Amid TikTok’s meteoric rise, questions have also been raised about the safety of the app, from its viral challenges, some of which can be very unsafe, to the exposure of youngsters to predators via DMs and video trends. In response to these concerns, TikTok has added a range of safety features, including Family Paring, which enables parents to keep tabs on their kid’s activity in the app.
Baby-Tokking
To add to this, TikTok has recently published the results of its newly conducted survey, which was done in partnership with ConnectSafely, which looks at how parents approach discussions about online safety with their teens, as well as the things they can do to improve openness and engagement regarding this critical topic.
As TikTok explains:
“We commissioned YouGov to survey over 2,000 US parents of 13 to 17-year-olds to help us better understand the different ways they tackle conversations about online safety and well-being with their teens. We sought to identify how often parents talk with their teens about online experiences, how comfortable they are discussing safety topics, and which safety measures they employ in their own households.”
Among the key findings are:
- 78% of parents surveyed believe that they have the biggest responsibility to talk to their kids about online safety.
- 61% of parents only talk with their teens about online safety after their teens encounter a problem and come to them about it.
- Only 33% of parents reported speaking with their teens about their use of online and social media platforms on a weekly basis.
What these findings mainly point out is that parents, while they do feel a level of confidence in talking about these issues with their kids, many of them still hesitate to proactively and consistently initiate these conversations. As a result, TikTok says that it’ll be launching a new campaign to raise awareness specifically on Family Paring to spark more discussion about active action in providing both advice and guidance. You can check the full summative survey overview here.
The Wrap
TikTok has managed to acquire some very useful and relevant information here. On a less talked about note, parenting is a continuous process, meaning that efforts to keep your children safe and shielded from the unnecessary extend to the online and digital spaces. Not only is TikTok addressing major concerns about the perversions seemingly lurking in its app, but also serving everyone a reminder that the things we protect ourselves from and avoid in real life are just as prevalent and harmful online; stay aware, be vigilant, and protect the vulnerable so that their experience will be a positive one.
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