3 Questions to Ask Your Teen About Instagram Threads | Featured News Article

Threads is a microblogging website. Threads was originally billed as an alternative to the microblogging service Twitter/X, a status that has been cemented by the platform’s unique features and steady stream of updates. For example, Threads posts can be twice the length of a tweet, with a maximum of 500 characters. Within five months of launch, the platform introduced its equivalent of the hashtag—text highlighted in blue without a hashtag—allowing users to search for conversations based on their topic. In addition, Threads can support a wide range of post types, including text, photos, videos, and—as of October 2023—voice notes.

What your teenager should know: While it’s hard to resist the lure of a new social media platform, it’s important to be mindful of how we spend our time online, says Dr. Devorah Heitner, author of Growing Up in Public: Coming of Age in a Digital World.

Question for teenagers:

“Is this a place where you can learn, grow, and connect with people, or will it be more of a distraction?”