As a parent/carer, you may have heard that a disturbing video has been posted on the social media apps Tik Tok and Snapchat. This is not the first time that harmful videos have been posted onto social media sites. Whilst the platforms have tried to remove the video, it has been shared by many other users and in some cases, users have encouraged others to view it. Some users have also disguised the video with pictures of ‘cute animals’. 

Tik Tok is a very popular app with children as it includes viral videos of dancers, celebrities etc. The videos are limited to less than 60 seconds and users scroll through different videos. In the UK it had a minimum age of 13.

Advice for parents is to monitor their childrens use of social media apps such as Instagram, Snapchat and Tok Tok. All these have a minimum age restriction of 13 years old. Remember that all social media apps have risks and if you allow your child to use these apps, they must have adult supervision.

Look at privacy controls for devices and ensure that you know what they are downloading. All devices have built in restrictions to give you more control. A useful site for this is https://www.internetmatters.org/

It is also important that you regularly talk to your child about what they are doing online. 

Tik Tok also has a safety centre, available here: https://www.tiktok.com/safety/resources/for-parents?lang=en