To think Instagram needs to change?

[FuckItPassMeTheWine]

I have a 13 year old niece who is your typical lovely , excitable impressionable teen , she is on Instagram but some of the things she shows me that appear on her explore page are really nothing short of porn. She follows a couple of gym type accounts that are fine but then "suggested similar accounts " pop up which are not so fine and show pictures of naked women , these accounts are open , not locked and anyone can see the content.

I reported the one picture she shown me for nudity and Instagram come back with the standard "this isn't nudity and doesn't breach our guidelines" crap.

I really worry that by exposing 13 year olds to these images it sets the wheels in motion for body conscious issues and also could make a young girl think that uploading images if her own nakedness to a web full of strangers is "no big deal". I've attached the Instagram image so you can judge for yourselves . 💁🏻

Anyone else feel like this or just me?

I have worries about Instagram too. Lots of explicit accounts specifically use popular hashtags to drive traffic to them and I am often concerned that kids will see them. It's fine if you want to put naked pictures on Instagram but have a private account so people don't accidentally stumble on it!

I think Instagram needs more people checking the hashtags and deleting accounts or photos which violate their guidelines. They allow 13 year olds to have accounts, so they ought to live up to the responsibility of that!

Are her patents not monitoring her internet useage?

I think people closer to home need to shoulder the blame tnh

*tbh

Instagram used to be really good at removing the porn accounts until they were taken over by Facebook.

@MyotherUsernameisaPun exactly, you're so right, like if someone wants to upload personal pictures of their body then okay but it should be a must that Instagram enforce special settings that can't allow the content to be viewed by younger users who aren't even allowed to watch an 18 rated film .

I'm seriously thinking of starting a petition about this and hoping that I could get quite a bit of support from the great people of mumsnet so I'll see what the response of this thread are to judge the temperature 💁🏻

A bunch of “Gym mums” I know (from a fb group) are all moaning because their children’s pages on Instagram have been deleted due to them being under 13 😬🙄

@AlonsoTigerHeart I have mentioned it now to her parents , they have been going through difficulties ATM but they have banned Instagram now but to be clear they doesn't change the fact that 13 year olds can join and view content that they wouldn't able to view in a film (such as a 15 or 18 rated) so why don't the same rules apply for social media , where's the companies accountability is my question really ....

@Isadora2007 sounds like they all need to be made more aware of online grooming . How very sad ...

I have seen some truly awful things on Instagram over the years. I do love Instagram, and it is in fact the only social media I still use, but I have had to report some shocking things from obvious animal abuse through to self harm and the promotion of eating disorders. I know it’s tricky keeping teenagers away from social media and I also know it’s perfectly legal for them to be on there but I don’t think I’d personally allow my 13 YO to use it.

You're entirely wrong about thinking this wouldn't be in a film. Nudity in 12 and 12a films is to be expected.

"[Titanic]was classified '12A' for strong language, nudity, intense threat and disturbing images. There is one use of strong language in English"

"where's the companies accountability is my question really ...."

Why should they be accountable? They don't police the internet and as I've already said, arse and side-boob is no different to what I'd expect in an appropriately rated film.

"I'm seriously thinking of starting a petition about this"

Do you think you have any hope of making them change thier mind or even reconsider it?

It seems to be endemic now that people don't take responsibility for anything.

Problem with your kids using Instagram - how about you police it?

Problem with your kids accessing inappropriate internet sites - how about you police it?

Problem with kids eating crap - how about you police it?

etc.

I'm getting fed up with people wanting rules & restrictions added which'll fuck those of us that are capable of using these free toys, so their little darlings don't have to think for themselves....

@iterativeConstruct when you say "they don't police the internet" no I'm not suggesting that they police the whole internet but they should police their own product , such as cigarette companies advise an age limit I think Instagram should be more responsible at controlling what is available for a young user to view .

And regarding your last query "do I think it would really make them change" well who knows , but it defo won't change if we all do nothing right? Lol

It must be what she's following, I don't get stuff like that suggested to me and I follow a few gym inspo pages etc

@IIIustriouslyIllogical you sound quite angry . My point is (if you read in the op) she only follows gym Instagram accounts that don't promote nudity however the explore page comes up with lots of "different" types of things , as a result we have now banned her from Instagram as we all think it's too much of an impressionable age to be viewing such material but why do the companies make things so difficult and almost enable online grooming , eating disorders , online bullying to take place .

Not sure what you are referencing to with "free toys " but erm maybe go play with them ...

I’ve noticed the dodgy accounts on instagram recently too. I’ve used it for years and it feels like it used to be better in terms of harmful content. My kid is not old enough to use the internet (he’s 1 ) so I don’t know about supervising a child and their social media use, but sometimes stuff comes up that even I’m not comfortable with and my tolerance for internet crap is pretty high. I remember clicking on a hashtag called #empty (think I’d posted a photo of an empty cup or something) and my feed was suddenly filled with rather graphic self-harm and pro-anorexia images. I thought they popped up a bit too easily. But I guess it is incredibly hard to police a free service with millions (or more?) photos uploaded every day.

" they should police their own product"

They ensure they comply with the laws of the country (where applicable).

I assume you're in the UK. As I said (and you ignored), the image you have used would likely be fine in a film for a 12 year old.

i think it's for the parents to sort out. I was certainly in the adult section of the library looking for all sorts at that age (although the ability to upload was not there) and swimming named with my parents so people do differ on this issue and of the big difference is the permanence if she were to upload an image and the law on that so better the parents just control it.

@iterativeConstruct it's nudity none the less and do you personally think it's ok for a 13 year old to view this? Do you have children ? Do you allow them to use Instagram?

And yes you're correct I'm in the UK.

Are you an instamum by any chance ? 😂

I've never seen nudity on Instagram.

The occasional bum, but for an over 13 I don't think that's a huge problem. There was full frontal nudity in the film I was shown in class for English GCSE coursework (Hedd Wyn - it was also in Welsh, but that's a whole other issue).

I do think Instagram raises a huge range of issues regarding body image. It's very easy to get sucked into a whirlpool of images that are not reproducible without extreme means, especially for teenagers. I think that's much more likely to be damaging than seeing a bum or some boobs with pasties on.

@TheLastSaola I guess that's my point really , it's not so much the nudity it's the body issues it raises and also the potential influence of posting exposing images of herself at such a young age thinking it's "cool and everyone does it" iyswim

I think that's a fine image for a 13 year old. Arse and side boob and despite an unusually proportioned bum, the woman looks quite healthy.

I have 2 children (but I teach many more).

I don't let my children use instagram (they're too young).

I'm not an instamum (now I've googled it). Isn't Instagram for teenagers?

You may have a good point but this image certainly doesn't suggest it.

Do you think British film classifications are wrong too?

It's ok to say 'parents should be policing their children's internet use', however, in reality, how many parents are hanging over their children's shoulder watching while they mindlessly scroll through Instagram? Kids of 13 and over can legally have an account, the majority of them will have instagram on their phones, which they will no doubt be accessing at times when adults aren't present. Maybe try talking to your kids about inappropriate images they may come across, and pointing out why you think they're inappropriate. Fwiw, I've never come across anything remotely pornographic on instagram, but maybe I just don't key in anything that will bring it up.

It's positive she's spoken to you about this, that means she knows it is not appropriate and you can discuss any issues.

I grew up in the days before the internet and social media in an area where we would be playing tracking through the terraced alleyways and always found discarded porn magazines from the local pubs kicking out clients, so it's really not an internet or SM problem as kids would be inadvertently coming across this stuff back in the day playing outdoors. As a parent I have educated my girls that they may in life come across material, language or behaviour that is inappropriate or offensive and how to respond to or block it. Maybe this could be tied in with the cyber bullying campaign.

Not sure what you are referencing to with "free toys " but erm maybe go play with them

Are you paying for Instagram?

People seem to have a large list of demands for things that are free....

@IIIustriouslyIllogical how to you propose parents police it? They can limit screen time and insist on their kids' accounts being private and check their posts regularly and do all of the responsible things but unless they are literally watching every moment of internet use over the shoulder of their child, none of that is going to stop their 14 yo daughter from seeing a pornographic photo that some pervert has tagged with a popular, innocent hashtag because they're trying to direct traffic to their blog. We aren't talking a bit of side boob here. We're talking incredibly sexually explicit images turning up in places they have no right to be because adults are deliberately sharing them in that way.

Instagram does try to zap these posts when they appear (and in the past they have blocked whole hashtags when they've been taken over by porn pictures) but they need to do much more because the problem is getting worse.