Schoolkids will get lessons on Instagram use under a Government blitz on social media safety.
The move is part of new mental health education classes to be compulsory from September 2020.
“Instagrammer” pupils will learn the importance of keeping profiles private and free of surnames, ages, phone numbers and emails. They will also be advised to turn location settings off to stop predators tracking them down.
A Department for Education source said: “We are seeing teens using Instagram in all sorts of ways and most parents don’t have a clue because they were brought up in a different time.
“It’s about teaching stranger danger again but this is now online. Teens use finstas – fake Instagram – accounts, which they share with friends to post content considered a bit dodgy.
"They run these alongside rinstas – real Instagram – accounts, so if parents do a spot check everything will show as squeaky clean. Teachers will go into detail about the dangers of doing this.”
Children from reception age up will get “age appropriate” lessons in social media issues as part of the national curriculum, including suicide prevention, the dangers of online trolling and how to spot signs of cyber-abuse.
The Government is keen to focus on Instagram as it believes it to be the most popular social media site.
But they will also learn about bullying on other sites, including Facebook – which said this week it would not comply with a new UK-US deal letting our police avoid bureaucracy and go to social media firms directly.
So far, 25 “trailblazer” areas have been identified and teams are being set up to begin the rollout.
The Department for Education said: “From September 2020 all children will be taught about health.”
