Meta Apologizes After Instagram Recommends Graphic Reels

Welcome to Parent Pixels, a parenting newsletter filled with practical advice, news, and resources to support you and your kids in the digital age. This week:

• Meta apologized after a bug caused Instagram to recommend graphic Reels back-to-back to users worldwide. Oops!
• Apple announced that parents will have greater visibility into app age ratings on the App Store, along with expanded age categories, to help them decide if an app is suitable for their child.
• Is social media making your teen anxious? They might be due for a digital detox. Here’s how to do it.

Digital Parenting

😬 Instagram accidentally recommends a flood of graphic Reels: Meta, Instagram’s parent company, recently apologized for an “error” after Instagram users reported seeing back-to-back disturbing content on their feeds. The issue impacted Instagram users worldwide, who saw Reels showing gore, violence, and killings. The videos were marked with the “sensitive content” label, but were still recommended back-to-back. Meta recently changed its content moderation policies to be more lax — but an error at this scale is concerning, especially if it increased the likelihood of kids encountering inappropriate material. If your child uses Instagram, it’s worth checking in:

• Has your child seen anything online that made them feel uncomfortable? Here’s what to do if you find something inappropriate on your child’s phone.
• Is your child using a Teen Account? Instagram’s teen accounts have built-in protections for minors, but they only work if your child has signed up for their account with their correct age.
• How much time does your child spend on social media? Meta’s faux pas aside, it’s entirely possible for your child to encounter inappropriate content in their feed. Part of limiting that exposure is limiting how much time they spend online. If it’s taking over their free time, here’s how to use Apple Screen Time to set limits (for free).

📲 Apple will let parents share kids’ ages to limit app access: Apple recently announced several new child safety initiatives, including letting parents share their kids’ age ranges with apps, improving the App Store’s age ratings system, and making it easier for parents to set up Child Accounts. The features will roll out later this year. Notably, parents will be able to share their child’s age range (not their birthdate), allowing app developers to provide age-appropriate content. This also impacts the App Store: in addition to more age thresholds (Age 4 plus, 9 plus, 13 plus, 16 plus, and 18 plus), product pages will be updated to include details for parents, like whether an app features user-generated content, ads, or parental controls. As for Child Accounts, one of the biggest changes there is that parents can now update their child’s age after it’s created. Curious about Child Accounts and why your child might need their own Apple ID? Check out our guide for more details.

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Tech Talks With Your Child

Your child says they feel weird because they stumbled upon a really graphic video on Instagram. They didn’t mean to see it, but it just popped up on their feed. How do you handle the convo? Here are a few places to start:

1. "I know it can be really unsettling to come across something disturbing online. How are you feeling about it now?"
2. "What can we do right now to help you feel safe and calm? Maybe take a break from screens, talk it out, or do something fun together?"
3. "You’re not in trouble — I just want to help. What kind of support do you think would make you feel better right now?"
4. "Would you like me to show you how to report or block things like this in the future so you don’t come across them again?"
5. "Would it help to talk about what you saw so we can try to understand what was real and what might have been exaggerated or fake?"

What’s Catching Our Eye

😰 Is social media causing your teen’s anxiety? Here are seven steps you can take to help your teen detox from their phone, via Psychology Today.

👋 Are you following us on Instagram? Every week, we share digital parenting tips and advice you won’t want to miss.

👀 Did you know? BrightCanary comprehensively monitors text messages on Apple devices without requiring any extra software on your child’s phone. Get started for free today.