ADRIAN FLORIDO, HOST:
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, settled a landmark child safety lawsuit this week. The agreement could limit how much time children 17 and younger spend on social media. It will also mute notifications on their phones during school hours and step up Meta's age verification process. We've heard from plenty of adults about the new rules, but what are kids saying? NPR's Ava Berger talked to teenagers about the realistic impact of this adult decision on their lives.
AVA BERGER, BYLINE: Teenagers typically think they are smarter than adults, and this situation is no exception. The teens NPR spoke to, with their parents' permission, said their age group will just find a way around any new restrictions. I mean, they always have.
SELENA CLOUGIART: I'm Selena Clougiart (ph), and I am 15 years old.
BERGER: Selena is a sophomore in high school in Northern California.
SELENA: A lot of people, like, frequently lie about their ages on social media. It's quite a common practice to bypass those certain things.
BERGER: Meta says they're investing in stronger technology to make sure kids are following the age and use restrictions. Kids don't seem too nervous. Just look at Australia, said 13-year-old Sonali Sadaya (ph).
SONALI SADAYA: We know people in Australia who, like, all social media is banned if you're not - if you're under 16. Most kids didn't even get their accounts banned. So they're still able to access it, and it didn't really do anything.
BERGER: The middle schooler who lives in Washington State said there are plenty of workarounds. One tactic is to change time zones to avoid screen time limits. It's unclear whether that will be possible under the new changes.
SONALI: My friend has, like, 2 hours screen time. She goes into her time, like, the time zone. She changes her time zone, so it goes - like, changes the time, so then she gets two more hours on her screen time.
BERGER: Some kids say they welcome the changes. Sonia Faruki (ph) is a 17-year-old on Long Island, New York. She's been on social media since she was 12.
SONIA FARUKI: I think that if I had these limitations earlier for myself, that it would be helpful for me as a person and to focus on other things, like hanging out with friends and spending more time outside rather than staying in my room all day.
BERGER: Whether they agree or disagree with the restrictions, some teenagers will just do what they want. Here's 13-year-old Sonali again.
SONALI: We're the people that are on - like, know how to use technology the most. So it's - there are really, really simple ways to get around this kind of stuff.
BERGER: And they can always go to another app. These are, after all, iPad kids, Ava Berger, NPR News.
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