Instagram recently announced that a central pillar of its response to teen mental health harms will be to create controls offering parents “to see how much time their teens spend on Instagram and to set time limits.” While this may sound empowering, it is, unfortunately, part of an unwelcome campaign to shift the burden of responsibility onto parents.
Two decades ago, the tobacco industry used a similar strategy to deflect blame. For example, Phillip Morris (which has since changed its name to Altria) developed a series of parent-focused “anti-tobacco” materials with titles such as “Raising Kids Who Don’t Smoke” and “Could Your Kid Be Smoking?” These titles were paired with images such as a suspicious parent smelling a teen’s clothing before putting it in the laundry.
Published research demonstrates that these campaigns fueled interest in smoking rather than curtailing it. These campaigns helped the industry distance itself from responsibility. By framing the situation in this way, Big Tobacco engendered the impression that if a teen began to smoke, it was purely the fault of the parent.
