Beyond Bedtime: What Apps Are Kids Using Late at Night? Keeping Them Safe Online (Part 2)

Continued From Part I

Check it out HERE.

Discovering On Snapchat

Yes, we are in the digital age, and kids will have to find ways for social integration online. Yes, it is inevitable. But, one of the most useless apps on the planet can be something that enables kids to scroll mindlessly, post “snaps” of their “followers” and also risk getting shady friend requests from creeps lurking around.

And that for you is Snapchat – of course, a Meta production. And to quote this amazing article on the “5 Reasons Why No Child Needs Snapchat”, here’s what children get to “discover” – essentially things that they didn’t know they needed to know!

Snapchat graciously offers all the children on their app a news outlet for them to “discover”. The Discover section (found by swiping left) offers news told through snap stories. Unfortunately, the content found in Discover can range from “How to get a gun where you live”, “Blow job Q & A”, to an unlimited source of celebrity gossip. All have fantastically written click-bait headlines and the feed of stories never ends. A child could scroll and watch forever. No young child can handle this amount of mature content. Yet, there are no parental controls or filters to alter the Discover feed.

SOURCE: https://braveparenting.net/5-reasons-why-no-child-needs-snapchat/

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Mental Health And Snapchat Depression

Snapchat can be a trigger for anxiety and depression, especially for kids who use it more than two hours per day. For example, read from this research called “Snapchat Depression”.

“Twice as many teenagers now have depression as a generation ago. This high rate of depression has no biological explanation. Instead, it appears to be caused by engagement with social media on smartphones.

It’s now clear that there’s a strong association between use of social media and depression in adolescents. The more depressed adolescents are, the more they use social media; the more they use social media, the more depressed they are. Which causes which is unclear, but whatever the cause, it’s a vicious cycle.”

SOURCE: You can find the guide HERE. https://now.tufts.edu/2018/04/17/snapchat-depression

When Told That “I Feel Like A Boy”

This is how Snapchat AI reacts if someone posing as a 16 year old suggests that they’re feeling like a boy.

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The Compulsive Addiction And Snapchat Claims

Snapchat claims that its doing everything to keep the platform safe for kids to use. Parents can also easily and confidentially report any accounts that maybe concerning directing to their Trust and Safety Teams, which work around the clock to help Snapchatters safe.

But all is not well all the time. The biggest problem with Snapchat is how it is engineered for addiction. When children start a streak – posting a picture a day – they start to gain popularity on the platform. More likes, means more attention, and kids will want to spend even more time on the app.

For instance, the disappearing images make it appear safer to send or receive inappropriate content. But, there are many tutorials online about how to take screenshots or how to save snaps forever. If kids want a work around rules, they will find it.

Snap Codes makes is easy to build an extensive network of “friends” they don’t know and whom they will never probably meet in their lifetime. Snap Maps allow users to see where their friends and followers are while using the app. This can lead to dangerous situations and unnecessary safety hazards.

Parental Understanding of Snapchat Safety Features

Please check out these amazing resources to understand how the app works and what you can do to discuss and control what your child is exposed to on the Snapchat app.

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/online-safety-blog/is-snapchat-safe-for-my-child/

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles/parents-ultimate-guide-to-snapchat

Negative Effects of Snapchat for Teens by SmartSocial.com

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Continued From Part III

Check it out HERE.

Cited Works

This post is an adapted version of the workshop that I attended.
It’s 9pm..Do you know what apps your teens are using?
Online Parent University “Keeping Teens Safe in a Digital World” on 9/27/23 Wednesday, 6pm-7pm.

In this meeting, we learnt about the safety concerns of popular apps among teens, unsafe default settings/parental controls, cyberbullying, and ways to teach teens to stay safe as they navigate the digital world.

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Truth About Technology

Going out for dinner, calling your mom or going to a party used to be about talking to people, about conversation. But during the last ten years something has shifted. Instead of talking about the food, we post a picture of it online; instead of calling our mother, we send her an email updating her on our lives; and at the party we’re busy showing other people YouTube clips and messaging with friends at a bar instead of talking to other people there. In short, face-to-face conversation is nowhere to be found.

~ Reclaiming Conversation by Sherry Turkle