SAN DIEGO — With everything right at your fingertips, social media has become a beacon of everything from dance moves to cooking. But there's also a dark side to it that parents say needs to be controlled. New parental controls could be on the way.
For some teens, social media is a place for good clean fun.
"My friends have Instagram, so when I'm not at school and also to see other people's life," said 14-year-old Antonia.
Similar to Antonia, her mom Mirlase says she not only trusts her daughter but has had thorough conversations with her about the dangers.
"She looks at astronomy and looks at cooking food. I like watching people cooking food," said Mirlase.
And while some are okay with it, some parents are not.
"There’s too many crazy things out there, you never know what they’re gonna see, who’s gonna follow them, if it’s fake, if it’s real, or what kind of criticism they’ll face," said Jericho Diefenderfer.
Diefenderfer is a mom to a young girl and a 13-year-old boy. She says her kids are not allowed on social media until they are 18.
"Personally, I think it gives them a distorted sense of reality and kind of gives them a space that’s not necessarily real life," said Diefenderfer.
And whether you like it or not, experts say the way social media works, It’s designed to get people addicted.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, recently announced they’d make it easier for parents to supervise their kids.
Parents will be able to supervise activities on platforms, and introduce parental controls on Instagram, like monitoring and limiting time spent on the app. Even giving the parent the ability to lock apps on the device. And a feature that will allow parents to block inappropriate content.
"Taking this step, seems to be an acknowledgment that the product is harmful," said Jessica Heldman, UC San Diego School of Law Professor
And while these parental controls, could help, Jessica Heldman says the way that it’s designed the child has too much control of what they can see.
"Meta's approach is that children allow their parents to have control, I think as a parent they realize that is not gonna happen in all situations," said Heldman.
In the coming months, Meta will launch a parent dashboard, that will allow adults to link their child’s account.
Ultimately these safeguards are only effective if parents and their children use them.
WATCH RELATED: CA Assembly bill aims to hold social media platforms liable for harming children (March 2022).