What your kids are doing on their devices….

What your kids are doing

on their devices….

What you really need to know about apps and online

gaming

Top Apps Teens Are Using

Anonymous Messaging / Q&A Apps

What parents should worry about: Apps that allow anonymous texting can lead to

poor choices and cyberbullying.

Tellonym

This anonymous texting app currently has

over 10 million users.

Tellonym claims to be monitoring for

inappropriate content and has a section on

their site about managing safety concerns.

Users can block certain words, for instance,

or block messages from people who are not

registered users of the app.

The app opens users up to unwanted and

harsh comments.

RPLY

The tagline of the app reads.. “Ask a

question on Snapchat. Get anonymous

answers. Reply in your story.”

Works in conjunction with your

Snapchat account

Can lead to unwanted messages and

anonymous feedback about their posts.

Users can easily erase history, which

means they can be tempted to engage

in risky behaviors.

Live Video Chatting Apps

What parents should worry about: Live video apps can raise concerns about privacy

and the potential for inappropriate content and interaction with predators.

Houseparty

This group video chat service is reportedly the

fourth most downloaded app and 60 percent of

its users are under 24.

According to Bark, a parental control phone

tracker app, Houseparty doesn’t monitor chats,

which raises the risk of kids being exposed to

inappropriate content.

Users can only add people they already know

through Facebook or their contact list.

There is an option to add people nearby, but the

location service can be turned off.

Privacy settings can also be used, and chats can

be locked to reduce the risk of strangers joining

a chat.

HOLLA

Users engage in live video chats with

strangers.

App tagline: “Live random video

chat, talk to strangers, meet new

people.”

Several reviews mention users

exposing themselves or engaging in

sexual activities during chats.

Messaging Apps

What parents should worry about: Any messaging app can lead to inappropriate

conversations and raises the risk of exposure to predatory and inappropriate

behaviors.

KIK

Kik is reportedly used by one-third

of American teens 13-17.

Kik has been in the news because of

cases involving online predators.

The company that makes Kik offers a

safety guide for parents.

WhatsApp was ranked as one of the

most popular messaging apps in the

world.

The app allows users to send

unlimited messages and photos

without worrying about data limits.

Users can share their locations and

contacts while messaging, but that

feature can be turned off.

Telegram allows users to send texts,

images, and videos.

Secret messages are encouraged,

and users can access X-rated stickers

and plug-ins.

Entertainment Apps

What parents should worry about: Entertainment apps can offer access to

inappropriate content and potential interactions with strangers.

Zepeto

This fast-growing app allows users to

create animated versions of

themselves and then interact with

other users in a chatroom.

Zepeto allows users to interact with

strangers through an anonymous

follow function and direct

messaging.

The app has a lot of ads and users

might feel pressured to make

purchases to get more followers and

likes.

BitLife

BitLife is a text-based, life simulator

app.

Users are asked to make adult choices,

like whether to have a one-night stand

or use drugs.

Common Sense Media makes this

recommendation: “While older teens

and adults who understand the

tongue-in-cheek approach and mature

content will likely get a kick out of this

simulator, BitLife – Life Simulator is

deﬁnitely not appropriate for kids and

younger teens.”

Discord

Discord is a voice and text chatting

tool for gamers that has over 100

million users.

Users can send direct messages to

each other, so there is the potential

for interactions with strangers.

Some users discuss games for older

teens and adults, so risks of

accessing inappropriate content are

high.

TikTok

Accounts are public by default. If the

account isn’t set to private, anyone

can contact the user directly.

TikTok has been in the news because

of tween and teen users receiving

inappropriate messages from other

users.

There is also some explicit content,

but a restricted mode helps ﬁlter out

anything inappropriate.

YouTube

A Pew Research Center Study from last

year showed that YouTube is the most

popular internet platform, with 85 percent

of teens 13-17 using it.

The company recently reiterated their

policies prohibiting harmful and dangerous

content and said they would ban all

challenges and pranks that can cause

emotional distress and lead to physical

harm.

Past efforts to ban certain kinds of content

have been unsuccessful and inappropriate

content has even slipped through YouTube

Kids.

Photo-Sharing Apps

What parents should worry about: There is a high risk of encountering inappropriate

content, including pornography, on photo-sharing apps.

Snapchat

The Pew study found that 69 percent of teens

13-17 use Snapchat and it ranks ﬁrst in terms of

how often it is used

The app has been in the news often for

instances of predator encounters and users

self-harming as a result of content.

One of the most alarming aspects of the app is

its “Discover” feature, which enables

individuals and companies to create their own

channels.

Some of the channels are age-gated, meaning

users must at least say they’re 18 to access the

sometimes-explicit content, but not all channels

are.

Instagram

This photo- and video-sharing platform is

the second most popular app for teens

13-17.

A major concern with Instagram is access

to pornographic content. According to

Chris McKenna at protectyoungeyes.com,

porn is too easy to ﬁnd on Instagram.

Although the app creators restrict content,

pornographers have ﬁgured out how to

beat the system.

Teens often set up spam accounts where

they post photos they don’t want their

regular followers (such as parents) to see.

Other Apps Parents Should Know About

Bark, a company that creates a tool for parents to monitor kids online, has found that teens are

using unexpected technologies to evade parental controls.

What parents should know teens are using:

Google Docs to write messages without any record.

AirDrop to send notes and photos.

Real Estate Apps to throw parties in empty homes on the market

Multiplayer Video Games

Top Gaming Consoles & Services

PlayStation Plus Xbox Live

What is a

multiplayer

game?

“Multiplayer games” refers to video

games where an individual player

can either join a team in defeating a

computerized enemy or can battle it

out against other gamers. In order to

play multiplayer games, Xbox and

PlayStation require gamers to

purchase memberships on both

PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live.

Who plays

multiplayer

games?

28% of gamers are under 18 years old

45% of gamers were female

55% were male.

With this information in mind, children are

exposed to a wide variety of players, and

not all of them will be within their age

range. Although multiplayer games are

entertaining and fast-paced, there are

dangers young gamers could be exposed to.

This includes chatting with random

strangers, bullying, and child grooming by

sexual predators.

Dangers of

Multiplayer

Gaming

Meeting strangers in the lobby

Bullying, Abuse, and Harassment

Predators

Create a party for

you and your

friends...

Best way to stay safe, and know

who you’re gaming with.

One of the ways kids can gain access to voice chat over the PS4

console is to be invited via “party.” Party directly sets up the lines of

communication by automatically pulling up your friend’s list for

direct invites.

People can also request to join a party, but the creator has the

option to deny speciﬁc player access.

On PlayStation, the creator must specify whether the party is

private or open to the public.

This is an extremely important thing to remember as opening it to

the public will allow anyone to join the voice chat and children

could become exposed to unsavory characters.

Xbox one has the same exact features, except, if the person

receiving the invite does not accept it within a ﬁve-minute window,

Xbox Live will cancel the invitation. and the person who sent the

request will have to resend it.

Voice chat can be a great way for socially isolated or anxious kids to

connect with others. However, there are signiﬁcant dangers, as

well.

Tips to keep

child gamers

safe!

Use parental features.

Pay attention to the rating guide on

video games. Avoid mature-rated

games for kids and teens.

Use anonymous or gender-neutral

Gamertags.

Inform kids about the importance of

not sharing personal information

while online.

Don’t accept friend requests from

strangers.

So, what's the point of

all of this?

Talk with your

children!

Technology, apps, and gaming aren’t going away, if anything they’re becoming

more and more present in our daily lives.

Digital Footprint

The information about a particular person that exists on the internet as a

result of their online activity.

Digital Footprint Conversation Starters

40% of college admissions ofﬁces look at prospective students’ social media accounts.

75% of employers look at prospective employees’ social media accounts

Why do you think college admissions ofﬁcers and employers are using social media to learn about prospective students

and employees?

What you put out on the internet never goes away. Also, once you press “send” you no longer own the content.

Resources for Parents

www.internetmatters.org (Website with tips and tools for parents in a digital world)

Monitoring Apps (There’s too many to list, but they offer a wide variety of services,

from phone tracking to app usage monitoring and everything in between)

Do the research…. Find out what your children are doing on their devices… Look at

what games they’re playing…