How do your teens use Instagram? Share with us for the chance to win a £300 voucher!

[EmmaMumsnet]

Instagram is now a huge part of our culture and is a staple for many teens (and adults alike!) whether they use it to share moments with their friends, run an account for your family pet, or simply to browse memes. We would like to find out how your teens use Instagram and what accounts you’d recommend for teenagers to follow?

Do your teenagers follow foodie, beauty, or music accounts for inspiration? Are they creative and use Instagram to share their own art or photography? Perhaps they are keen activists and use the platform to spread awareness and gain support for good causes?

Instagram have also pulled together this handy guide which explains all about the safety features you and your teens can use to make sure they are getting the best experience on Instagram.

Everyone who posts below will be entered into a prize draw to win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks

MNHQ

Terms and conditions apply

My son is soon to be 12 and at the moment he only uses Whatsapp to keep in contact with his friends and to be honest, I would rather it stayed that way as I prefer he interacts with his friends only, and in mostly in person, rather than via a social media platform where others not in the group can post comments. I don't really see the point of instagram and it seems to me to be just a platform for boasting and posing for selfies, it is the kind of thing that makes me thankful I grew up as a teen in the 80's.

Not yet, still bit too little!

My ED uses it a little but mainly for fashion or make up, she is not into following so called celebrities!

My two girls use it for checking out fashion and youtubers that they like. They are allowed it but only if they let me follow them and I do check their profiles once in a while! My 11 year old posts some quite funny things :)

DS uses it to follow meme accounts, music and uses it as his main messaging platform as opposed to texting, whatsapp ect
He posts the odd selfie or boomerang but doesn't take it as seriously as his female friends who make me feel scared for when DD is their age!

use it to share funny videos etc

hes not currently allowed to

My 18 and 19 year olds both use instagram , and to be honest are a lot more savvy than me on it

My 15 yr old daughter uses it for sharing selfies, keeping in contact with schoolfriends and following celebrities.

We talk about what is appropriate to post, what settings to have it on and also look at focusing on more artistic photos.

My 16yo boy doesn't use it at all, my 13yo boy posts selfies (mainly with the caption 'bored'!!) and boomerangs for his school friend followers.

our teenage dcs do not use instagram. our niece is 13 and uses it though for pictures and messaging

they are too young to use it

My kids don't really use Insta that much, I use it more than them for competitions and such...but they sometimes post the odd picture, but usually only about once every few months!

my son mainly uses it to interact with family members and to follow his interests which are related to computer gaming. Plus following some you tubers and musicians he likes.

Lots of my daughters friends have Instagram accounts, and I've seen the posts....mostly lip gloss heavy pouty selfies and wanting hundreds of likes....
I personally won't let my daughter have Instagram just yet....I'm not sure she's ready to deal with the comments, but perhaps when she's 15?
having said that, I find it better than Facebook for sorting any issues xxx

If I had a teenage kid I'd be keeping them off all these apps until they're at least 16.

Any younger is not equipped to navigate these apps and the type of people that target them.

Truly horrific.

I have two teenagers neither of whom use Instagram at present. DD15 is not interested in social media at all (woop) but DD14 is glued to snapchat and seems to use that for similar purposes - sharing selfies, chat, updates etc. Actually, I would like to get to know more about Instagram as I have not used it before, so am grateful for the guide. As with all social media, actually all internet, there are good things and less good aspects. I worry about the amount of time it is possible to waste on these things (and that's true for middle-aged women as much as for teenagers...)!

DD(17) has ME and Instagram is her lifeline at the moment. It's the only SM she's on, as snapchat is too painful and the others are for oldies. She's been ill for 3 years, is pretty much housebound and isn't at college. So she keeps in touch with her friends via the messaging function and has a couple of group chats on there.

She seems to follow fandom accounts, sausage dogs and hedgehogs wearing hats. She only posts pics of her pets and has lots of goat accounts following her (she doesn't have a goat). She's recently got into crafting and I've been trying to persuade her to set up a new account with pics of her makes so companies will send her some free stuff.

It keeps her busy anyway and is definitely her link to the outside world at the moment.

My daughter, 14, uses it to message her friends, she posts her artwork on a separate account. She uses ‘stories’ to share special events and to wish friends happy birthday. Mainly it’s messaging on the private chat section, either group chats or individual ones.

Thankfully not yet although that could be because I am a dinosaur when it comes to technology and the apple never falls far from the tree. I have however read the link and have benefited from it, so should be better informed for the future. Thanks

My teenagers don't use instagram at all. Snapchat has been mentioned.

my nieces and nephews use it for mainly sharing photos

Teens I know mostly use it to put photos and hashtags up like a cooler version of Facebook bit what do I know?!

Not allowed it.