North West Makes Instagram Debut With ‘Iconic’ First Photo & It Raises Important Questions

If you’ve loved watching North West make TikToks on the account she shares with mom Kim Kardashian, then you’ll be happy to hear that the preteen just made her Instagram debut! The 12-year-old, who Kardashian shares with ex Kanye West, posted her first pictures on her very own account, which people are calling “iconic.”

“first post,” North aptly captioned her first post, featuring a blurry photo of her in a Balenciaga shirt holding up peace signs. One person praised, “first post is iconic????” Others called her a “queen” and the “baddest.”

The post, which has over one million likes, showcases North’s silly side.

In another post, North covers her face with her hands, wearing a fuzzy hat that says “NOR11” over her blue hair. “????” she captioned this one.

According to Page Six, North also posted a selfie video on her Instagram story over the weekend, featuring North and her friends with green and pink hair.

North’s social media milestone comes as a surprise, especially because her bio says “account managed by parents.” In the past, her dad has been outspoken about not wanting her on social media at all.

Back in Feb. 2022, he said that he was not happy about North being on TikTok (in a joint account with her mom). “SINCE THIS IS MY FIRST DIVORCE I NEED TO KNOW WHAT I SHOULD DO ABOUT MY DAUGHTER BEING PUT ON TIK TOK AGAINST MY WILL ?” he tweeted.

The SKIMS founder responded to this allegation, writing on Instagram, “Kanye’s constant attacks on me in interviews and on social media is actually more hurtful than any TikTok North might create. As the parent who is the main provider and caregiver for our children, I am doing my best to protect our daughter while also allowing her to express her creativity in the medium that she wishes with adult supervision — because it brings her happiness.”

In June 2023, however, Kardashian seems to have changed her mind a bit. In a cover story for TIME, The Kardashians star said that “sometimes its trial and error” when it comes to kids and social media. North rapped along to a video with Ice Spice with some “not-for-kids lyrics,” which West publicly called Kardashian out for, leading her to delete the video.

“As soon as I saw the words, I was like, ‘Oh no, we’re taking this down,’” she told TIME. “I saw on the internet, [people saying] ‘Kanye was right,’ and maybe he was in that instance.”

However, that doesn’t mean Kardashian planned to limit her social media use altogether. “But she loves making slime videos and doing her little hair tutorials, and I will fight for her to be creative,” Kardashian continued.

Still, it brings up the question: is West aware that his daughter is on Instagram now? It’s not a joint account with her mom and the comments are on, so this feels a lot different than her previous TikTok experience. It’s also interesting that North is getting a social media account now, even though Instagram rules state you must be at least 13 to have your own account (that’s why her bio says it’s managed by her parents).

Hopefully Kardashian is keeping a close eye on what North gets up to online, because social media comes with a lot of risks for kids. In June, research published in the American Medical Journal’s association journal JAMA found that kids aged 13 spend an average of 74 minutes per day on social media compared to just 7 minutes per day at age 9. During this same time period, reported depression symptoms jumped 35 percent.

“Social media does seem to be a risk factor for future depression, or worsening depressive symptoms,” lead author of the study Jason Nagata, who is an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of California at San Francisco, told Washington Post. “But kids who were already depressed didn’t necessarily report using social media more in subsequent years.”

A December study in Pediatrics Open Science of kids between ages 9 to 14 found that children who spend a significant amount of time each day on social media gradually show a rise in inattention symptoms, compared to those whose screen time was spent on TV or gaming.

One of the lead researchers, Torkel Klingberg of Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, said, “Social media entails constant distractions in the form of messages and notifications, and the mere thought of whether a message has arrived can act as a mental distraction.” That, he says, “affects the ability to stay focused.”

With all the harms of social media, we can only hope that Kardashian and West are keeping a close eye on North’s activity.

As it is, Kardashian is already super involved in her career as a model, rapper, and more. In Feb. 2025, the All’s Fair star shared that she is busy acting like North’s “momager” right now. “I thought I was busy before,” Kardashian said on her Hulu series. “North, me having to be her momager right now, is crazy. It’s just, it was not on my list. It was not on my bingo card for this year.”

“If she has a shoot, I have to be there all day, so it’s like her or me,” Kardashian went on, adding, “I’m really conflicted on my daughter’s career, so we’re going to talk about that soon. I just really want to make sure that everything’s really well balanced. All of the work experiences are balanced out with just enough fun life experiences. I just want balance.”

And balance is exactly what’s needed with kids getting on social media, too. Posting a bit, with parental supervision, and not being on it all day is the perfect balance.

Before you go, check out all the times North West proved she’s a star in her own right.