TikTok is one of those online apps that seems to have taken the world by storm. Similarly to how Vine transformed the digital community a couple years ago, TikTok is also creating a new online community for teens to get involved in. But what’s it all about and how can parents know that their children are operating safely while using TikTok? It may come as some sort of solace that even among young people TikTok seems like one of those apps that develops in the weirder corners of the internet. Is TikTok safe? Let’s find out.
What is TikTok all about?
TikTok was launched in 2017 and quickly gained popularity among the online youth. TikTok is an app that allows you to lipsync your favourite songs and voice overs to create funny videos that can be shared online. The app has been downloaded over 800 million times throughout the world but has faced questioning for the child safety related to the app, after a number of sexual grooming cases have been associated with the product.
TikTok allows children and adults to create their own personal music videos, with features allowing users to speed up, slow down, or customise their performances before sharing. Users can also react to each other’s performances and perform duets with other users, adding a social element to the app.
Why does it appeal to kids so much?
The app has become increasingly popular with youngsters primarily from generation x after a series of videos from TikTok went viral. Youngsters throughout the ages have loved to sing and dance and TikTok is just another variation of that, there’s nothing to worry about if children are educated on how to use social media platforms safely and responsibly. Like a lot of social media apps, the popularity is cyclical, and many will simply drop out of trend and make way for something new. It’s very easy to form assumptions based on a few horror stories, but overall TikTok is a very safe app.
How to ensure your children are safe online?
Across most social media apps there are various different privacy settings that can be adjusted to ensure your children are using their apps safely and responsibly. In the case of TikTok, you’re able to lock your account into private mode so that only your friends can see the content you are posting. This is not only a superb way of monitoring and growing an online community, but also a method of protecting children from adults who are looking to do harm to them online.
In the grand scheme of things, social media is still a relatively new concept for our society, and people still seem to be getting to grips with it. In the same way adults once thought too much television would pollute your brain, the same is occurring with social media. Only time will tell about how the digitalisation of our society will play out, but what is for sure is that TikTok is certainly not a problem to be worried about.
