A teenager’s guide to Instagram Reels

Reels, Instagram’s alternative to the TikTok app, is gaining popularity at an amazing pace. So, it is likely that your teenager will want to use this new feature. Kids who are 13 or older are only allowed to have a Reels account. Here is a low-down on this trending Instagram feature.  

What is Instagram Reels? 
Reels is a video feature integrated inside the Instagram app. It’s not a standalone app. Inspired by TikTok, an application that lets users upload short videos in portrait format, Instagram introduced a new feature called Reels which allows users to record and edit 15 second multi-clip videos with audio and effects. Debuted as a new way for users to express their creativity, this feature gives a chance for lesser-known accounts to take the centre stage and gain popularity. When a Reel starts to gain momentum, it may even be become a Reels ‘featured video’ which Instagram’s algorithm shares to more users, across user-interests, giving that user a larger audience. ‘Featured videos’ appear on the Reels ‘explore page’. 

How to use Instagram Reel 
Using this feature is no rocket science. In fact, it’s pretty easy. Your youngster needs to follow these steps to make Instagram Reels:  

1. Swipe right on your Instagram home page to open the Instagram camera. 

2. At the bottom, you’ll see a bar with the options: Post, Story, Reels and Live. Select the Reels option. 

3. Reels can be a one take video or a series of clips stitched together. 

4. On the left side, you will see five icons. 

5. The first one lets you decide how long the entire Reel will be, 15 seconds or 30 seconds long. Pick your preferred length for the video. 

6. The second icon allows you to choose and add music to your clip which can act as background music. Instagram provides an expansive library of music and whichever specific part of the music they want to accompany their content. You can also original audios by simply recording it with the content. The original audios will then be available to those who can view their Reels to use and create new content based on the audio. 

7. Below that is the icon which lets you decide at what speed will your recorded clip play at in the Reel. You can slow it down or speed it up. 

8. The fourth icon lets you add filters and effects to your clip.  

9. The last button is helpful if you decide to record the Reel as a series of clips. It helps you map out the time limit for the clip before you hit the record button. 

10. Press the button with Reels icon at the bottom to start recording your clip. You will see a progress bar at the top which shows you how much time is left on your recording. 

11. You can record your clips successively and the Arrow buttons on either side of the record button will allow you to delete or edit them individually whenever you are done. 

12. You can add effects to videos like text and gifs, stickers etc. to make them more interactive. The points where these effects will be visible can also be manipulated. For example, they can move the slider at the bottom so that a gif would appear only at the end of their Reel. 

13. Once you’re done making your Instagram Reel it will be shared on the Explore section by default. You can also choose to share it on your feed or Story. There’s a dedicated section on Explore for Instagram Reels, and one on the user profile as well. 

14. You can put captions in your Reels like in feed posts, use hashtags to help algorithms, and edit the thumbnail of the video. 

 
Safety features offered 
Reels are accessible for viewing to all users regardless of whether they follow the account or not. But this is only so for Instagram accounts that are public. If your youngster’s account is private, then the Reels will only be available to his followers like other feed posts and activity. It won’t show up in the explore feed. 

If your teen has set her account on public, then it is open to all users across Instagram. This also means that people can share negative comments in the Comments section of the Reel, which can be damaging to a teen’s self-esteem. Instagram offers the option to filter such comments to protect its users from cyber bullying. To filter comments your teenager has to go to ‘Menu' > 'Settings’ > ‘Privacy’ > ‘Comments’ > 'Hide Offensive Comments' and activate the feature.