Very possible that the little black fellows are aphids. If so, they suck plant sap and will weaken the plant. Rub them off, or use direct hits of insecticidal soap, diluted according to label directions. In both cases, repeat as needed. I'm not able to see enough detail to suggest what the white might be.

Yes, it has drainage holes- I left it in it's nursery pot. I put rocks/gravel at the bottom of the "decorative pot" that sits on the floor and the nursery pot sits on top of the gravel so it won't sit in water.

Hi, a couple of my leaves on my newly bought monstera have this light black freckles on them, is this an infection? Singular black spots have started appearing on a few other leaves too. I’m new to this so any help is appreciated

If the soil column in your pot is 3-5" deep, the advice to water when the top inch or two of the soil column is dry is appropriate. If your pot id deeper than 5", more often than not the advice is a recipe for over-watering. "Perched water" is water that occupies - soil usually at the bottom of the pot - and remains in the pot after the pot has stopped draining, defying the force of gravity. This excess fills pores between soil particles that would serve the plant better if they were full of air, not water. This lack of oxygen caused by the excess water limits root function, making it impossible for the plant to move water enough to keep all its parts hydrated. The result is necrosis (dead tissue), usually at leaf tips and margins - the plant's most distal parts. Low humidity levels encountered indoors during winter acts to exacerbate the problem. I see you have a "tell" (the wooden dowel) in the pot. Are you using it? It can help you water correctly. Also, I might have another excellent tip for you if your pot is small enough to be easily handled ..... so how large is the pot? It looks small, but it's hard to tell. Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. Al