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Facebook's new 'Child Safety Hub' leaves some parents skeptical | Family First with FOX43

Facebook, and its partnering social media app Instagram, have been criticized for not doing enough to protect teens from online dangers.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Christina Nasr has her hands full with five kids. 

As if watching over a quintet of boys wasn't hard enough as they deal with school work and sports, the Susquehanna Township mother now has to lend an extra eye to the very real threat of social media. Three of her children are old enough to use apps like Facebook and Instagram, while a fourth, at 12-years-old, is knocking on the door.

"The main thing that I want to see is that there are no adults that are able to interact with my child," she said. 

Questions like who can see her kids online, what they can see, and who can her kids interact with are at the front of her mind daily. 

"You don't know who is behind that other screen, and if that person says who they really are," Nasr said. 

Facebook, for its part, has acknowledged those challenges facing parents and has pledged to do better to protect minors. The social media giant recently published a new website, called its "Child Safety Hub." It purports itself as a one-stop shop for tips, tools, and trainings for parents, caregivers, and educators, as they look to protect their children from the threats of online bullying and cyber predators.

Credit: Facebook
Screenshot of the front page of Facebook's new "Child Safety Hub."

"The internet is more and more pervasive every day," Lori Moylan, public policy manager at Facebook said. "I know that I, as a parent, my son is on Instagram, sometimes I struggle to figure out how to have the right conversation with them and what questions I should ask to pry about who he is interacting with and what he is doing."

The Child Safety Center is split into seven sections: Tools, Trainings, Policies, Online Safety, Well-Being, Digital Literacy, and Bullying Prevention

Parents can learn how to set up two-factor authentication to deter hackers, and ways to hide their child's account from online predators. There are also ways to hide unsafe and age-inappropriate images from accounts. 

The Facebook Child Safety Center also offers online classes for parents on ways to help children talk about mental health. There are links to articles which offer advice on cyber-bullying and suicide prevention.

"We are always taking steps to make sure the experiences kids have are appropriate for where they are in their developmental stage," Moylan said.

Facebook's Get Digital Program, which provides lessons and resources to help young people develop the competencies and skills they need to more safely navigate the internet, comes at a time when social media apps are doing more to help its younger users and their parents navigate what some view as the dark side of social media. 

TikTok recently announced it would implement resources on its app catered to those struggling with suicidal thoughts. The new tools include a list of crisis hotlines and text lines, how to engage someone safely who may be struggling, and direct messages whenever someone searches for a term like #suicide.

Facebook, and its conjoining photo-based app Instagram, are only available for teens 13-years-old and up. However, parents, like Nasr, remain skeptical because ages can be manipulated when registering to use the app.

However, she also remains open-minded, and walked FOX43 through her using the "Child Safety Hub" for the first time.

Information like how to block who can send a friend request, and how to protect profiles on what in a profile other people can see, she says she found beneficial. She still questions how safely and effectively Facebook can protect teens when there's no way to prevent kids from lying about their age, however. 

If kids want to get online, they'll find a way.

"It's an app," Nasr said. "It can't protect your children. You as a parent have to do that."

If you or someone you know needs help, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, or text HOME to 741741.

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