Snapchat gives parents new insights into teens’ screen time and friends

In a move aimed at addressing growing concerns over teen safety and screen time, Snap has unveiled new features for its parental control tool, 'Family Center.' This announcement comes just two days after the company settled a lawsuit that alleged Snapchat contributes to social media addiction and mental health problems among young users. With the updated Family Center, parents and guardians can now monitor how much time their teenagers spend on Snapchat. This includes a breakdown of time spent across various app features such as chatting, snapping, using Snap Map, and viewing Spotlight and Stories. In addition, parents can track the average daily usage over the past week, providing them with valuable insights into their teen’s online behavior. Moreover, the Family Center previously allowed parents to view their child's friend list, but it now offers additional context about how their teen knows new friends. For instance, parents can see if a new friend is a mutual acquaintance, a saved contact, or part of shared communities. Snap emphasized that these 'trust signals' help parents feel more confident that their teens are interacting with real-life acquaintances. If a parent encounters an unfamiliar friend, they are equipped with information to initiate a constructive discussion. Launched in 2022 as part of a broader suite of monitoring tools, Family Center was developed in response to regulatory scrutiny regarding the safety of minors on social media platforms. The tool has since evolved to include features such as monitoring recent interactions, setting time limits, and blocking access to the My AI chatbot. This enhancement follows a lawsuit settlement involving a 19-year-old plaintiff who claimed that Snap and other social media companies, including Meta, YouTube, and TikTok, design their platforms to foster addiction and negatively impact users' mental well-being. While Snap has settled its case, legal proceedings against the other platforms are ongoing, with jury selection set to begin soon. Notably, Snap continues to face allegations in various other addiction-related lawsuits, and documents from these cases reveal that concerns about the mental health impact on teens were raised by Snap employees nearly a decade ago, though the company asserts that such concerns have been misrepresented.