Helping teens develop healthy habits around social media use and screen time is important when they first receive a smartphone. Pediatric psychologist Ann-Louise Lockhart, an Instagram brand spokesperson and author of the new book "Love the Teen You Have," joins "CBS Mornings" to share some advice and tools.

Dr. Anne-Louise Lockhart, a pediatric psychologist and Instagram spokesperson, advises parents to assess their teen's emotional maturity and communication skills before introducing a smartphone. She recommends establishing clear expectations and agreements regarding online behavior and screen time to foster responsible use.

Instagram has implemented features for teen accounts, such as disabling notifications at night and applying content restrictions similar to 13+ movie ratings. The platform uses AI technology to ensure teens are placed in the strictest settings and encourages parents to provide accurate age information. Dr. Lockhart also suggests families consider digital resets, like limiting screen use on weekends and during meals.

How parents can help teens develop healthy social media, phone habits

If you're the parent of a teen with a smartphone or you're considering gifting them one this holiday season, you may want to listen up. This morning, we are partnering with Instagram to share advice for parents on how to help their teens develop healthy habits around screens and social media. Join us now, Dr. Anne-Louise Lockhart. She is a pediatric psychologist and author of the new book, Love the Teen You Have. She's also an Instagram brand spokesperson. Good morning. Good morning, Nate. Thank you for joining us. So let's jump right into it. A new phone is probably on the top of the list for a lot of teenagers this Christmas. But before parents make that purchase, you know, what can they do to set up their teen for success? I love that question because I'm a parent to two teens myself, pediatric psychologist working with teens and a parent coach. So I see it from all angles, every angle. So one of the most important things I tell parents is look at how your teen is behaving in everyday life. Are they able to manage their emotions? Are they making relatively good decisions? Are they having good conversations and contacts with people in real life? And also, are they able to talk to you and tell you the truth about information? But one of the major things I tell parents before even starting the whole smartphone conversation, look at a contract. Talk to your teen about what you expect them to do online or with a phone, how much time they intend to be on phone and when it shuts off, when it turns on and what their expectations are as well. So that conversation is really important. I like that. So look at their habits and who they are and what they're doing. Also have a contractual conversation with them, if you will, to understand what the expectations are. All right. So we've seen teens, you know, across the U.S. and really around the world. Parents are concerned about, you know, what they might be exposed to on social media. And I understand that you are working with Instagram to educate parents in how they see their teen in the teen accounts. So what are some of the key features that Instagram is putting in place? Yeah, I love this question because two of the things that come up consistently for teens and for parents when I meet with them is how much time they're spending online and on apps and the kind of content they see. So Instagram teen accounts specifically turns off notifications on their app between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. So that means teens can get a good night's rest and they're not getting pinged all night long. So necessary. That deals with the time issue. Right. And the other thing is the Instagram app is set up equivalent to 13 plus movie ratings. OK. So that teens are not going to see content with coarse language, risky stunts, those kinds of things. So how can parents get started with these features? Yeah. So when teens between ages 13 and 18 and they sign up for teen accounts, they're automatically placed in the strictest settings. OK. OK. So a lot of parents might be thinking, well, teens are slick. They can tell a white lie here or there. They kind of know a way to get around the settings. What is Instagram doing about that? Yes. So this is an industry wide issue. Right. Because teens are going to try and do that. And teens are sneaky. And they're smart. They're smart. Right. Sometimes they know tech more than their parents. Exactly. They do. So the AI technology is what Instagram is using to make sure that teens are placed in the strictest settings and to really manage to make sure that teens are placed in those teen accounts where they're supposed to be. So 13 to 18, they're placed in the strictest settings, rather. And the AI technology is making sure that they are where they're supposed to be. So what if a teen is skirting around some of those boundaries? So that's why I tell parents when you're signing up your kid for these accounts, be honest about their age. Right. And then the AI technology is using predictive technology to see if they are who they say they are and what age they are. Last thing before I let you go, for parents and teens, a digital reset as we go into the new year. Yes. A digital reset is important. So for me personally, and what I talk about a lot in my book, is looking at, for my teens, no screens before noon on the weekends and holidays. That's very important. Oh, on the weekends and holidays. Okay. Yeah. So looking at that information and also talking about those kinds of things, not having the phones on in the car and on dinner time. Oh, I feel you on that. That's a good one. All right. We appreciate you, Dr. Anne-Louise Lockhart. For more information about Instagram teen accounts, visit familycenter.meta.com.

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