Tiktok users - is it safe

[bp1000]

Hi all

As a parent with a daughter who is on tiktok, as it all her friends, I immediately banned it, deleted it and preventing re-installs upon the announcement of the awful content that was circulating the other day.

All I have to go on is the news, which reported the event 3 days ago. Can anyone confirm if this video and it’s many iterations, edits and shares has been cleaned up and removed now ?

Also does anyone have any recommendations for me as a parent to keep my teenage daughter safe on it apart from the education and staying sensible angle?

I have all the parental controls on the iPhone setup but I don’t use tiktok and don’t know how to use it to secure it for her

thanks

 

[StaceyMJ86]

I’m following this as well because my daughter want to use tiktok but I deleted it from her account and periodically check her phone to make sure she don’t have it installed.

 

[Apple_Robert]

There is no secure TikTok. That may change down the road with new ownership and oversight. For now, I would keep it off her phone.

 

[TiggrToo]

Hi all

As a parent with a daughter who is on tiktok, as it all her friends, I immediately banned it, deleted it and preventing re-installs upon the announcement of the awful content that was circulating the other day.

All I have to go on is the news, which reported the event 3 days ago. Can anyone confirm if this video and it’s many iterations, edits and shares has been cleaned up and removed now ?

Also does anyone have any recommendations for me as a parent to keep my teenage daughter safe on it apart from the education and staying sensible angle?

I have all the parental controls on the iPhone setup but I don’t use tiktok and don’t know how to use it to secure it for her

thanks

If you’re in the US that decision may be made for you on the 15th...

 

[D.T.]

It's user generated content - which is curated - but the response to remove it can only be done so quickly, only so much can be handled in a finite amount of time (outside of exotic video content machine learning).

At any given time, FB, Twitter, TikTok, IG, Discord, Twitch, YouTube, <any_other_social_network_here>, can wind up with content that's you might find inappropriate. I mean, even right here, I could post something you might not find appropriate, and all you could do is report it, and a moderator, when they're available, could remove it, but 100 other people might see it.

You've got recognize there's __always__ a danger of concerning/explicit content being published into these sorts of systems, heck, most general web searches turn up all sorts of shady results: so either you remove your child's ability to engage with it, or discuss it with them and hope that limits/removes any kind of negative impact.

 

[StaceyMJ86]

It's user generated content - which is curated - but the response to remove it can only be done so quickly, only so much can be handled in a finite amount of time (outside of exotic video content machine learning).

At any given time, FB, Twitter, TikTok, IG, Discord, Twitch, YouTube, , can wind up with content that's you might find inappropriate. I mean, even right here, I could post something you might not find appropriate, and all you could do is report it, and a moderator, when they're available, could remove it, but 100 other people might see it.

You've got recognize there's __always__ a danger of concerning/explicit content being published into these sorts of systems, heck, most general web searches turn up all sorts of shady results: so either you remove your child's ability to engage with it, or discuss it with them and hope that limits/removes any kind of negative impact.

You have a valid point there. I need to sit my daughter down and talk with her so she can understand the dangers of the internet. I even went as far to limit the websites she can visit and took google off of that list of allowed websites.

 

[Hieveryone]

Well if you want to play it 100% safe then sure ban tik Tok but I’ve seen stuff on twitter back in the day when terrorism was going on that was pretty bad as well. It’s hard to protect someone 100%

My point is, it depends on how old the kid is.

If I were a parent, if my kid was like 6, no I would not allow tik tok but once he or she grows up and all their friends are on there then no I would not want to be that parent that didn’t let my kind live life

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I wouldn’t let my daughters use it as they are too young at the moment and there are some disturbing things on there sometimes. As an adult though I love it lol.

 

[Pangalactic]

It's just as safe/unsafe as any other social network like Instagram or FB (which unlike TikTok was actually caught selling user data multiple times), and I personally find removing TikTok from the kid's phone quite ridiculous, considering how far less vital information it collects compared to other services. Following that logic, you can ban your child from using any social media that exists.

 

[Apple_Robert]

It's just as safe/unsafe as any other social network like Instagram or FB (which unlike TikTok was actually caught selling user data multiple times), and I personally find removing TikTok from the kid's phone quite ridiculous, considering how far less vital information it collects compared to other services. Following that logic, you can ban your child from using any social media that exists.

Just because social media apps collect information they shouldn’t, that doesn’t make the potential risk to young children and there parents less meaningful or problematic.

In my opinion, parents should strictly monitor what is allowed on their child’s phone. And from a security standpoint, social media should be a no go. A phone for a young child should be used for emergency contact usage, not perusing all the social media sites, where children often post personal information about themselves and their family that should not be posted, which most kids don’t seem to take into consideration.

 

[FHoff]

Rest assured kids will find a way.

 

[yaxomoxay]

I don't know if it's safe, but the saddest thing I've seen on social media was on TikTok. A long time friend of my kids, one of those grade Super-A student that skipped grades and ended up in college at 14 or 15 due to her incredible grades, now twerks on TikTok all day long. As far as they tell me she's going to fail her classes (but this info might be pure gossip).

I don't use TikTok. I tried a long time ago, and after five minutes I realized that the impossible happened: someone created a social that is even worse than Twitter.

 

[yaxomoxay]

Rest assured kids will find a way.

True, but the concept is that of educating your kids. If your kids want to drink, or if they want to gamble, smoke, use drugs, they'll likely find ways. However, parents telling them (and educating them; forbidding is not THE main thing) might seed some doubts about the activities, or at least it might instill some sense of right and wrong.

 

[C DM]

I don't use TikTok. I tried a long time ago, and after five minutes I realized that the impossible happened: someone created a social that is even worse than Twitter.

Well, in a sense Twitter did it when Vine was created, which then more or less lead to something like TikTok.