As part of a recent settlement with U.S. states and territories, Meta has agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion over allegations that it designed Instagram and Facebook with addictive features that harmed young users.
The lawsuit highlights how detrimental social media is.
“Scrolling and spending time on social media is causing teens to go to bed later, and not getting enough sleep is linked to depression,” School Counselor Mrs. Janet Heed said.
The agreement reached on August 26th also requires major changes to how teenagers use Meta’s platforms.
Stories, posts, likes, comments, reposts, reels, and DMs all play roles in students’ lives, but the new restrictions could change how teenagers use these features. Perhaps the most impactful change is “Night Mode.” Instagram will implement a default blocked usage period from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. that can only be disabled with parental consent. During this period, users will not be able to view anything, including likes, posts, comments, and reels. In addition, teens will not receive notifications during these hours. Meta will also implement a two-hour daily limit, which, alongside “Night Mode,” can be disabled with parental consent.
Meta can use contextual clues, including users’ activity and other behavioral signals, to estimate their ages. They also use visual AI scans to estimate users’ ages from their posts.
However, some students pointed out the limitations of these measures.
“Considering the fact that kids use their parents’ driver’s licenses to bypass Roblox chat blocks for people 18 and under, I think they’ll find a way past the parental consent,” Fourth Former Hanru Li said.
Meta’s age-assurance systems can flag accounts suspected of belonging to users under 13 or teenagers who registered with an adult birthday. Meta can use contextual clues, including users’ activity and other behavioral signals, to estimate their ages. They also use visual AI scans to estimate users’ ages from their posts. Once these systems flag an account, they will ask for an ID or a selfie, where they can estimate age again. However, stronger age-verification systems have also raised concerns about privacy and the collection of personal information.
Meta has agreed to mute most push notifications from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays—when phones will be in Yondr pouches. However, as notifications encourage teens to open Meta’s platforms, students with access to a device such as a computer during school hours can still be lured into using Instagram.
The new Meta restrictions could change some social media habits among Fords and other teenagers, although their effectiveness will depend partly on whether teens follow or circumvent the new limits.
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