For many parents, saying “just show me how” to a teenager has become a daily habit and actress Salma Hayek is happy to admit she’s one of them.In a new episode of Instagram’s Carversations, a series that sits parents and teens down for a chat, she revealed that she came to the digital world late. “I had her quite late, and I wasn’t tech-savvy even before,” she explained, adding that Instagram felt like a brand-new universe that she learned to enjoy.
5 Oct 2026 | 12:06
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She says that her teacher was her daughter, Valentina Pinault. Hayek asked why certain accounts kept showing up for her, and Valentina told her they should block them: “Why am I getting this?” And she said, “Oh, no, no, no. Mom, let’s block this, this, this, and that.” She was protecting me because I didn’t know how to do it”, she said, explaining.Hayek also said Valentina knew exactly what to get rid of and how to protect herself, and that Instagram’s Teen Accounts gave her peace of mind. They limit who can contact teens and what content they see. Valentina still keeps a private account.Surprisingly, Hayek isn’t the only parent turning to a child for tech help; many other parents across the world are trying to keep up with the digital pace.Let’s see what research has to reveal on this.
Why children are becoming their parents’ digital guides
Hayek’s story is an example of a bigger pattern that researchers call “digital brokering.” A study published in the Journal of Communication interviewed 14 parent-child pairs in Chile and surveyed 242.According to the research, between 30% and 40% of parents were taught how to use computers and the internet by their children. In the US, a New America survey of lower-income families found that in households with 10- to 13-year-olds, children help parents with technology as often as parents help them. Twenty-one percent of each said they “often” do. The share of parents relying on their kids has also risen since 2015.
Younger children pick up digital skills from peers
Lead author Correa says children from lower-income families often pick up digital skills at school and from friends, then pass them on at home. In another paper, she and her co-authors note that younger generations are more familiar with digital media and carry more authority regarding it. That lets tech knowledge flow “upward.” That study also found that parents who were helped this way were more likely to be 35 or older. A parent who came to Instagram late in the study, like Hayek, fits the picture.