The Squeeze (Bonus Episode): Creating Safer Digital Spaces for Teens with Meta

Host: Taylor Lautner
Guest: Antigone “Tiggy” Davis (Meta’s VP & Global Head of Safety)
Date: August 30, 2025

Episode Overview

This bonus episode centers around digital safety for teens on social media, particularly Instagram and Meta’s platforms. Taylor Lautner sits down with Antigone Davis, Meta’s vice president and global head of safety, to discuss how Meta is leveraging technology, policies, and parental tools to create safer online experiences for teenagers. The conversation covers the inception and core features of Meta's new "Teen Accounts," the importance of parental supervision, collaboration with tech companies and lawmakers, and personal insights into digital well-being for both teens and adults.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction and Guest Background

• Timestamps: 00:04–05:02
  Taylor opens with a lighthearted “Citrus Got Real” icebreaker, which leads into a discussion about Antigone Davis’s (@tiggy) Greek nickname, personal background as a mother, and career.
• “I can remember the insecurities that I felt [as a teen]. Yeah, I think that combination is really important to figuring out how to do this well.” — Davis (05:02)

2. Why Antigone Davis Chose Digital Safety

• Timestamps: 05:02–07:33
  Davis shares how being a mother and remembering her own teenage experiences deeply influences her work and empathy for both teens and parents navigating technology.

3. How Meta’s Teen Accounts Work

• Timestamps: 07:33–11:30
  Meta’s "Teen Accounts" were launched in September 2024 and are designed to meet the needs of both parents and teens:
  • Accounts are private by default—teens must approve followers.
  • Sensitive Content Controls—filters out graphic and mature content.
  • Screen Time Reminders—nudges teens to take breaks.
  • Night Notification Silencing—helps protect sleep.
  • Parental Involvement—teens under 16 need parental permission to loosen restrictions.
  • Davis: “We remind after an hour to take a break. But also, notifications are turned off at night. So, speaking of mental health and well-being, clearly one of the most important things…is sleep.” (09:34)

4. Parental Supervision Tools

• Timestamps: 11:30–15:21
  Parents or responsible adults can:
  • See who their teen follows/is followed by.
  • Set strict time controls—including locking out Instagram during study, dinner, or nighttime.
  • Receive information about who their teen is messaging most (not the messages themselves), boosting parental awareness and intervention possibilities.

Davis: “If you see a change in behavior and then … you see that your teen’s been engaging with someone …it gives you an opportunity to kind of ask some questions as a parent and get involved.” (15:10)

5. AI and Age Verification

• Timestamps: 15:21–16:17
  Meta uses AI to help verify users’ ages and catch those misrepresenting themselves, further enhancing the efficacy of teen safeguards.

6. Teen and Parent Reception

• Timestamps: 16:17–17:34
  Meta predicted teens would want to change many safeguards—but over 90% have left them in place.

Davis: “It turns out that most of them really do and welcome that kind of protection.” (16:58)

7. Instagram Live Restrictions for Teens

• Timestamps: 17:34–18:49
  • Teens now need parental permission to activate Instagram Live, addressing parental concern about privacy and exposure.
  • Davis: “If you want to use Live and you’re a teen, you need to get your parents’ permission to turn that feature on.” (17:53)

8. Expansion to Facebook and Messenger

• Timestamps: 18:49–19:16
  The core teen account protections are also being rolled out across Facebook and Messenger, though the details may differ to fit each platform.

9. Screen Smart Program

• Timestamps: 19:16–21:14
  Meta is running Screen Smart events around the US, bringing experts in to directly educate parents on resources and strategies for digital safety.
  • “I think for a lot of parents, they also just feel like they don’t know as much as their kids… So we’ve taken upon ourselves to really try to make parents more aware of these features.” (19:23)

10. Trends in Teen Social Media Use

• Timestamps: 21:14–23:47
  Observation of a significant expansion in how teens use social media—for athletics, entrepreneurship, information gathering, and more, not just leisure.

Davis: “They aren’t just using it for what a lot of parents think of, which is selfies, wasting time … They’re using it in numerous different ways.” (21:59)

11. How Meta Adapts Safety Policies

• Timestamps: 23:53–24:54 Ongoing updates are based on feedback from teens, parents, and experts—recognizing that tech, teen behavior, and social norms are always evolving.

12. Push for Broader App Store Controls

• Timestamps: 25:02–28:18 Meta is lobbying Apple, Google, and legislators to require parental approval in app stores before allowing teens to download new apps.
  • Davis: “We want them to hold that piece. And then we think every app should have to have the types of safeguards that we have and be held to account.” (27:26)

13. Maintaining Fun and Balance

• Timestamps: 28:18–28:55 Ensuring digital spaces don’t just protect but also engage and allow fun for teens.

14. Challenges and Future Focus

• Timestamps: 28:55–29:23 Continuous refinement of content controls and priorities. Focus on keeping safety tools simple and accessible.

15. Personal/Self-Management Takeaways

• Timestamps: 29:23–33:48
  Both host and guest reflect on needing structured digital boundaries at every age, such as prioritizing sleep and managing phone time.
  • “Online, offline: Prioritize sleep.” — Davis (29:30)
  • Advice to her younger self: create boundaries, even in the analog era.

16. Advice and Listening

• Timestamps: 32:47–33:48 Antigone shares that the most valuable advice she received is to listen as if the person talking is your own child coming to you at the end of their day—resulting in deeper empathy and understanding.

  “When you start listening to people that way, it just changed everything about my ability to do my work well.” — Davis (33:33)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Parental Involvement:
  “When a parent is involved in a teen’s online life and paying attention, teens do better, which is, I mean, that makes sense.” — Davis (14:18)

• On Default Protections:
  “If a teen wants to change [their default safeguards] or if a parent just wants to have supervisory tools... they can set them up with their teen.” — Davis (12:58)

• On Screen Time for Herself:
  “Screen time for me is probably mostly work. If I’m honest…there’s probably some family and friend messaging… I use my phone a lot to explore something of interest to me…[and] when I’m standing around and I’m in a line, okay, I’m gonna play Wordle.” — Davis (31:06)

• On the Need for Collective Responsibility:
  “It’s just having everyone involved in a sense, everyone just kind of doing their part in it to make sure these smartphones that they’ve so graciously given us are still a safe space for teens.” — Taylor (28:04)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Teen Account Introduction and Overview: 09:02–11:30
• Parental Supervision Tools: 12:44–15:21
• AI and Age Verification: 15:22–16:17
• Teen/Parent Safeguard Reception: 16:17–17:34
• Instagram Live Restrictions for Teens: 17:34–18:49
• Screen Smart Program: 19:16–21:14
• Trends in Teen Social Media Use: 21:51–23:47
• Push for App Store Parental Controls: 25:02–28:18
• Advice to Teens About Digital Boundaries: 29:23–30:34

Tone & Style

The episode is warm, conversational, and approachable, gently blending practical insight with personal experience. Taylor Lautner’s style as host is empathetic, enthusiastic, and candid. Antigone Davis provides concrete information in accessible language and shares parental and professional perspectives openly.

Conclusion

For parents, educators, and anyone interested in digital well-being, this episode delivers an in-depth and reassuring look at how Meta is building safer online spaces for the next generation, while acknowledging the shared challenges and responsibilities of the digital age.