teens like these social networking apps… here is ... · users often post their kik usernames on...

TeenslikethesesocialnetworkingAPPs…hereiseverythingyouneedtoknowaboutthem.

App Ageguide

Whatit’sabout… Pros Cons BeinTouchsays…

ASKfm

Appstore:13CommonSenseMedia:13+

AQ&A-basedwebsiteandappthatenablesuserstoaskandanswercontroversialquestionsanonymously.ItishighlyintegratedwithsiteslikeFacebook,TumblrandTwitter.

Itgiveskidsanotherreasontotalkaboutthemselves,otherthaninthecommentsectionoftheirownselfies–notsureifthisisapro?!

Theopportunityforbullyingisaconcern,andithasbeenlinkedtoanumberofsuicides.

AlthoughitmaynotbeashugeasInstagramorSnapchat,it'sonetowatch.Anysitethatallowsannonymouspostsshouldringalarms.

Down

SigninviaFacebook(13)CommonSenseMedia:18+

UserspickFacebookfriendswhomtheythinkare“sexy”,andifthefriendisalsoattractedtothem,theappletsthemknowtheyareboth“downtobang”–eithertomeetupforadateortohavesex.

Ittriestopromotesexualityasahealthy,natural,andcrucialaspecttorelationships.

Thisplatformprovidesasecretwaytohookupwithand“getdatesorgetdown”withpeoplenearby.YourDOWNScore(attractivenessrating)iscalculatedbythenumberofviewsyougetandthe'GetDown/GetDate'swipes/clicks.

Notsuitableforkids!Anysitethatallowsannonymousposts,orpromotessecrecy,shouldringalarms!Thesearenotorioushubsforsexualpredators.

App Ageguide


Facebook


Oneofthemostpopular,originalsocialnetworkingsitestopostpictures,text,orvideos,thatiscurrentlyseeingarevival.

OntheSafetypage,parentscanaccessdirectionsaboutsettingupasecureaccount,readabouthowtopreventonlinebullying,andgetparentingtipsaroundhelpingkidsusesocialmediaresponsibly.

There'salsoaYouthPortalthat'smeanttohelpteensunderstandhowtousethesite,controltheirinformation,andprotecttheirprivacyandsafety.

TeenscaneasilyaccessdodgyFBsites.Theycanalsowatchlive-streamvideowithFacebookLive,connectwithgoodsandservicesonoffer,andlive-chatviaMessenger.

Guidanceneedstobegiventokidsontheconsequencesofcreatingapermanentandpublicdigitalprofilethroughwhattheypostandwhattheycommentonorlike.Publicprofilesforteensareano-go!

Flickr

AppStore:13CommonSenseMedia:15+

Apopularplaceforteenstostore,manage,andsharedigitalphotosandvideosonline.

Userscanuploadphotosorvideosfromdifferentsourcesinaprivategroup,toenableeasysharing–makessharingpartypicseasy!

Themaindownsideisthatit'seasytoaccessotheruser’sposts,enablingkidstofindthingsyoumaynotwantthemtosee.

Parentsneedtomakesuretheprivacysettingsareset–publicprofilesforteensareano-go!Thegeo-locationfeatureshouldbeturnedofftomitigateonlinesexualpredatorrisk.

App Ageguide


Houseparty


Asocialnetworkingservicethatenablesgroupvideochattingthroughmobileanddesktopapps.Usersreceiveanotificationwhenfriendsareonlineandavailabletogroupvideochat.Theappisintendedforteenswhoarekeenonsocialmediabutarenotoldenough.

SimilartoFaceTime,butyoucanchattomultiplepeopleatthesametime.

Encouragesface-to-faceinteractionwithfriends!

Canalsobeusedtosendmessages,soparentsneedtobeawareofthis!Youneedtobeinvitedtothegrouptochat,creatingthedangerofexclusion,generatingself-doubt,alotofanxietyandfearofmissingoutinthoseexcluded.Theoneswhoarenotinvitedtothe“party”knoworfearthatthey’renotincludedbecausethegroupistalkingaboutthem.Becauseanyoneinthegroupcanaddanyoneelse,yourchildmaybespeakingtosomeonetheydon’tknow,viaafriend.

Asthefeedislive,thepotentialformisuse,inadvertentandunexpectedexposuretoinappropriatecontentishigh.ThisApphasbeenlinkedtosexualpredatorsduetotheeasewithwhichstrangerscanmakecontact.

Instagram


Awellorganisedplatformtoshare(filtered)photosandvideoswithfollowers,whereuserstrytogainfollowersandgetcontent“liked.”

OnaservicereferredtoasIGTV,userscan

Settingsallowuserstosendprivatemessagesormakeaccountsprivate.ThegreenstatusdotshowingwhetheryouareactiveontheAppcanalsobeturnedoff.

Userscanremove

Teenswhoaremostsusceptibletoaneedforvalidationorfame,mayfeelpressuretopresentthemselvesinawaythatisnotreflectiveoftheirtruelivesorcharacters.TinderuserscanaccessotherTinderusers'Instagramfeedsdirectly(evenonprivateInstagramfeeds),ifTinder

Ahealthysenseofself-worthisrequiredtousethisApp–keepremindingyourkidsthatnobodypoststhebadtimes!Guidanceneedstobegiventokidsontheconsequencesofcreatingapermanentandpublicdigitalprofilethroughwhattheypostandwhattheycommentonorlike.

App Ageguide


subscribetootherpeople'svideocollectionscalled“channels”(likeYouTube).

followers,turnoffcommentsandmutefollowers.

TheYourActivityfeatureshowshowmuchtimeyou'vespentusingtheApp,andletsyousettimelimitsforyourself!

integrationisenabled.Userprofilealgorithmsarestronglyintegrated,sousersaretargetedbyproductmarketing,andcanmakepurchasesdirectlyfrombuylinksintheapp.

Parentsneedtomakesuretheprivacysettingsareset–publicprofilesforteensareano-go!Thegeo-locationfeatureshouldbeturnedofftomitigateonlinesexualpredatorrisk.ParentsshouldalsobeawarethatInstagramiswidelyusedtosharepornographyandwellastobuyandselldrugs.

Kik


Popularinstantmessagingplatformtosendtext,images,andvideo.Offersawiderangeofactivities,includingsurfingthewebfromwithintheapp,sketching,chattingwithstrangers,makingin-apppurchases,andsendingvirtualgreetingcards.

CanbeusedasanalternativetoSMSasunlimitedtextsarefree,besidesnormaldatausagecharges.Requiresonlyausernameratherthanaphonenumber.

StrangerscaneasilystartconversationswithkidsandthisApphasareputationforbeingusedinpredatorycrimes.

UsersoftenposttheirKikusernamesonothersocialmedia(likeInstagram),whichmaygivestrangersaccesstoateen’sprofile.

Notsuitableforkids!

Nottalkingtostrangersisoneofthefirstthingsweteachourkids.

Kidsmaybeexposedtohighlysexualized,inappropriatecontentthatincludesgraphicimages.

ThisApphasbeenlinkedtosexualpredatorsduetotheeasewithwhichstrangerscanmakecontact.

App Ageguide


Meetme


Aflirting,dating,entertainment,andsocialnetworkingapp,whereallmemberscanseeyourprofile.

Hasastrongfocusonmeetingpotentialdates,whoarealsocompletestrangers.

Userscanchat,e-mailandvideochattoeachotherthroughthesite.

Besideshugesafetyandprivacyconcerns,userprofilepicturespromotenudity,downingalcohol,smokingandtakingdrugs.

A“blinddate”gamemeasuresyourcompatibilitywithotherplayersandgivesyouanoptiontoe-mailthemattheend.

Notsuitableforkids!Nottalkingtostrangersisoneofthefirstthingsweteachourkids.Kidsmaybeexposedtohighlysexualized,inappropriatecontentthatincludesgraphicimages.Itisnotoriouslylinkedtosexualpredatorsduetotheeasewithwhichstrangerscanmakecontact.

Omegle


Anappandwebsitethatinvitesusersto“talktostrangers!”

KidsareabletoconnectthisApptotheirFacebookaccount.

Userscanchattoeachotherthroughthesite.

Theapporwebsitepickspartnersatrandom,orconnectsthembasedoninterest,andenablesone-on-onechatsinaprivatechatroom,thatstartoffanonymouslybutenablemoreandmoreinformationtobeshared.

Notsuitableforkids!Nottalkingtostrangersisoneofthefirstthingsweteachourkids.Kidsmaybeexposedtohighlysexualized,inappropriatecontentthatincludesgraphicimages.ThisAppisahavenforsexualpredators.

App Ageguide


ooVoo


Anappandwebsitethatenablesvideochattingwithupto12friends(orstrangers!),sendvideomessages,recordanduploadvideostoYouTube,andusetheinstantmessagingfeature.

Enablesgroupvideochats,evenifusersareusingdifferentplatforms.

Alsoenablestextsandcalls.

Userscanblockotherusersandreportthemforharassingbehavior.

Safetyandprivacyconcernsincludethefactthatkidscanbecontactedbystrangers.

Payattentiontowhomyourkidsarechattingwith!Parentsneedtomakesuretheprivacysettingsaresettolimitorrestrictpublicaccess,otherwiseanyonecansearchfor,see,andcontactthem.

Periscope


Avideo-streamingappthatenablesuserstolive-streamrightfromtheirphoneviaTwitter.

Allowsviewerstosend"hearts"tothebroadcasterbytappingonthemobilescreenasaformofappreciation.

Whenauserhitsrecord,anyonethatusesthisappcanpotentiallywatchthemlive.

Thereisaprivatebroadcastsetting,whichshouldbeused.

Notsuitableforkids!Asthefeedislive,thepotentialformisuse,inadvertentandunexpectedexposuretoinappropriatecontentishigh.

Snapchat

Appstore:13CommonSenseMedia:

Apopularphotoandvideomessagingplatformwitha"self-destructing"featurewherecontentisdeletedafterbeingviewed.

Easytouse,withfunfeatureslikephotodoodling,captions,andfilters.

A"DoNotDisturb"featureallowsusersto

Ithasanotoriousreputationasa“sexting”app.

ThedisappearingcontentisabigpartofwhatmakestheAppsoappealing.However,itdoesn’tcompletely“disappear,”butcan

ThisappisdesignedtoHIDEinformation–parentsneedtoaskthemselveswhytheirteenwouldneedit,andhowtheywouldbeabletomonitorit?

App Ageguide


16+

mutethreadswithoutoutrightblockinganyone.

liveoninscreenshotsanddatarecovery.

The“Snapstreaks”feature,wherebyusersareencouragedtokeeptradingsnapswithinatimeperiod,increasestheaddictivefactorofthisApp.

Teenswhobelievethatsnapsdisappeararemorelikelytoengageinriskyorinappropriatebehavior.

Thegeo-locationfeatureshouldbeturnedofftoavoidbeingpinnedona“SnapMap”.

Tango


Aninteractivevideoplatformforlivecontent,messaging,music,videosandgames.Thisappoffersfreevideoandphonecalls,messagingandgroupchatsforupto50people.

Videocallsarelimitedtoone-to-one,butchatscanincludeupto300peopleatonce.

Toaddfriends,userscansearchphonecontacts,andpotentiallymakecontactwithstrangersanywhereintheworld.Monetisationoflivevideofeedsisincentivised,addingtotheaddictionfactor.

Asalways,parentsneedtobeawareofwhotheirchildischattingwith!Asthefeedislive,thepotentialformisuse,inadvertentandunexpectedexposuretoinappropriatecontentishigh.Thereisaprivatebroadcastsetting,whichshouldbeused.

Telegram


AnAppthatdoesalotmorethanatypicaltextingapp,andiscompletelyfreewithnoadvertisements.

Upto5,000friendscanbeaddressedinonesinglegroupmessage.Uniquetomostmessagingapps,allthetextsandphonecallsareencrypted,andany

Userscandeletetextsandsetupsecretchatsthatdissolvemessagesonatimer.Userscanalsocreatetheirowncustom“stickers”thatcanbesharedandpostedfreely,andtheyoftenhappentocontain

Payattentiontowhomyourkidsarechattingwith!Parentsneedtomakesuretheprivacysettingsaresetandthegeo-locationfeatureturnedoff.

App Ageguide


filetypecanbesentupto1.5GBinsize.

porn.

TikTok(mergedwithmusical.ly)

Appstore:13(withapprovalfromparentifunder18)CommonSenseMedia:16+

AcontroversialAppwhereuserscanwatchandrecordvideosofthemselveslip-synching,singingordancingtopopularmusicandsoundbitesLikeYouTube,thisAppisaninteractiveworldofvideosthatletsyouconnectwithfriendsandadmirersthroughlikes,comments,andevenduets.

Allowsuserstosettheiraccountsas"private".Userscanchoosewhetheranyotheruser,oronlytheir"friends",mayinteractwiththemthroughtheappviacomments,messages,or"react"or"duet"videos.

Becauseitallowsuserstocommunicatebyvideowithpeopleaboutwhomtheyknownothing,privacyconcernsandthepotentialforexposuretosexualpredatorsarebig.ThisApphasbeenassociatedwithendemiccyberbullying,includingracistandanti-Semiticabuse.

Payattentiontowhomyourkidsarechattingwith!Nottalkingtostrangersisoneofthefirstthingsweteachourkids.Parentsneedtomakesuretheprivacysettingsaresetandthegeo-locationfeatureturnedoff.OtherthanRestrictedMode,there'snowaytofilteroutcontentonTikTok,soparentsareencouragedtoshareanaccountwithkids.

Tumblr


Oneoftheweb'smostpopularbloggingplatforms,enablingtext,audio,dialogue,photosandvideos.Alotofteenshavetradedintheir

LikeSnapchatandInstagram,TumblrislargelydominatedbyvisualcontentandhasbecomeafavouriteplatformforanimatedGIFsharing.Thereisa"SafeMode"

TheAppenablesawiderangeofuser-generatedcontentincludingproductads,porn,imagesofdrugandalcoholuse,politicalrantsandoffensivelanguage.IthasdevelopedanotoriousreputationasapornsharingApp,especiallylateatnight,withusers

Postsarepublicbydefaultandthere'sonlyoneprivacysetting,onlyavailableonthewebsite,nottheapp-userscanturnofftheoptiontoletothersfindtheirblogthroughanemailaddress.

App Ageguide


FacebookaccountsforaTumblrbloginstead.

settingthatcanbeusedtofiltercontent.

findingitdifficulttoblockcreepytrollersfromtheirblogs.

Twitter


Amicrobloggingsocialnetwork,whichisahubforreal-timenewsandconnectingwithhigh-profileindividualsandcelebrities.

Simpletouseandaccessfromamobiledevice.Thevisualcomponentofembeddedmultimedia,suchasphotos,articles,andvideos,intweetsattractsusers.

Thoughuserscandeletetweets,ifotherusershaverepostedthemwithacommentoftheirown,thosetweetswillremain.Parentsneedtobeawarethatgroupprivatechatcanbesetup,notvisibletooutsideusers.TheAppenablesspammingofcontent,muchofwhichisoffensiveandinappropriate.Itisalsoincreasinglybeingusedasapromotionaltoolformarketingofproductsandcelebrities.

Guidanceneedstobegiventokidsontheconsequencesofcreatingapermanentandpublicdigitalprofilethroughwhattheypostandwhattheycommentonorlike.Payattentiontowhomyourkidsarefollowingandchattingwith!Parentsneedtomakesuretheprivacysettingsaresetandthegeo-locationfeatureturnedoff.

uMentioned


PromotedasacollegeoruniversityApptogetthe“juicieststories,darkestsecrets,andfunniestmoments”oncampus.

Enablescollegeoruniversitystudentstowidentheirfriendshipcircle.

Enablesthesharingofthoughts,questionsandconfessionsanonymously.Allowsuserstoanonymouslyflirtandmakenewfriendswithpeoplenearby,urgingusersto“nevermissachancetoexpressyourselfasitsallanonymousuntil

Notsuitableforkids!Anysitethatallowsannonymouspostsshouldringalarms!Thesearenotorioushubsforcyberbullyingandsexual

App Ageguide


youarereadytorevealyourself”. predators.WeChat


Feature-richmessagingandcallplatformandoneoftheworld'smostwidelyusedsocial-networkingplatforms.Offersfunin-appgames,stickers,and“FriendRadar”tofindnearbyusers.

Userscanconnectwithfriendsaroundtheworld.

SafetyandprivacyconcernsincludethefactthatstrangerscancontactusersbyaddingtheirWeChatID,unlesstheusermanuallyturnsofftheFriendRadar.

Payattentiontowhomyourkidsarechattingwith!Nottalkingtostrangersisoneofthefirstthingsweteachourkids.Parentsneedtomakesuretheprivacysettingsaresetandthegeo-locationfeatureturnedoff.

WhatsApp


Widelyusedplatformfortext,image,video,andaudiomessaging,aswellasvoiceandvideocalls.

Userscanconnectwithfriendsaroundtheworld.Allowsunlimitedmessagesandinternationalcallingtorelativesorfriendsabroad.

Pushesuserstoadd“friends”,andyourteen(andtheirphonenumber)caneasilybeaddedtogroupchatswithfriends-of-friends,withoutconsent.Usershavetheabilitytosendanycontent,includingdisappearingphotos,videos,andGIFsthroughtheStatusfeature.Messagescanalsobedeleted.


YouNow

Appstore:13Common

Alivevideo-streamingandchatApp,whereusersregisterthroughFaceBook,TwitterorGoggle+.

Usersbroadcastthemselvesliveandcanseeandrespondtolivechatorviewotherbroadcastersandchatwiththem.Thenumberofviewersisshown,and

Asthefeedislive,thepotentialformisuse,inadvertentand

App Ageguide


SenseMedia:17+

broadcasterscanstarttrendingiftheyhavelotsofviewers.Userscanbuygoldbarstousetosendgiftstootherbroadcasters.Videosareonlyavailableliveandcan'tbeaccessedafterafewdays,however,alluser-generatedcontentisretainedandstoredbythedevelopers,sothecontentdoesn'tactuallydisappear.

unexpectedexposuretoinappropriatecontentishigh.ThisApphasbeenlinkedtosexualpredatorsduetotheeasewithwhichstrangerscanmakecontact.

YouTube


Apopularvideo-sharingsiteandapp.

Theappincludesafeaturethatletsyouseehowmuchtimeyou'vespentwatchingvideos,andyoucansetreminderstoturnoffauto-playandtakeabreak.YouTubedoesofferparentstheabilitytofilteroutobjectionablecontentandcommentsusingSafetyMode.However,SafetyModedoesn'tcatcheverything,andit'seasytodisable.

Potentiallyablackholeformobiledataandtime!Beawarethatvirtuallyanythingcanbeaccessed–porn,substanceabuse,suicidetutorials…younameit,itisthere.Channelownerscanalsodistributelivecontent,andcanlaunchlivestreamsatwill.ParentsshouldknowthattheAppallowsin-appmessagingbetweenusers.Tosearchyourkids’viewinghistory,youneedtosearchwithintheAppitself,nottheinternet

Plentyofinappropriatecontentcansurfacebytypinginthemostinnocentofsearchterms,soparentsneedtomonitortheirkids'use.Aslivefeedisnowpossible,thepotentialformisuse,inadvertentandunexpectedexposuretoinappropriatecontentishigh.Ifyouwouldn'tletyourkidwatchrandomTVorsurfthenetwithoutsupervision,considerinstallingYouTubeKids,which

App Ageguide


searchhistory. hassomebuiltinfilters.Voxer


Awalkietalkieappthatallowsuserstoshareshortlittlevoicenotesthatmaketheexperiencesimilartochattingbackandforthonawalkie-talkie.

Imagesandtextscanalsobeshared.Userscanchatoneononeoringroups.

Theappsharestheuserscurrentlocationbydefaultwhichcanputkidsatrisk.ParentsshouldknowthattheAppallowsin-appmessagingbetweenusers.


Whisper


AnAppthatletsusersshareandposttheir“deepest,darkestsecrets”anonymouslythroughpicturesandtexts–whichdon’tdisappear.

Asusersdon’thaveapublicidentity,theycanonlybecontactedthroughthemessagestheypost,eitherpubliclyorprivately.

Safetyandprivacyconcernsincludethelackofconfidentialityandthatusersdon’thaveapublicidentityintheapp,soanonymityissecured.andthereisnowaytocontactthemexceptthroughthemessagestheypost.Someusersuseittotrytohookupwithsomeonenearby,whileotherspost“confessions”and“secrets”,whichmaybehighlyderogatory,injuriousorspuriouscommentsaboutotherpeople,forwhichthereisnoaccountability.

Notsuitableforkids!Anysitethatallowsanonymouspostsshouldringalarms!Thesearenotorioushubsforcyberbullyingandsexualpredators.

App Ageguide


Yolo

Appstore:13CommonSenseMedia17+

WorkinginconjunctionwithSnapchat,itletsusersreceiveandrespondtoanonymousquestionsfromtheirSnapchatfriends,andkeepsarecordofbothquestionsandresponses.

Asafreeadd-onfeatureforSnapchat,whenusersconnectYOLOtotheiraccounts,theycanaddastickertotheirSnapchatStorythatinvitestheirfollowerstogivethemfeedbackoraskthemquestionsanonymously.Then,iftheychoose,theuserscanrespondtothosequestionsintheirStories.

Notsuitableforkids!Payattentiontowhomyourkidsarechattingwith!Nottalkingtostrangersisoneofthefirstthingsweteachourkids.Anysitethatallowsanonymouspostsshouldringalarms!Thesearenotorioushubsforcyberbullyingandsexualpredators.

Yubo

Appstore:13CommonSenseMedia17+

AnAppthatletsuserscreateaprofile,sharetheirlocation,andflipthroughimagesofotherusersintheirarea.Youcaneitherscrollthroughthecurrentlivestreamsorbrowseindividualprofilesbyswiping,Tinder-style,onprofilesyoulike.

Basically,adatingapporahookupsite,whereteensperuseprofilesofother"teens"(orpotentiallyadultsposingaskids)wholiveintheirareaandswipeleftorrightiftheylikewhattheysee,beforeconnectingviaSnapchat.

Notsuitableforkids!Payattentiontowhomyourkidsarechattingwith!Nottalkingtostrangersisoneofthefirstthingsweteachourkids.Parentsneedtomakesuretheprivacysettingsaresetandthegeo-locationfeatureturnedoff.

teens like these social networking apps… here is ... · users often post their kik usernames on...

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