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Parenting a tween, teen, or young adult? As lovely as every child is, that stage can sometimes be a big ol’ “yikes”. New slang, infinite selfies, and songs from artists you’ve never even heard of—I mean, what the heck is a Doja Cat? Most, if not all of the laughable habits that young adults pick up come from social media, which can be scary as a parent. While most social media sites have age restrictions, there is no way for you as a parent to regulate the things your teen sees and absorbs while engaging on social media. This is where you as a parent come in. We’ll break down all of the most popular social media apps, and hopefully, help you decide what you’re okay with your budding young adult being on.
1. TikTok
TikTok has an age requirement of 13. It was formerly known as Musically, an app that mostly older teens were using to create lip-syncing videos to popular songs. When it rebranded itself as TikTok, it quickly gained traction, and now has users of all generations; from grandmothers to children who may be too young and become exposed to sensitive content. TikTok has an incredible variety of content created by users all over the world, and unfortunately, you don’t have much control over what pops up on your “For You Page”. If you have a teen or an older child, don’t worry about TikTok too much. The creators of the app do filter out and delete videos that are deemed inappropriate; things like nudity, bullying, etc. But if you’re worried about your younger children, you do control who you follow. You can use this feature to your advantage and allow your child to follow some of their favorite celebrities, like Jojo Siwa who is an avid “TikToker”. When discussing TikTok with your child, instead of ruling it out altogether, you can simply instate a guideline that they should only stay on the part of TikTok that shows them videos of who they follow, and that they should ask permission before following someone new. This is the best way for you to control what your child consumes while still allowing them to learn fun dances.
2. Snapchat
Snapchat’s age limit is 13, and this app should definitely be monitored carefully when used by younger teens. Snapchat is a messaging app that is used to send and receive photos and messages that disappear once they are opened. Text-only messages can be saved by the sender or the receiver and can be permanently deleted by the sender only. Photos can be saved to “memories” which is like a photo gallery, by the person who took the photo but may also be screenshotted and saved by the recipient. While most kids will use this app to send silly selfies back and forth to their friends, it can and may be used to send photos that may be deemed inappropriate; so grant use of this app with some caution. Ensure that your child’s profile is private to only their “friends” whom you or your child have control over.
3. Twitter
Twitter also has an age limit of 13, and while you may know Twitter enough to make this call on your own, we’ll still give you a brief rundown of what it is all about. Twitter is almost like a Facebook for the younger generation, and many people use it to share selfies and random life updates, but a more serious side of Twitter is reserved for things you may not be ready to discuss yet. Twitter is full of political activists from opposing sides, serious conspiracy theorists, and much less regulated content. If you’d like, you can filter the content of your twitter feed by muting certain words or accounts.
4. Youtube
Youtube is definitely one of the most suitable and child-friendly social media platforms out there today. Youtube not only has a “kids” platform where they heavily regulate and screen their content, but their regular platform is also heavily screened as well. Videos that contain inappropriate content are either deleted by Youtube or demonetized; which doesn’t allow creators to profit off the video and discourages them from creating content that may be deemed inappropriate.
5. Instagram
Everyone is on Instagram nowadays. Instagram’s official age limit is 13, and this seems to be a good age to allow your kids to start their own profile. You can keep your profile private and allow only friends and family to follow, as well as taking precautions like keeping location services off and avoiding the use of hashtags. Instagram is a great way to keep in contact with old classmates, long-distance family members, and friends, which is a good way to keep your child connected and allow them to share some of their own life moments with their friends and family.
6. Facebook
We’re going to be honest with this one: while the age minimum for Facebook is 13, we think it is safe to say that most kids over 13 won’t even be interested in using it. Unless they want to stay in touch with grandparents who only use Facebook or old teachers, we think it’s safe to say that this social network is not the most popular among teens, and isn’t really anything you should be worried about.
Less popular forms of social media include websites like Reddit, 4Chan and Omegle are all websites that we recommend you keep your kids off of until you are choosing to no longer regulate their social media usage. These sites don’t filter content and can allow your child to contact random people from anywhere in the world, which can end up not being the best experience. If you need some more guidance when it comes to social media and foster families, check out this blog article. Hopefully, this breakdown gave you a better understanding of what exactly the teens are up to these days!
