Meta Unveils 'Screen Smart' Parental Guidance Series for US Audience

Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram have become an integral part of everyday life for both adults and children. While these platforms can be used to connect with friends and family, discover new interests, and learn new things, excessive and unsupervised screen time poses risks to a child's wellbeing and development. Recognizing the need for parents to have the knowledge and tools to guide their children's online experiences responsibly, Meta has announced a new educational series called Screen Smart.

The Screen Smart series will include in-person workshops hosted in five major US cities over the coming months. At each event, Meta experts will provide hands-on educational sessions to teach parents about the various supervision features available on Meta's platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.

Some of these features are part of Meta's Family Center, a centralized hub where parents can control their children's accounts and monitor their online activity and interactions. The Family Center allows parents to set time limits for app usage, restrict certain types of content and contacts, see what accounts their children follow or who follows them, and more.

In addition to learning about available parental controls and supervision tools, parents will hear from academics and clinicians about the potential risks of excessive or unrestricted screen time. Experts will discuss strategies for fostering open and honest communication with children about their online experiences.

They will provide advice on establishing healthy digital habits and boundaries to support children's wellbeing and development. The aim is to help parents understand their role in guiding children to use social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook responsibly and ensure any risks are minimized.

While parental controls and supervision tools can help manage screen time and online safety to some degree, they are not foolproof. Children may find ways to circumvent restrictions if they want. This is why education is key - parents need to understand not just how to use available features but why certain boundaries and behaviors are important. The Screen Smart workshops will delve deeper into these issues to empower parents with both knowledge and strategies.

Aside from parental education events, Meta is also continuously working to build new features into its platforms designed with young users in mind. For example, the company recently rolled out new alerts to combat sextortion scams often targeting teenagers on Instagram.

Pop-up warnings were also added to encourage thoughtful decision making before sharing certain types of sensitive content online. Meta's SMM panel also reviews posted content using AI tools to detect and remove anything that violates its policies.

While more can always be done, initiatives like Screen Smart are an important step towards supporting healthy media diets for children. With open communication and the right tools, parents can help guide their kids towards safe, responsible and meaningful social media experiences.

For any parents in the covered cities, the Screen Smart workshops provide a valuable opportunity to gain practical knowledge and strategies. With the right education, both children and parents can reap the benefits of social connection online while avoiding potential downsides of excessive or unrestricted use.

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