Parents, Beware : Are Your Teens Too Active on Pinterest?
This age is all about sharing and that too through technology. We have different ways to share and find common platforms for like-minded people. Visuals are more appealing and easy to comprehend, not to mention catchy. Our kids are the same in fact faster and more tech-savvy! They like to be a part of these platforms and share their experience. This is the new way of learning for them. Parents should allow them to get exposure and find their interests but at the same time keep a close eye. There can be some issues which require parental control.
What is Pinterest?
Pinterest mentioned as the “catalog of ideas” is a social media site where people can collect and share their ideas and interests. These are in the form of images or videos. One can discover new recipes, art, and sports etc. You pin yours or others ideas to your board and also see what others are doing. These are public, however, private boards can be made to which only invited friends can enter. Pinterest images appear in google feed. People can follow each other and message their friends. The age limit for it is 13 but there is no authentic check during sign-up.
Harms for teens
Graphic and Nude content
If you know the right search words like “sexy” or “nude” you can easily land on boards which contain adult content. There are people or “pinners” which specifically post such content. Teens can easily get hold of such pinners or boards. They may see data that is not appropriate for their age and worse involve into sharing of such images themselves.
Secret Boards
While secret boards are a way of keeping the strangers out it can also be used in a bad way. Teens may create secret boards, invite particular friends or strangers and make it a place for sharing explicit images since it is highly unlikely for anyone to suspect.
Virus Attack
There are some odd links attached to normal images which may contain viruses and harm your phones or computers. These also include direct messages.
Tips for parents
Make Rules
Establish rules about what kind of data is appropriate for their age and what they can and cannot see. Who should they follow and talk to over Pinterest. Also, teach them what kind of links can contain harmful viruses and not to open them.
Google Search
Turn google search off so that your kid’s pins are not available to everyone and not everyone can reach them.
Follow them
Make sure to build a friendly relation and follow them on Pinterest to keep an eye on their activity.
Parental control measures
It is always good to use parental control software for your help. Apps like FamilyTime help parents to monitor their kid’s activities. You can check their browser history to see what sites they are visiting and what content they are seeing. It allows you to view the installed apps. You can also block applications using the app blocking feature. This permanently blocks the use of blacklisted apps. It works well with Android and iOS.
Here is how to use this amazing feature on the two platforms:
How to use App Blocker on Android
Allow your kids to explore the world and themselves but also keep them away from likely risks. It’s your job as apparent to be well versed in the dangers these social media sites can hold for your kids. Match the pace with them and use the right help for this purpose.
