TikTok Exposes Inappropriate Contents for Kids; What Parents Should Know About the Trendy App?

TikTok Christine Elgersma Common Sense Media Musical.ly. Titania Jordan Skull Breaker Challenge Blackout Challenge TikTok Challenges

By Camille Hutchison , Parent Herald Aug 25, 05:13 am

TikTok is an application that you can download for free and allows you to watch, create, and share videos. The United States now has more than 100 million TikTok users.

Although the application can be fun and allows one to be creative, parents must guide their children in how to use TikTok safely and responsibly. Tiktok has 3 billion downloads, making it the current hottest social media site for both tweens and teens. Hence, parents are curious if the application is safe as many kids have been hitting the download button.

Christine Elgersma, senior editor of Parent Education at Common Sense Media, said TikTok allows children to spend time with their friends by making videos. The application can be used as a platform for your child's creativity while having fun, per NBC News.

If a child downloads the app, the parent authorizes other people to share personal information, risks of cyberbullying, and the potential exposure to harmful and inappropriate content. Thus, parents must openly discuss the possible dangers involved with their kids just by downloading the app.

TikTok exposes children to sexual content

Parents and the child must review the application together as songs featured on TikTok may have explicit language and sexual content unsuitable for the child.

Titania Jordan, the chief parenting officer of Parental-Control App Bark, explains to parents that even if the account was set to private, children might still be exposed to any sexual or violent content posted on the app. She added that there are also sexual TikToks that kids may want to recreate, especially when they see these videos gaining a tremendous number of views. There is a lot of concerning content on the platform.

TikTok can also make a child a victim of cyberbullying and trolling. Many viewers express their emotions if they don't like a particular video, and the app allows these bullies to make fun of someone. Furthermore, people can create multiple accounts mainly to target users they don't like.

According to the data from Security.Org, in 2022, kids are most likely to experience cyberbullying on Youtube (79%), Snapchat (69%), TikTok (64%), and Facebook (49%), Parents reported.

Children with no parental guidance can be a victim of predators

The social media platform allows certain users to connect with others who might be familiar or strangers. Predators on TikTok are common as they can access a child's information, especially if the account is not set to private. Children below 16 years old cannot send or receive private messages. Unfortunately, children with no guidance from their parents fake their personal information such as date of birth which causes their safety to be at risk.

On the other hand, some challenges appear to be encouraging for kids but are honestly dangerous. Some of these are Skull Breaker and Blackout Challenge. Parents must keep an eye on their child to avoid being influenced by social media and peer pressure, as participating in such challenges can be risky, per Mom Junction.