Or would I be unreasonable not to allow my 13 year old to have Instagram?

[threekidshelp]

Have put off social media except whatsapp and limited Snapchat for my dd, who will be 13 soon. I'm not convinced I want her to have Instagram and musicly the instant she is 13.

What did you do? And how has it gone with teens and lots of social media?

Snapchat is a bit old school now. I think Instagram is far more popular and j would let her have it but private account and with you having access.

I wouldn't allow Snapchat however I agree with the PP, have an Instagram account and make sure you have access to it.

DS has had Instagram twice. He has epically fucked up, twice. So now he doesn't have it and won't for a long time. He's nearly 12.

There is a LOT of extremely inappropriate content on Instagram for that age group in my opinion. Even if you have a private account where 13yo wouldn't be able to be sharing pictures with the world, I think you still have to consider what content they can access & whether you are happy for that to be accessible.

No Instagram for my 11 year old son. No chance........

Thanks! My gut says no, but my gut says chuck out your telly so it's not a realistic gut!!

I've always monitored her messages, so unless she has secret accounts, which I fully accept she might, she seems to be Doing okay with whatsapp and Snapchat in terms of being kind and people being kind to her. It does feel that Instagram opens up another whole can of worms.

I guess my main fear is that social media becomes what she does rather than a means of communication. She doesn't have mobile data on her phone and only about an hour on it per day max so I guess that isn't likely without a huge rebellion.

I've said the same about social media, make up, hair, fashion and romantic partners-that my philosophy is that they are part of your life if you want, but if seeking them and doing them are your whole focus, something might be a bit out of balance.

I think I'd allow her, but with the proviso that you have access to it. Realistically if you don't allow her to, there's a chance she might end up with a secret account anyway.

Do some research. Social media in any form is very damaging for Young teens- they really don’t need it

The problem with Instagram is that it's full of unrealistic images of unobtainable, heavily filtered bodies, faces, holidays and lifestyles. I don't think it can be any good for the self esteem of an impressionable teenager. I can remember beating myself up for not being as thin or pretty as the models in magazines when I was a teen. Instagram is this amplified x ten million.