First social account, together
The sit-down-together setup: settings, follows, ground rules.
Set it up with them and you stay in the room forever.
Doing the first account together so you're invited in, not locked out.
Why it matters
A guided first-account setup you do side by side: private-by-default settings, who the first follows are, what gets posted in week one, and the two ground rules you both sign off on. The first account is a fork in the road — set up secretly it becomes a world you're locked out of; set up together it becomes a place you've already been invited into. The tool walks the sit-down in order, from settings to follows to the posting test ('would you be fine with grandma and your principal seeing this?'). You finish with a one-page record of what you agreed, which quietly becomes the family's social-media constitution.
The tool
A step-by-step shared setup ritual that ends in a signed one-page agreement.
Free with a free account
Sign up free to use this tool — it stays yours for good.
Key points
- Do the first setup side by side, never after the fact.
- Private by default; the first follows set the feed's tone.
- Agree two ground rules and write them down.
The science
Researchers who study parental mediation distinguish restrictive approaches (bans, spot-checks) from active ones (doing it together, talking about it) — and active mediation consistently predicts better outcomes and more disclosure. First experiences anchor norms: privacy defaults and follow choices set in week one persist, the same status-quo bias that keeps adults on default settings for years. A co-present setup also gives the parent legitimate standing later — asking about an app you helped configure isn't surveillance, it's follow-up. And teens whose parents engage early report more willingness to bring problems when something online goes wrong.
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Take it with you
Keep this where it's useful — send it to yourself or a co-parent, drop a reminder in your calendar, or copy it to hand off.
First social account, together
Set it up with them and you stay in the room forever.
The skill you're building
Doing the first account together so you're invited in, not locked out.
Key points
- Do the first setup side by side, never after the fact.
- Private by default; the first follows set the feed's tone.
- Agree two ground rules and write them down.
A step-by-step shared setup ritual that ends in a signed one-page agreement.
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