This summer I'm doing a series on What Parent's Need to Know about *insert some type of online thing here*... because it's not just parents that need to know these things but teachers too AND if there is one thing we all know it's that online stuff changes so often it's hard to keep up (especially when you aren't even using that app/program)!
Today I'm talking about TikTok.
To be honest, this one I really don't get the desire to have. Prior to learning about the app I definitely thought it was an app where you mouth the words to different songs and post them... seems kind of silly to me (although I'm sure we can say the same of many, MANY other apps as well).
This poster is free to download at National Online Safety
Here are a few things I learned
1) Accounts are automatically set to public which means anyone can view and comment on what you post... which seems great because a lot of kids these days want to become "famous" whether it be Youtube, Instagram or Tik Tok... they just want to be recognized. If they post often enough and well enough I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to get hundreds (or thousands) of people following you... many of whom you don't know. In addition, they could pick up clues from the surrounding or what you are wearing (such as a school uniform) to gain information as to where you child lives or attends school. The good news is accounts can be set to private where you have to approve people to follow you.
2) There are easily accessible in app purchases available that sound like they can become quite pricey. This isn't the first app I've shared about with these in app purchases Roblox and Fortnite also had in game purchases. The good news is you can disable this feature as well.
3) Finally, like anything else online there is the risk of seeing something that they shouldn't. This is why it is SO important to teach kids these days how to be appropriate digital citizens.
This series has been going on for 3 months now and I've posted on a lot of similar topics:
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