TikTok, is the new Social Media App that all Kids and teenagers are talking about!!!!
I had the opportunity to talk to my dear Mariam Dum Clinical Psychologist, Ph.D., founder of DigitalSAKE.com on an IG live some weeks ago to discuss TikTok and I decided to share with you all the most important points we talked about.
As a parent, I am very interested in understanding the tools and apps that my kids are using, so I can guide them and teach them the best way to do so, making sure they are safe.
We both agreed that we definitely find TikTok fascinating and understand why our kids and teenagers are so into this new communication tool and Social media application.
The main reason this Platform has grown so much among teenagers and kids is because finally, they have a stage that includes their fascination for special effects in a very precise manner, so, therefore, they feel good in expressing themselves freely.
This is the first big social media platform that lets you be whatever you want to be and communicate anything that you want in less than a minute… as she explained to us on that Live ”They created a digital stage for you, in which you can grasp full attention very fast, you can create in an easy and fast way”.
We are clear that, as it happens to other tools out there, we need to know the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, so we can take good care of our kids.
So Marian gave us a list of the Pros and Cons of this tool, which we will share with you below:
TikTok Pros
1. We are going back to the beauty of showing and emphasizing our non-verbal to create emotional reactions (really important as in 15 sec you need to grasp the attention of people).
2. TikTok sets up the tone for anything and everything from very serious matters to completely hilarious jokes.
3. TikTok has better parental control than other social media platforms.
4. It involves creativity.
5. You can get to know your child better (their interests), by seeing what they do on their tiktoks!
TikTok Cons:
1. It is hard to distinguish between reality and digital life and content is many times not real.
2. In very little time they are exposed to a high number of content due to the shorten nature of the videos
3. It is very addictive, and It can create ticks in kids
4. It can limit a creative process if it is only used to copy videos and not create one of their own.
5. Cyberbullying and predators are present and it presents Explicit content.
so What do you want to look for in your child’s TIKTOK BEHAVIOUR?
- Diversity of content, different interest, videos that range from fun and interesting.
- You want to see self-expression of authenticity not only copying
- You want them to ask many questions on things that they watch as a way of critical thinking.
- Their profile needs to be private
- No bully comments or conversations with strangers.
What do we have to look out for?
- An empty profile
- Only copying people and Allowing kids to just use it without being involved in the actual creation of a video, which is the stimulating part of tiktok
- No critical thinking and believing everything people say in tiktok
- Children under 12 years of age should not be in tiktok.
Interesting data:
* Children from 4 to 15 yo are watching 85 minutes a day of YouTube and 80 minutes a day TikTok*
*TikTok is winning growth engagement and profit average meaning triple views per minute this year compared to last year*
If you are interested in learning more about not only TikTok, but also other tools out there and how to have better control of what your kids are being exposed to, Marian is the person to go to.
DigitalSAKE.com specializes in parental Tools aimed to help kids get the best of both worlds: Digital & Real.
You can also visit her IG account digitalsakebydrdum, where she shares a lot of tips and information.
You could also schedule a free Consultation.
