Part 3
The Dangers of Social Media and our Neurodivergent Children
Here is some information on different platforms that I did research on. I can’t research them All, but here is what my child deems ‘popular.’ Credit from the sites I found some of the information on, are notated.
REDDIT: Reddit is an American social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website. Registered users submit content to the site such as links, text posts, images, and videos,which are then voted up or down by other members.
CREDIT: -Wikipedia-
Content on Reddit can harm your security by giving you a virus. Reddit is not known to be a family oriented site.
Reddit has a Private Chat platform. Anyone can contact your Child.
Tik Tok : Tik Tok is a video- sharing app that allows users to create and share short-form videos on ANY topic.
CREDIT: -Influencer MarketingHub-
Tik-Tok features a Private Chat capability on its platform that you won’t know about unless you have access to your child’s account. Anyone can message them.
TWITCH: Twitch is an American live video streaming service that focuses on video game live streaming, including broadcasts of esport competitions, in addition to offering music broadcasts, creative content, and “ in real life’ streams. Twitch is operated by Twitch Interactive, a subsidiary of Amazon.com, inc.
CREDIT: -Wikipedia-
Twitch has a Private Chat capability called ‘Whisper’ if the name alone doesn’t send chills down your spine, I don’t know what would.
The Whisper feature on Twitch allows you to Private Message ANY user.
Instagram: Many of us already know what Instagram does.
Instagram features a Private chat. Your child can message anyone and anyone can message them.
A friend of mine told me that she connected her account to her teens so she can see what she is seeing and posting. Not sure about the chats however.
Twitter: people can send you private Direct messages on Twitter and you them.
WhatsApp: This app is similar to texting on a telephone. You can send private texts, record and send your voice, as well as Video Chat and send and share images and documents.
Discord: I can’t say enough Evil about this chatting platform with it’s room after room where your child can enter. This was originally a platform for gamers to play group online games and discuss their games at the same time. It has now become a dangerous place with chat rooms that discuss self harm, drugs and is littered with scammers, groomers and pedophiles. If your child is on this platform get them off immediately!
I have had to personally deal with Discord admin and I’m telling you, they are sneaky and harmful!
Discord sent my child a private email saying that someone was trying to get them off of the platform, even after I told them my child was under the age of 17 Discord is a 17 an UP platform!
I had to get into my child’s email, pretend I was them, and tell Discord to delete the account and ban the email. As of now I believe my child still has an open account under a different email, however it cannot be accessed per no way to log on in our home. I worry about access on another friends device outside of the home. I can’t control everything, I can only pray.
There is NO way to monitor this platform unless you have direct access somehow and the administrators on it are conniving.
Are you monitoring this every day? Do you have access? If the answer is No, your vulnerable child is at Risk. You have been warned. Again, this platform is 17 and up and for Good reason!
Here is a link on how to enable controls on Discord but they can easily be toggled OFF and if you do not know your child’s user name or passwords to get on, well… good luck.
https://www.howtogeek.com/…/how-to-enable-parental…/
Also, know that OUR kids are not always the innocent ones. Social Skills are not always our children’s biggest strengths. We need to make sure our children are not being inappropriate. We need to teach them what is ok and what is not.
Spotify: It’s just music right?? Nope. It’s music, all sorts, short video clips, podcasts and Yes, there is a Private Chat feature!!I I also read on a parents common sense media platform that even after enabling parental controls for non explicit content, kids still had access to pornographic podcasts and photos! This is With parental controls. I contacted Spotify about this and they ghosted me!
Here is a link from Common Sense Media on Spotify parental controls
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/…/user-reviews/adult
Roblox: Roblox has a private chat platform. If you set up parental controls under your email, you can control whether they are allowed to access this. Don’t allow it. If your child sets this up under their email, you might as well be in the dark. Don’t allow your child to set up ANY emails and any accounts under an email they create.
Google Docs : Yes you read this correctly. Google docs apparently makes a good instant messaging platform, according to teens. Teens are often conducting one on one or multi- way chats right under a teachers nose. They pull it off by typing a message into Google Docs, which is instantly readable by peers included in the document. They will use different fonts or text colors to determine who’s who, or just add comments to the margins of a doc via the comment feature. When a teacher walks by, a quick press of the Resolve button clears the whole conversation. CREDIT: – The Atlantic-
Wattpad: This is a writing platform. Seems like your child can be creative on this platform which they can but at a price to their own mental health. It’s a site you do not want your child on. Tell them to write their stories another way. Wattpad features inappropriate pornographic content as well as the ability to send your child a Private Message to another ‘Wattpadder’
You can find detailed information on how to ‘keep your child safe’ on SOME of these platforms if you search for it, but just reading it can make your head swim. I’d rather not have to deal with it at all than go through the steps it takes to stay safe. Keep it safe to begin with is what I say!
Whew!! That was a LOT of information. Tomorrow we will wrap this up with designated chat platforms to watch out for and block.
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