strangers and be sparing with their own data, such as their location.
Educate your child about risks such as harmful content, hate speech, disinformation and political opinion making. Talk to your child about the critical behavior of influencers and keep talking to them about one-sided role models and clichés. Stay interested and check in regularly to see who your child is following on Instagram and who is following them. It is important that your child knows that they can always talk to you if they have an unpleasant experience on the platform.
Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp are used by many young people. All of these services offer a particularly popular function: the creation of so-called Stories. Snapchat had them first, but since Instagram, every teenager knows them.
The “Story” is for sharing current experiences with others. You don’t post a single photo in the chat or in your channel, but upload photos or videos in a story, which are displayed in an automatically running sequence. Subscribers or contacts can usually see them only for 24 hours.
You can decorate your story with all kinds of means – depending on your talent and taste. The apps mentioned above offer similar options here, such as captions, emojis, location markers, linking people, filters, funny stickers, or even polls.
Stories often seem very realistic or close to the lives of others. It can be especially exciting to see what’s going on with your favorite influencer and girlfriends. When you just experience something exciting or beautiful that you would like to share with your friends or followers, the story is a popular tool. Because with pictures and videos a little story can be told.
Since Stories deletes itself after 24 hours, the inhibition threshold is lower to publish rather unflattering, embarrassing and private pictures or videos of oneself. The rule here is: Think first, then post! Only pictures and clips that could easily be seen in the newspaper or on television should be published.
But the possibilities of the Story function can also endanger privacy: The location marker can be used to track where you are at any given time. Unpleasant or dangerous situations can quickly arise, for example, if someone comes to the linked location and seeks out your daughter or son.
Here it helps to agree on rules. Clear rules about what is posted and when create orientation. It doesn’t always have to be at the same moment that a photo is taken! Consider establishing cell phone-free zones with the family where family life can be spent undisturbed and private.
To protect privacy, make sure your (minor) child’s account is set to private. This way, his stories can only be seen by his own followers. It is best to create the user account together with your child, set up the privacy settings and check the security settings.
Talk openly about the potential dangers of careless posting so your child can understand rules of behavior. Your child will then know that you, as parents, are the first point of contact in the event of cyberbullying, harassment or disturbing content.
The content from the stories of your child’s favorite influencers and friends should also be critiqued. Talk to him about it and consider together how calculated a snapshot is likely to be among stars and influencers.
With Likee, similar to TikTok videos can be created and shared. The more than 2,000 filters and effects inspire young people in particular. But what else is behind the app and what are the risks?
Likee is a social media platform where short video clips can be easily created, shared, liked and commented. Uploaded videos are visible on your own profile and on public leaderboards. Users can send each other messages via Likee and give each other gifts. The gifts must be purchased beforehand. A livestream function allows people to film themselves and others to like or comment while they do so.
To register with Likee, you either have to link to an existing account, e.g. on Facebook, or enter your own cell phone number. The app thus has quick access to the person’s contacts and suggests them as potential friends. To use the app in all its functions, the camera and microphone have to be enabled. Likee additionally wants to access the location. This will display videos of people in the vicinity. A person’s location can also be seen when the associated profile is clicked.
On Likee, users can find entertaining, funny and inspiring videos on a wide range of topics. Teens can get creative with the app and make cool videos without needing much prior knowledge. Especially the Face–Filter of the app are fun for young users.
On Likee, users sometimes provide personal insights when they post videos or start livestreams. By sharing locations and sending messages, (children and) young people can fall victim to cybergrooming or cyberstalking. Other communication risks as well such as Hate Speech can play a role by commenting on videos sending messages. The uploaded videos are also not content controlled, so some of the content shown may not be suitable for children.
Officially, unrestricted access to the app is only approved for ages 16 and up. However, the age of the persons is not controlled.
The handling of user data by the provider must be viewed critically, since by accepting the terms and conditions users cede their rights to the videos created. The data is stored and collected in Singapore. Personal data such as hometown, location and search history may be shared with third parties, e.g. for advertising purposes. For the face filters, the app also saves the facial features of the people.
Using the fictional currency, so-called beans, additional effects can be unlocked or gifts can be sent to other people. Beans are available via in-app purchases.
The app is based on a reward system in which users climb up the rankings and get additional features unlocked if they are particularly active and receive many clicks and likes. This can encourage excessive use of the app.
The app comes from JOYY, a provider from Singapore. The provider does provide a parental control feature and a restricted mode for children under 16, but these features are difficult to find and activate. JOYY absolves itself from reviewing content shared through the app. A deletion of the data can be requested via the help and feedback function. However, the guarantee of complete deletion is not given.
There is always a risk of having unpleasant experiences online via apps that enable exchanges with other people. Therefore, your child should know about it and know strategies to deal with it or avoid certain risks. In our article “Legal notices of social media use” you will get the most important information about this.
Should your child Likee want to install, be sure to do it together. This way you can make sure that your child is giving the correct age. Children under 16 use the app in restricted mode. Direct messaging, in-app purchases, and live video sharing are thus no longer possible. Additionally, turn off the location sharing. Show your child the help section of the app and how they can report content and people there. Offer to be there to help your child. Also, educate your child about data protection and privacy and agree, for example, on what content may be shared and how much may be disclosed. Despite these safety precautions, the app is not safe for children. A suitable, child-friendly alternative is e.g. knipsclub.de
Perfect skin, shiny hair, model figure – this is a familiar image for many teenagers from the dazzling Instagram world. Young girls in particular take the lifestyle or appearance exemplified there as a model and perceive it as the ideal. In this article, you will learn what this means for their self-perception and how you can support your child in feeling comfortable in their own body.
Many of the photos or videos posted on Instagram do not correspond to reality. Whether it’s a classmate or a beauty blogger, everyone wants to present their followers with the most enviable photos possible. To do this, use the filters provided by Instagram, with which the skin looks smoother, the sun brighter and hair shinier. With special apps, even the nose can be made smaller or the waist narrower.
Influencers in particular present themselves and their lives on social networks as almost flawless and perfect. Their followers perceive this portrayal as authentic and emulate them. This can be expressed by a desire for the latest sneakers or by dissatisfaction with one’s own body. Because the Instagram world has little to do with reality, as “normal” bodies are hardly present and therefore not desirable for young people. Teenagers are subjected to pressure to come close to this skewed reality.
To be part of the community, there is also pressure to post your own photos on Instagram. In the process, even taking pictures or filming is sometimes seen as frustrating because it takes a long time and the finished media products do not always meet expectations. For many young people, the number of likes and comments is then also seen as confirmation of their person. Self-doubt increases when the posted photo or video receives few or no likes.
Various studies have shown that young people who use Instagram are particularly likely to feel uncomfortable in their bodies. Snapchat is also criticized for this. Young people are not only confronted with perfect images of others in social networks, but also through TV formats such as “Germany’s Next Topmodel” or through advertising. However, young people feel a particularly strong personal connection to their role models in social networks.
The distorted body images in social networks are much criticized. There are strong efforts to present bodies in all their forms in the media, e.g. by people showing themselves on Instagram and Co. under hashtags like #formorerealityoninstagram or #teambodylove without makeup and naturally. The images are not edited. In this way, an attempt is made to convey a realistic body image, especially to young people, and to encourage them to accept their own bodies.
In addition, there are demands to mark edited images as such in the future in order to make it clear that they do not correspond to reality.
Stay in conversation with your child about his or her role models. Look at pictures together on Instagram and ask what exactly it is that it likes about the pictures. Make your daughter or son aware of edited images and question how realistic they can be. It also helps to remember that very few people have the look of influencers and models, and that even they have to use photo editing.
Perhaps show channels that specifically try to upload realistic photos. Work together to find channels or hashtags that are less stereotypical and more reflective of the diversity of society. This gives your child different incentives for their own personality development.
Use a photo editing app together for fun and change a photo of yourself or your child using filters. This way, your child also realizes how easy it is to change or even manipulate an image. Completely independent of media, you can support your child daily in accepting and loving their own body and thus strengthen their self-esteem.
Talking to others, talking on the phone with friends and family, writing or looking and smiling at each other – communication is a basic human need! Young people prefer to exchange information via apps and social networks on their smartphones. They share experiences and experiences and process them in this way. They learn to resolve conflicts without parental support, to form their own opinions and to defend them. Friendships are cultivated by being in constant contact with each other.
Messenger apps are the most popular for communication. Most often used WhatsApp but also alternatives such as the Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Signal or Threema have many installed.
Communication via smartphones is a matter of course for young people and takes up a large part of their everyday lives. The smartphone is always at hand and represents a kind of social meeting place. Both in one-on-one chats and in group chats, opinions, pictures, and videos are exchanged, arguments are had, and jokes are made.
Being connected to friends via messenger creates a sense of belonging for young people.communicating via it seems private. However, the groups are often so large that there is no longer any question of privacy. The more anonymous group chats become, the greater the risk that they will be misused to spread false news and manipulate opinions. Another danger is that photos can be stored and sent unnoticed on other people’s devices. As convenient as messengers are, they also harbor risks – especially because young people send a lot of messages every day. It can cause stress if your child feels like they have to respond to messages immediately or is afraid they’ll miss something if they don’t look at their phone.
However, young people do not always act socially when they communicate with each other in messenger groups. Since you do not see the reaction of your counterpart directly and you want to impress others, insults are not uncommon. Under certain circumstances, this can lead to cyberbullying.
Also via social media apps like Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok is communicated. Often, this type of sharing is limited to pictures and videos and liking or commenting. This communication is especially important when it comes to self-expression and recognition. Selfies are sent and you expect a positive reaction from your followers, who are mostly friends and acquaintances. However, stress or insults may occur here as well.
It is also common among gamers to exchange information while gaming – for example, via channels such as Discord and Teamspeak.
It is precisely via platforms that strangers can also write to young people in order to make closer contact with them. This can be harmless, but criminal, e.g. pedophilic intentions, can also be behind it.
As convenient as communication via the Internet is, potential risks should be known. Ask your child what channels they use and who they chat with. However, be mindful of his or her privacy and give your child the space he or she needs. Agree on security rules, e.g. which pictures and videos may be sent via which route. Advise your child to post certain photos only on private channels or groups. Be responsive to uncertainties and problems.
If you are concerned about the security of your child’s data, just compare the terms of individual messengers. What happens to the data there? Is the communication encrypted? Which messengers are considered secure? In the terms of use of many of these apps, an age of 13 or even 16 is required to sign up. If your child is under the age of majority, you must consent to its use. Perhaps discuss with other parents and consider working together to find a privacy-friendly alternative to WhatsApp can be installed.
With younger children, you can go through the Messenger settings together. Disabling read receipts takes the pressure off, so your son or daughter doesn’t have to feel like they have to respond to a message right away. Pay attention to who your child can chat with and show them the function to block contacts.
You can agree on rules for communicating with your child, setting a good standard for your child’s exchanges with friends.
A DIN A4 sheet is 21 cm wide or narrow. On Instagram, young people strive to be so thin that their waist disappears behind a sheet of paper. As proof, they post the corresponding photo. The A4 Waist Challenge is just one of the absurd weight loss contests on social networks. Such challenges not only convey a completely unrealistic ideal of beauty, but also lead young people to perceive their own bodies as too fat and, at worst, to follow risky weight loss trends.
Tall, thin, athletic: this ideal is conveyed to young people as desirable, above all through the media. Videos on healthy eating and fitness are very well received on YouTube. However, healthy here often also means being thin and thus supposedly attractive. There is a fine line between a healthy diet and an unhealthy diet. It’s not always easy for young people to tell the difference. Some YouTubers who make fitness videos also deal with fashion and beauty. So for some, it’s more about showing a certain image of beauty rather than portraying a healthy lifestyle. Under the hashtag #WhatIEatInADay, YouTubers show, for example, what they have eaten in a day and count the calories. These usually remain well below the necessary and recommended numbers by doctors.
On Instagram, young people can get active themselves and show off by taking part in challenges. Besides the #A4Waist challenge, various weight loss trends have been circulating on Instagram for years now. The #thighgap challenge is about who has the biggest gap between their thighs. The thinner, the more “beautiful” you are supposed to be.
Challenges are among the most popular content that young people follow on social networks. There are regularly new challenges, some of which attract a lot of attention and encourage many people to join in. However, the weight loss challenges on Instagram are not a funny gag, but here young people compete with others for the thinnest legs or the slimmest waist. Thus, a completely unrealistic and partly unhealthy ideal of beauty is conveyed. Teenagers can feel pressured to look the same in order to be attractive and popular. Instagram is taking a first step to protect against problematic beauty ideals: In the future, minors will no longer be shown ads for weight loss or cosmetic procedures.
Not all fitness videos or challenges pose a problem. Exercise and healthy food are a good thing. When young people are motivated to exercise regularly with the help of influencers, it’s a good thing!
It is important that you support your child in being able to distinguish which content is realistic and which is problematic. Talk to your child about it and let him or her show you what he or she likes about certain social media channels.
Even independent of media, you should talk to your child about the changes in his or her body – especially during puberty. Feeling comfortable in your own body is an important prerequisite for not being influenced by others. Attractiveness usually has little to do with a particular look. If you feel good in your own body and enjoy life, you will radiate this – and this is more attractive and interesting than a perfect body alone!
