Last month, Meta brought together parents and safety experts to our first Screen Smart event in Brussels. The event was designed to help parents better understand the tools available to support them and their teens across Meta apps, and to hear directly from them about the challenges of parenting teens online, and what they\u2019d like to see more of from companies like Meta.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n At Meta, we regularly consult with experts from around the world to develop policies and products to help create safe, positive and age-appropriate experiences for our community \u2013 and we believe that among the most important experts are parents and teens themselves.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s why, as part of this Screen Smart event in Brussels, we hosted a Design Jam to ask parents <\/span>for their perspectives on age assurance and parental supervision \u2013 two key areas in the context of age-appropriate online experiences. Empowering parents to get involved in teens\u2019 online experiences is critical. This includes exploring ways to establish the age of their teen as they access digital apps, as well as offering ways to give parents oversight through parental supervision tools.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This Parent Design Jam built on the success of the <\/span>Youth Design Jam<\/span> <\/a>we held in Brussels earlier this year in partnership with NGO ThinkYoung, where we heard directly from students and explored potential new transparency, control and education tools.<\/span><\/p>\n At the Screen Smart event, Instagram\u2019s Global Head of Public Policy Tara Hopkins also led a panel discussion with Niels Van Paemel from ChildFocus, Karen Linten from MediaWijs, Loulou Jo\u00e3o from Meta and ThinkYoung\u2019s Youth Network, and Leo Cendrowicz from the Brussels Times. Our expert panellists discussed the opportunities and challenges of social media, and shared helpful tips for parents navigating the digital world with their families.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe most important thing is to really talk. To have a conversation. Because conversation is really key. We often ask, how was your day at school? But we do not tend to ask them, how was your day online?\u201d<\/p>\n \u2013 Karen Linten, MediaWijs<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEvents like this are amazing. They are very powerful in terms of bringing people together who wouldn\u2019t normally be in contact.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2013 Niels van Paemel, ChildFocus<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s a great idea to come together, discuss the tools that are available and see how they can impact our lives online.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2013 Loulou Jo\u00e3o, member of Meta and Think Young\u2019s Youth Network<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n These events are well aligned with the European Union\u2019s Better Internet for Kids Strategy, which calls on industry to actively involve young people and families in the development of their digital products and services, empowering them to influence the co-creation of their digital environment. We\u2019re committed to continuing our work to building an environment where young people feel safe online.<\/span><\/p>\n Visit our <\/span>Family Center<\/span><\/a> to learn more about our supervision tools and access resources from leading experts.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nConsulting with Experts, Young People and Parents is Key to Our Approach<\/h2>\n
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