Parents’ Guides to Social Media Apps

Anna Carter

September 4, 2020

3 min read

Social media has become an integral part of our daily lives, and with new apps being released all the time, it can be hard to keep up with young people’s ever-changing internet habits. Many of today’s children and teenagers have become sophisticated in the way they use social media apps and websites, but it doesn’t come without some uncertain dangers.

Whether you’re a parent, guardian, or often spend time around young people, it’s almost certain that you’ve heard of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. But do you understand how these popular apps work and how to ensure children stay safe while using them?

We have created Parents’ Guides for five of the most popular social media apps to help you better understand whether these websites are safe for your child to use. From learning about how the apps work to assessing the concerns over safety, you can find all you need to know by selecting the guides from the list below.

Parents’ Guide to Facebook

Facebook is one of the most recognised social networking apps worldwide, with over 2.5 billion monthly active users. It also has a messaging application, Facebook Messenger, which is part of the site. We explain some of the potential risks, like cyberbullying, along with how to use the safest privacy settings for young people in our guide.

Group of young adults using their smartphones

Find our Parents’ Guide to Facebook by clicking on the button below.

Parents’ Guide to Twitter

Twitter allows you to send quick and short updates to your followers and, on average, 500 million of these tweets are sent every day. In our guide, we explain some useful Twitter terminology and outline some steps you can take to keep your child’s information private on the app.

Find our Parents’ Guide to Twitter by clicking on the button below.

Parents’ Guide to Instagram

Instagram currently has over 1 billion active monthly users, but it is reportedly the social networking platform that has the worst impact on children’s mental health. We explain why this may be the case and how the photo sharing app is trying to combat any mental health struggles in our guide.

Find our Parents’ Guide to Instagram by clicking on the button below.

Parents’ Guide to Snapchat

Snapchat has grown in popularity for a multitude of reasons, and statistics have revealed that 69% of all 13-17 year olds and 62% of all 18-29 year olds use the app. We explain why it’s so popular among young people and the dangers that come with using Snapchat in our guide.

Find our Parents’ Guide to Snapchat by clicking on the button below.

Parents’ Guide to TikTok

TikTok has skyrocketed in popularity over the past year, reaching an impressive 500 million active users worldwide. In our guide, we explain how children interact with this video-sharing phenomenon as well as outline safety concerns, like exposure to explicit content.

Find our Parents’ Guide to TikTok by clicking on the button below.

Have we missed a social media app or website that you want to know more about? Let us know in the comments section below and we can look at producing another Parents’ Guide for you.