Come to find out (after the police were contacted), this wasn’t a teen at all, it was an adult male who was grooming her and numerous other young girls whose privacy settings were set to “allow others to find me.” I’m not exaggerating in the slightest when I say I weekly meet a mom or dad whose child experienced something similar. Last week I met a mom at one of my parent workshops whose homeschooled daughter met a guy on social media who eventually asked her to send him a nude. And one in 20 children were asked, while livestreaming or in the comments of a posted video, to take their clothes off. In fact, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) said it surveyed 40,000 schoolchildren and discovered that 25% of the children had livestreamed with a stranger.
Pedophiles love this, and they love Tik Tok’s default public setting for this reason, which is why the app has received some bad press that abusers are using the app as a hunting ground. In a world where 72% of Gen Z wants to be an internet celebrity, young people want to make acquiring followers as easy as possible. And today it’s aaaaaaaaall about the followers. Most young people will not want to do this, because this means potential followers have to “request” to follow you. If you click on “Privacy and safety,” you’ll quickly discover that the app defaults on “public.” You have to actually flip a switch to change it to private so you gain the control to approve who follows you, views your videos, comments, and likes. If you’ve ever clicked around funny videos on YouTube, you know exactly what I’m talking about.īut if you really want to see where this app becomes irresponsible, just click on “Me” in the lower left corner to get to your main account page, then click the three dots on the top right of the screen to pull up the “Privacy and settings.”Īt first glance I was encouraged by what looked like multiple options to make Tik Tok a safer platform for young people, with options like “privacy and safety” and “digital wellbeing.” But honestly, these settings were weak, if not laughable.
Wired Magazine calls the app a “never ending variety show,” and they’re spot on, emphasis on “never ending.” I thought I had only been on the app a few minutes when I looked at the time and realized over 30 minutes had passed. You’ll probably laugh at some of the funny original sketches, roll your eyes at others, and about every three or four sketches you’ll be reaching for the volume nob to turn off explicit language, lyrics or inappropriate humor. A teen guy playing an extremely raunchy Christmas song for his mom just to see her facial expression….A funny sketch where two guys danced in the middle of the sidewalk and one splashed his friend’s slurpy all over his face.A guy playing a practical joke on his foul mouth grandma.A guy coloring his Nike with a Sharpie while listening to an explicit hip hop song.A girl playing a practical joke on her brother in the bathroom.A foul-mouthed turtle yelling obscenities about straws.A man squirting his dog with a squirt gun to the tune of a current hip hop song about shooting someone.A toddler yelling “f*ck you b*tch” while his young father laughs hysterically.If the 15-second video doesn’t hold your attention you can just scroll onto the next video. The first video I saw was a teen girl in revealing clothing dancing to a current song with explicit lyrics. After only a few minutes on the app I understood why Common Sense Media rated the app for ages 16 and up. So before doing any research I just opened the app and began browsing. Parents ask me about the app all the time, and I had honestly only tried out the app once or twice, so I decided to dive in and take a closer look. After all, their favorite musician, actor and athlete are all on it, their best friend has is…it’s slowly becoming THE hangout spot for young people with screens. If you’re a kid on a middle school or high school campus, it’s the app to have. If your kid has a device, then chances are they have, want, or at least know about Tik Tok, because it’s the hottest thing since SnapChat and Insta…in fact it’s currently the most downloaded app on the planet and considered one of the most valuable startups in the world. The videos are just 15 seconds long, but like Britney, they’re not that innocent. Lip sinc to your favorite song, show off your dance moves, or post a funny video of your cat. A Sobering Peek at the Hottest Social Media Platform Kids Want