As kids head back to school, social media use by teens could ramp up. Now, though, parents or other caregivers can use educational support offered by social media outlet TikTok.
TikTok‘s new initiative works with the Family Online Safety Institute, an international nonprofit, as well as parents and caregivers. The highlights include educational videos on the platform and a family pairing option so you share the account like a cell phone family plan.
There are also default age-appropriate settings for teens younger than 16 that include keyword filtering, comment privacy settings, disabling direct messages, a screen time limit & more.
Influencer and father Dave Ogleton, known online as FitDadCEO, says he sees both sides of the issue.
“Just doing this as a business myself, I know there’s a lot of crazies out there," Ogleton said, "and you just have to make sure that your kids are making the right decisions online themselves and [keep] them safe from anyone who may want to cause them [harm]."
Ogleton is helping TikTok promote the new teen security supports.
“This is an open dialogue between you the parent and your kids," says Stephen Balkam, CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute. "It’s far better if the kids are involved in setting the rules, and for that matter, setting if those rules are broken and simply having the law laid down on them.”