Parental tip: What age is appropriate for social media?

Introduction

For the bright future of children, it is good to follow age restrictions to access social media websites. As per the research of BBC 50% of kids ageing between 11 and 12 have individual profiles on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. 32% of kids believe the news flashed in those platforms are reliable and they start to accept the facts without any cross-checks. This will mislead them to a dangerous extent. According to Ofcom's Children and Parents, Media Use and Attitudes report states that 28% of 10-year-old kids, 51% of 12-year-old children and 46% of 11-year-old kids maintain private accounts on social media without their knowledge of their parents.

Why social media age restrictions are needed?

Of course, age restrictions are necessary to access social media. If you take a closer look at the concepts on social media the first point which strikes your mind is easy communication with anonymous. The innocent minds cannot handle this and they would fall into the pit without their knowledge. You all know communicating with anonymous ruins the future of the kids. There is a high risk of getting into some sort of addiction due to anonymous friends.

Apart from communication, this platform provides facilities to post their pictures, video call, share any messages etc. Uncontrollable freedom leads to disastrous results. Only mature minds can handle social networking websites optimally. Even the adults are into many problems because of excessive usage of this platform. To an extent, they could not focus on their personal and career works because of the addictive nature of these social media apps.

The kids tend to focus on friends, games, chats, videos etc instead of their studies. Their focus deviates and it ruins their future in no time. Initially, the kids will start for fun but later they will go to an extent where they could not survive without those social media. This type of addiction develops gradually within them in the absence of their knowledge.

So, most social welfare organization emphasize on creating age restrictions on social media. The strategy adopted in all the social media websites is very vague and most kids violate it by entering the wrong date of birth. Make this criterion a little difficult to bypass. Impose tough rules and regulations on the new member related to their age proof etc.

Main social media age restrictions

In this section, you will be reading about the minimum age restrictions to well known social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat etc. These are reputed social media websites and it connects the members in a common platform. You will learn the age limits of the below social networking websites like

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Snapchat

Facebook age limit: The Facebook age requirement seems to be a minimum of 13 years old. If the child is 13 years old, then he/she has all the rights to create an account on Facebook. Facebook has mentioned on the registration page that providing false information especially the age is an act of violation of their terms. The social reformer suggests that there should be some form of age proof along with the signup process to avoid toddlers into Facebook.

Twitter age restrictions: This platform allows the user to create a profile if he/she turns 13 years old. During the signup process, the kids should enter their date of birth. There is a high probability for the kids to enter fake date of birth to create account on Twitter. There are no preventive measures to supervise this type of fake sign-ups.

Instagram age limit: The child should be 13 to have an account on Instagram. The app must verify the age limitations before authorizing the new member into this platform. There are no serious controls to watch out the real date of birth of the kids. This app is exclusively for posting images and sharing videos etc. This platform seems to be risky because the kids may watch nude images accidentally.

Snapchat age restrictions: This platform invites kids from 13 years to become a member on this ground without any issues. You can send images and videos to your friends on this platform. The special feature in this social media is that the sent image has an attribute which states ‘how long the snap to be viewed’ here you have to select the time. When the image or video enter into your friend’s device the snap will be active until the time you set before tapping the send button. Once the time limit if reached the snap collapses by itself. The content will no longer be available

This platform is unique and this has led the teens to play with images. They may send embarrassing images, nude snaps, porn videos etc for fun. The kids tend to trap on this feature thereby leading to watch unwanted porn videos and images.

The age restriction is necessary for all the social networking websites but the strategy should need some revision related to the age. Instead of typing the date of birth, the website should request the authorized date of birth certificate to create an account. This practice will avoid the entry of immature minds into a social media network.

How parents get alert when kids bypass social media restrictions?

You need a quality parental control app to supervise the age violations on social media. An immediate alert to parents is the only best solution to get rid of this issue. Due to the inability of social media has led to the discovery of a parental control app with stunning features. Famisafe is the perfect tool to deal this problem in a professional manner. You can have a look at the unique functionalities of this app related to social media.

• Explicit Content Detection

If the kids receive lewd content chats then the parent’s gadget receives an alarm signal immediately with the help of this feature. In this module, the parents prepare a list of explicit obsessive words to upload in this platform. This functionality uses the scanning strategy. It scans the messages on the kid’s gadget and senses the cyber-bullying words. In case the scan process ends with the availability of the listed words then Famisafe will send a notification to the parent’s gadget.

By default, Famisafe has a collection of cyber-bullying words in its template and the parents can add to it. Using this technique, you can watch out the age violation of the signup process on social media. The kids will not be able to have an account on any social networking websites without the knowledge of their parents. The Famisafe ensures transparency on the kid’s gadget activities.

• App activity & App blocker

Most parents are worried about the addictive attitude of the kids towards some specific app. With the help of the data collected on the App activity module from Famisafe, you can detect the frequently accessed app. From this knowledge, you can get to know about the kid’s favourite app.

In case if the app is harmless then you can set an access time limit for the specific app else you can block it using app blocker. The app blocker restricts the entry into the kid’s gadget. It is enough if you disable the button near the app’s name to block the app. It is simple and you can bring miraculous changes in the life of your kids.

• Screen Time and Smart Schedule

Screen Time is the best feature and it serves as a boon for the parents to handle adamant kids. Nowadays, it is very difficult for parents to minimize the usage of gadgets by their kids. This Screen Time functionality is an appreciable effort from Famisafe. In this function, you can set time limit for gadget usage. The gadget locks automatically according to the screen time.

The Smart Schedule assists the parents to create a ‘To-Do’ list for their kids in an effective manner. Famisafe help the parents to forecast the future of the kids in a better way despite gadget evils.

• Web Filter and Browse history

Famisafe allows the websites to pass through the filter before displaying it on the device’s screen. It blocks immediately if it is adult content. You have to activate this filter to use its functionality.

The parents can monitor the history of the kid’s gadget browser through the effective parental control app Famisafe. Using the data obtained from the browser history the parents can ensure the kids are on the right track.

Conclusion

In this article, you had a detailed note on the age restrictions on various social media websites. A synopsis about Famisafe has enlightened you with the need for parental control app to guide the kids on the right path to achieve great success in future. With the help of Famisafe, you can convert gadget as an entertainment tool rather an addictive one. Switch to Famisafe for nurturing successful kids.