Love it or hate it but you cannot ignore TikTok. The most used app of 2021 has a whopping 3 billion downloads to its name. But if you are a parent, you must definitely be concerned about how spending time watching TikTok content impacts the lives of your children.
So, the question lingers, is TikTok bad for your kids? Well, the answer is not really straightforward. Keep reading to find out how TikTok affects young children and what you can do as parents to help them.
Age limit and privacy settings
Let’s start with defining the age limit clearly. The minimum age for a TikTok user is 13. If your kid is 13-15 years old, their account will be private by default.
- Despite parental controls, kids on TikTok can easily access mature content with violent and sexual themes. They could also be exposed to profane language.
- Owing to these reasons and more, TikTok is actually banned in countries like China (where it came from), India and Pakistan. So, it’s important to take the age factor seriously.
Kids’ mental health
Studies reveal that the average kid under 15 spends 80 minutes on TikTok daily, which means they scroll through about 320 videos a day. This reduces their attention span drastically.
- TikTok is great for socializing and creativity, but it can hamper a child’s mental health through factors like cyberbullying, lack of validation and being exposed to toxic content.
- Teenage girls on TikTok often end up having body image issues and low self-esteem which sometimes leads to forced eating disorders.
- Even adults face a lot of difficulty when it comes to handling content overflow on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Keeping up with the trends is another major FOMO factor, which might affect kids and teens more than adults.
What parents can do
As a parent, one should be wary of their children’s safety and mental health. TikTok has a feature called “Family Pairing” which links your kids’ accounts to yours. Content can be restricted, and messages can be controlled.
- The “Digital Wellbeing” setting on apps also comes in handy for parents. Screen time limits can be set for TikTok to make sure kids don’t waste time without even realizing it.
- These features are quite useful but a lot of TikTok content slips through the cracks and makes its way to your kids. Therefore, as a parent, it’s crucial to both learn and teach Internet safety.
TikTok’s days of putting profit above the wellbeing of our kids, and getting away with it, are over.
Yesterday’s announcement of a nationwide, bipartisan probe into TikTok compliments the Kids Online Safety Act to demand much-needed accountability. @SenBlumenthal
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) March 3, 2022
However, TikTok does have a lot of positives. The platform is a creative outlet for millions of children around the world. Even if you don’t want your kid to use TikTok, it’s impractical to just block them from it completely. But remember, nothing comes at the cost of their safety.
RELATED NEWS: What States forbid the Use of TikTok? Complete List (USA)
You can also share any questions you have about TikTok. Until then, stay with us here at Spiel Times for more content.
