raising kids
THE
SOCIAL MEDIA APPS
YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT Your kids are constantly behind their phones, but what are they doing? BY KATHRYN SHERIDAN & MELISSA WICKES
Kathryn Sheridan & Melissa Wickes are NYMetroParents’ editorial staff. NYMetroParents is Staten Island Parent’s sister publication. Go to nymetroparents.com for more information.
I
Instagram, Snapchat, Kik, TikTok, House Party—the list goes on.
There are so many social media apps these days, it can be confusing, overwhelming, and stressful to keep track of what exactly your kids are doing behind their screens. To help keep things straight, here’s a comprehensive guide on the popular social media apps kids are using nowadays and how each of them work so you can decide what is and what is not appropriate for your kids.
SNAPCHAT
Snapchat is a way to stay in touch with friends that is more casual and fleeting than a permanent social media post. Users can take pictures and add captions, drawings, filters, locations, and stickers, and even gifs before sending them to specific friends or posting it for their whole friends list to see on their story for 24 hours. The user chooses the amount of time their friend will be able to view the snap (anywhere from 1 second to unlimited seconds) before it disappears. It’s important to encourage your kids to use good judgement when posting and sending Snapchats or screenshotting the Snapchats of others because nothing on the Internet truly disappears.
HOUSEPARTY - GROUP VIDEO CHAT
This app allows two to eight people to be in a video chat together at the same time, according to Common
Sense Media. You are able to lock a chat so no new people can join, but if someone who is not a direct friend joins an unlocked video chat, you will receive an alert. It is important for parents to note that users can take screenshots during the chat and there is no moderator because, like FaceTime, anything can happen in a live video chat.
GROUPME
GroupMe is a direct and group message service with no fees or limits. Users can send photos, videos, and calendar invitations. According to Common Sense Media, the app is best for older teens because the GIF and Emoji functions include some adult themes. Also noteworthy is that the app allows teens to be constantly connected, due to lack of limits or fees.
The most popular so TikTok is a video-sharin comedy, music, d anywhere from 5 second to Rafael Sales, data stra a social media creative a “challenges” that they see o their own version. Due to algorithm, the users feed interests, which is good if your child not viewing requires users to be receive a guard
34 February 2020 • siparent.com
social media Michelle.indd 2
1/21/20 2:32 PM
