Tik tok, popular app among children and teenagers
By Veronica Ortíz
December 20, 2019
We encourage you as San Roberto community to be aware of the apps our students use and to joint efforts and criteria for the good of the community and our children.
Do your children use Tik Tok?
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Tik Tok is an app that can be used on your cell phone, tablet or computer. Users generate music videos that are shared on social networks. Users have the possibility to follow choreographies or record anything they want. It is a Chinese origined platform, previously called Musical.ly
Minimum Recommended Age
To register you only need to enter a date of birth. The application has 13 years old as minimum age requirement, however Common Sense Media has recommended that this app is appropriate for those aged at least 16 years old and above due to its mature content and information settings.
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Public or private account?
The account can be public or private. If the account is public, the user's videos can be viewed by anyone, having access to their images and the spaces they frequent. However, if the account is private, the user has control of who is allowed to see his information and posts.
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What is the risk of seeing what others publish?
An important attraction is to see what other users have uploaded, either because they are followers or because those people have a public account. Users generally spend up to 45 minutes per day, according to a study published by The Wall Street Journal. Time is spent watching artists, influencers and adults who dance, sing, show funny things, make jokes, propose challenges and upload erotic and pornographic content without any filter. There is also the possibility that they interact with anyone through live broadcasts LiveMe - Live Video Chat, and there are chats to get in touch any other user.
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What do I have to know about the songs?
The application uses popular music there are no filters and usually the songs contain explicit content, which are easily accessed.
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Data Protection.
In the US Senate there have been data usage alerts and the Federal Trade Commission admonished Bytedance (company dedicated to the development of applications and matrix of 'TikTok') for storing and collecting sensitive data and personal information of children under 13 years old.
In the United States, children under 13 can register and have limited access with security measures specifically designed for that audience. However, we cannot guarantee that these filters exist in Mexico and the child's vulnerability increases when he has lied about his age when registering.
We want to invite parents access the app, in the HOME section you can quickly see the type of videos to which your children could be exposed. Among the videos showed during this week you can have immediate access to videos that may put a minor at risk such as: girls in mini bikini, heavy jokes, sensual dances, challenges and experiments.
The appeal of the songs and the choreographies is the reason why some students from 2nd to 6th are using it, when they do not meet the minimum recommended age.
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We encourage you as San Roberto community to be aware of the apps our students use and to joint efforts and criteria for the good of the community and our children.
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Reference.
· https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-weighs-acquisition-of-rival-to-video-app-tiktok-11570213344
· https://www.commonsensemedia.org/
· https://www.internetmatters.org/parental-controls/social-media/tiktok-privacy-and-safety-settings/
· https://www.educaciontrespuntocero.com/noticias/riesgos-tiktok/118288.html
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