Online Safety for Children

Due to intense opposition from the US government, lawmakers, and parents, Instagram's parent company, Meta (formerly Facebook), was forced to suspend the development of Instagram for Kids for children aged 13 and under in September 2021.

The claim was based on leaked intelligence indicating that Instagram plays a role in the rising rates of anxiety and despair among adolescent girls.

Instead of relying on Instagram, the global internet business pushed back, stating that a unique photo-sharing network for children would allow parents to better supervise and regulate their children's experience.

According to an official Instagram statement, parental authorization will be necessary to join the app. There would be no advertisements, and only age-appropriate content would be available.

Because YouTube, Facebook Messenger, and TikTok already have similar children-only systems, the public outcry could be interpreted as suspicious. Safety and parental control capabilities are available in apps that do not develop distinct editions.

This is not a fluke. Social media firms that were founded without children in mind have realized that implementing fail-safe underage limits on their sites to allow parents some control is nearly impossible. Furthermore, the minimum age for youngsters to use internet-enabled phones is getting younger and younger.

The strategy to dealing with the global issue of children's internet safety varies by platform. To utilize their site, nearly all social media platforms require that you be at least 13 years old. Data protection laws in most nations support these restrictions.

All of these limitations are important to prevent incorrect and age-appropriate recommendations from appearing on children's timelines. It would also keep youngsters safe from predators on the internet. However, this does not protect young users from other concerns that may arise during their initial exposure to social media, such as addiction, which can lead to anxiety, sadness, and other mental health problems.

When we discussed the highly addictive nature of social media during one of Techpoint Africa's team bonding sessions, the majority of the team agreed that, just as children under the age of 18 should be kept away from addictive substances, children under the age of 18 should be kept away from social media.

China's regulatory authorities has introduced legislation mandating social media and gaming businesses to disincentivize teenagers from spending too much time on social media, despite widespread opposition to the measure.

Douyin, a video-sharing software similar to TikTok, does not allow users under the age of 18 to use the platform for more than 40 minutes at a time. In addition, the app becomes unreachable between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., and it displays content.

While other countries may not follow suit, they frequently devise legislative mechanisms to monitor the operations of these sites. In the case of Instagram, US legislators were adamant.

A quick peek at a report that polled over 3,000 parents of teenagers in the United States reveals that parents are aware of the hazards of allowing their children to use the internet, but they either don't know how to handle it or accept it as a necessary evil.

"How can you keep watch on your child's online activity without being fatigued or worked up to the point where they find loopholes to lash back at you?" bemoans one perplexed parent.

Parents and guardians have a role to perform, and ignorance of what to do will not suffice.

Don't be a dumb parent.

Before going into the features that different social networking applications have to keep kids secure, it's important to note that it's better if parents create accounts for their kids.

Because these platforms only activate certain security limits when an age is specified, families may effectively establish settings that suit their children's ages.

Any app that their kids want to use should be explained to them by their parents. They should download the app and become familiar with what happens there if necessary.

Facebook/WhatsApp Messenger

Facebook is one of the world's oldest and most popular social networking sites. With over 2.9 billion users worldwide as of October 2021, the platform ranked top on the list of the most popular social networks. Trying to safeguard a teenager with a phone from the allure of such a platform is almost certainly futile.

For starters, anyone under the age of 13 cannot register a Facebook account. Parents of teenagers aged 14 and up must enable the following settings during account creation:

Under the 'Audience and visibility' option in the settings menu, change the default audience from "Public" to "Friends." Only their friends will be able to view their activity as a result of this.

Under the "How people locate and contact you" option, limit who can send friend requests from "Everyone" to "Friends of friends." You can also remove them from public search, which will prevent their profiles from displaying as a suggestion to anyone with their phone number or email address in a Google search.

Change the settings to "Friends" or "Friends of friends" to see who can follow, tag, comment, or share their posts.

Because the Messenger Kids app can only be activated through an adult's account, the child does not require a Facebook account or a phone number.

A parent must verify the Messenger Kids app with their Facebook account before creating a mini-profile for their child after downloading it to their child's phone.

Who the youngster chats with is determined by the parent's control over who becomes pals. Parents can manage who receives and sends friend requests, but they can't monitor their children's chats.

Instagram

Instagram, a photo-sharing app owned by Meta, is another popular social media platform among teenagers. Given the numerous reports of online abuse on the network, online safety precautions, particularly for young people, must be followed.

The network offers various safety features, including 'Tools to resist bullying,' to keep children and all users safe.

Set profile to 'Private account' in the 'Privacy' settings menu to manage those who interact with your children. Only followers will be able to interact as a result of this. People under the age of 16 have their profiles automatically set to 'private.'

Controlling comments, tags, mentions, unwanted interactions, and direct messaging is also possible.

YouTube

YouTube, like other sites, does not allow people under the age of 13 to create accounts unless their age is not stated.

Parents may monitor teen and tween usage, modify video privacy settings, and turn off autoplay. They can also introduce their children to these protected environments.

Google launched YouTube Kids in 2015 to provide kid-friendly content to YouTube subscribers. The app is directed to uploaded videos that are appropriate for children by YouTube's algorithm.

Because some objectionable videos have been reported to have gotten past YouTube's filters, parents must continue to monitor app use and report offensive content.

Snapchat

Snapchat is a famous app for sharing transitory videos and photographs that was launched in 2011.

Snapchat posts, known as Snaps, expire after 24 hours, unlike the other sites analyzed. Direct communications are likewise deleted once the receiver has viewed them. The fleeting nature of its content, however, does not guarantee its safety. If anything, additional caution is advised.

Snapchat's Terms of Service state that anyone under the age of 13 is not able to use the app.

Discussing staying away from graphic content and unfollowing any account that makes them uncomfortable is a fantastic method to help kids utilize the app securely.

Parents can also alter the location sharing settings to 'ghost mode' and adjust the safety settings. Only followers can see their Snaps or send direct messages as a result of this.

To use Snapchat's Parental Control features, follow these steps:

Change the option in 'Contact me' to 'My friends' on the profile page's settings icon. Under the 'Who can' column, select the same option (to manage who can see their snaps).

Uncheck all the boxes in the "See Me in Quick Add" area to make their account private, so they don't get suggestions to subscribe to channels or appear in other users' suggestions.

Check 'Ghost Mode' under 'My location' settings to turn off location sharing.

TikTok

TikTok is one of the most popular social media apps in the world, with over 2.6 billion downloads. It, like any other social media network, has security concerns.

The video-sharing software also caters to young users, albeit, as with other platforms, age must be declared in the account settings in order for the accounts to be activated.

For users under the age of 16, the default account setting is 'Private account,' which means videos will only be available to followers. Also disabled is direct messaging. This option can be turned on manually in the options menu.

TikTok redirects children under the age of 13 to TikTok Kids, where they are exposed to controlled content and have sharing, commenting, and messaging disabled. Parents in some countries can link their child's TikTok account to their own. Parents may monitor screen time, restrict material, and supervise texting, following, commenting, and other activities once the 'Family Safety Mode' is enabled.