Instagram for 11yr olds

[Notyourusual1]

Would you let your 11 yr old set up an Instagram account? I have spoken to a few other mums who have, without any misgivings. DS insists all his friends have and he is the odd one out. What age did your DCs set up an account?

What seems to be missing here is that Instagrams rules stipulate that a child has to be 13 before they can use their application. It even goes on to state that it actively encourages people to report those accounts that are setup and used for under 13 yr olds. Probably 75% of our 11 yr old dd's friends of the same age have an account with Instagram which makes it difficult for her to accept. It can be nigh on impossible to ensure your child's safety with their use of the internet these days, because even if you put all the restrictions you can in place, they can still look at a friends phone/tablet whose parents don't bother to put safety measures in place. This is why
I have let her have a mobile phone earlier then I would have liked so that I can teach her how to act responsibly with her use of the mobile and advise her how she can keep herself safe. I have set up restrictions/parental controls on it and I know her password. She knows and accepts that I look at, all her activity on the phone daily. Whilst I would be happy to set her up with an Instagram and be confident that I have the skills to keep it as safe as is possible for her, I won't let her have it because of the t & c's described at the beginning of my post. Why would I want to teach her that it is ok to lie about her age to be able to sign up for an account and if I did say that was ok, how then could I tell her off if she lied to me about anything else. It would be so much easier if all parents/carers abided by the rules then no child would have to feel isolated because their parent was one of only a few that wouldn't agree to telling lies to enable them to join in the fun.

My dd has one. Her account is private, i'm a friend/follow to her on it and I also have the account linked to my Instagram so everytime anything happens it comes through on my phone.
But we have already had a few issues with nasty friends and there are times we have a break from it if its too much.
I think you have to be very careful and aware!

That's fine so long as she knows her boundaries. I wouldn't worry myself as I think Instagram isn't as negative as other social media platforms.

How can anyone say fb is worth than instagram?
My 14 yr old DD has looked up double cock, porn, penis. Think of all the lovely photos she's seen. She also has a couple of accounts - 1 that she 'allows' me to follow & the other she has banned (i now have 2 accounts). She has over 1000 followers & follows about 2000. The language by her peers is hideous.
Just because your child is posting pet pictures, that's not what they're being exposed to.

If you can keep the lines of communication open, great, but remember things can never be unseen.

Dd2 is not allowed instagram, is no longer in WhatsApp school groups, horrible waste of time they are. She is much more open though &does share things - like the boy whose phone 'got lost' & then 'suck my cock' texts sent to her friend. These kids are 11 😰