15 Interesting Facts About Social Media And Kids

We know that the list of dangers of social media is endless, and vulnerable kids are more at the receiving end of it. Use the Bit Guardian Parental Control to ensure your kid’s safety in the digital world.

The Internet has practically entrapped everyone, from kids to their grandparents. Such is the reach of social media that even the person living under a rock would be aware of what it is!

Do you know how many children use social media? Half of the children aged 11 and 12 have accounts on social media. 

Having been born with gadgets in hands, children know the technology like the back of their hands. But they are ignorant of the risks associated with overexposure to the devices. Let us learn some facts about kids and social media.

15 Interesting facts about social media and kids

1)   In 2015, the U.K. Office for National Statistics found that children spending more than 3 hours each school day on social media platforms experienced delay in their emotional and social development.

2)    According to a report published by IZA Institute of Labor Economics - just one hour a day on social media can make a child miserable.

3)    Another 2015 study by the British Psychological Society reveals that teenagers feel obligated to respond to social media posts (liking them), replying to texts, and direct messages. This undeniable affects their mental health.

4)     A University of Michigan study suggests that the use of social networking websites negatively affects young adults. The more time they spend there, the more dissatisfied they are from their lives.  

5)   DoSometing.org - one of the largest organizations for young people and social change – specifies several alarming effects of social media. This includes sleeping disorders, depression, smartphone addiction, stress, lower self-esteem, isolation, insecurity.

6)    According to a survey conducted by the Australian Psychological Society, FOMO(Fear Of Missing Out) is one of the main reasons for teens’ extensive use of social media.

7)     A 2019 study from the University of Montreal has established that compared to other types of screen time, social media is more likely to develop depressive symptoms in teenagers.

8)   Instagram mainly affects teen girls more because they unrealistically start comparing themselves with others.

9)    According to Patricia Greenfield, professor of psychology in the UCLA College, when kids use digital media for social interaction, they spend less time developing social skills. They find it difficult to understand the emotions of other people.

10) A survey carried out by the University of Glasgow states that many children use social media at night particularly. Their profound emotional involvement leads to poorer sleep quality, lower self-esteem, and higher levels of anxiety.

11) Research by Larry Rosen, a professor of psychology at California State University, suggests that the teens who use social networks like Facebook extensively might suffer from narcissism and find it difficult to sympathize with others.

12) A recent analysis published in the journal PLOS ONE found that teenagers spending more time on the Internet have thoughts of self-harm or suicide. They have increased chances of being victims of cyberbullying too.

13) According to Pamela Rutledge in Psychology Today, “a teen who lacks self-confidence might develop an obsession with selfies, which is a form of ‘acting out,’ a typical behavioral pattern to get attention.”

14) A study published in the medical journal JAMA indicates that the teens continuously checking social media and stream video might develop symptoms of ADHD, which causes shorter attention span, or distractibility.

15)  Research by a team of economists at the University of Sheffield implies that the more time teens spend chatting on social networking sites, the less happy they feel about their school, appearance, family, and their life overall.

Screen relationships distract kids from spending time in real-life relationships and developing social skills.

Download Parental Control Apps for Android, apply screen time control, limit their smartphone addiction, and create a safe digital world for them to explore.

What Is The Appropriate Age For a Kid For Using Social Media

One of the biggest conundrums faced by today’s parents is when to allow their kids to use social media websites.

For the healthy growth of your child, it is necessary to follow age restrictions on social media. Learn what are they and how to manage it with parental control apps. Read also: An Age-by-Age Guide for Children and Smartphones

Why do we need age restrictions on social media?

A child younger than 13 years is not mature enough to have developed cognitive functions for impulse control.

Any mistake or misjudgment, which can potentially affect their future, cannot be erased from the web. If online predators target a child, they cannot deal with the situation at a young age.

Let us find out the age restrictions on some of the most reputed social networking sites that connect the members on a common platform.

Which social media websites have an age restriction?

Facebook

• Facebook does not allow children younger than 13 years to create an account. Though in some jurisdictions, the age limit may be higher, for example – in South Korea and Spain, kids above 14 can use Facebook.
• Facebook clearly states that creating an account with false information is a violation of their terms. And it asks the parents whose underage child has created an account on Facebook to help them delete it.
• Users can also fill the form to notify an account belonging to an underage user, and Facebook promptly deletes it.

Instagram

• Instagram requires its users to be at least 13 years old before they can create an account (in some jurisdictions, this age limit may be higher).
• Instagram also asks users to fill out a form and notify them about the accounts being operated by underage so that they can delete them if they cannot verify that someone over 13 years old is managing the account.

Twitter

• Calling it age screening, Twitter also requires the user to be at least 13 years old, or in the case of Periscope 16 years old, to use their services. 
• But, during the signup process, a kid can enter a fake date of birth, and there are no preventive measures to supervise that.

Snapchat

• Like other social media websites, Snapchat has a minimum age requirement of 13 years old. But it is easy to circumvent this by providing the concocted date of birth, and the service has no way of checking.
• The app is more alarming because it makes the users believe that their images will be safe as they will be removed after a specified time, so kids become bold and might share an embarrassing image. And if the receiver takes a screenshot before that, then it can be circulated easily.

For other platforms, such as Pinterest, Tumblr, and Kik, the minimum age is 13; for Vine, Tinder, and Yik Yak, it’s 17. YouTube allows persons, 18 or above to be account holders, but a 13-year-old can sign up with a parent’s permission.

Parenting tips: How to restrict underage children from using social media

• Educate them about the skills they’d need when starting to use social media.
• Keep an eye on their browsing history.
• Inform them about the online dangers – cyberbullying, pornography, online predation, sexting, etc.
• Download and use parental control apps to supervise the age limitations on social media and to block those apps if you find them in your child’s phone. You can also disable Play Store, prohibiting them from downloading any new app.

When a child signs up for an account with a fabricated birth date, they cannot have the protection offered by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and their personal information is at risk.
According to research, by the time kids are 10, approximately 59% of them have already used a social network, 52% of 8 to 16-year-olds admit of ignoring Facebook’s age restriction.
The age restrictions on social media are not law; they are recommendations. It is easy for a child to fake birthday and to create an account. That is why a parent needs to monitor their children’s online activities with parental control apps for Android.

Top 5 Reasons Why Parents Need Parental Control

A thought, always running in the background of a parent’s mind is about the safety of their child. The parental control app provides you with the answers to all your child-related security concerns.

We were never so dependent on screens to get through our lives, and they keep demanding more of our attention! Among all the electronic devices, smartphones enjoy the status of being ‘most favorite’ with the kids and adults alike due to obvious reasons.

Although mobile apps enable our children to see the world closer in a different light, parents have to be extra conscious and supportive to help their children find a perfect balance between smartphones and life.

Let us understand the role and importance of parental control in making a safer world for today’s digital generation.

Top 5 Reasons why Parents need Parental Control

• Solves your concern about the safety of kids

Angela Green gave a voice to every concerned parent, stating, “I don't know what's going on, but I just want to get my kids to safety, that's it.” Are we capable of preserving the most valuable resource of this world – children?

For most parents, children are the paramount priority, but we cannot deny that they have to work hard to give their children the best of everything. Even though they want nothing more, they cannot be there with their children all the time.

With parental control apps, you get alerted when your child is under threat. You can take the necessary steps to ensure their safety and let them know that you will always have their back.

Many of the apps let you assign a sensible virtual boundary around your child based on their routine. Read also: 10 Reasons to Use Parental Control Apps for Kids’ Safety

• Allows you to block unsuitable apps

At any public place or even in a family gathering, you’d find a child as young as 2-3 years operating smartphone like an expert. You might not know at what age a child should get a cell phone, but you must realize the impacts of exposure to inappropriate content on their young minds.

Children are too naive to understand the ramifications of their digital addiction. With a child tracking app, you can block any gaming, dating, gambling, or adult apps.

• Enables you to monitor and set the child’s speed-limit

Age never guarantees maturity or the ability to differentiate right from wrong. And when teenage hormones are raging, kids hardly remain in the control of parents.

All kids can think about is taking risks and experimenting with newer things. Some of the kid’s safety apps enable you to set a speed limit on their vehicles with you getting a notification whenever they exceed it.

• Helps to manage a child’s screen time

We know that there is an ocean of content and apps on the internet that can prove to be malignant for your impressionable child. The dependency on digital devices plays havoc on their physical, mental, emotional, and social state.

Some of the child tracking apps might permit you to customize the home screen on a kid’s device, where you can keep the useful apps only. You can also set reasonable time-limits for individual apps.

They let you define the bedtime (when the phone can’t be operated) and also set a limit for other apps.

• Safeguards your child’s personal information

The reach of electronic devices is by far the most prominent one, whether it is a toddler, a preschooler, an adolescent, a teenager, or an adult! Teenagers remain online all the time, storing confidential information on their smartphones.

In a scenario such as this, the loss or theft of a phone can be extremely threatening. With GPS tracking feature enabled in parental controls, you can locate the device. A few of them also offer to restore the phone to factory settings remotely.

Without any doubt, playtime is far more valuable for a young child's brain development than electronic media. It would be irrational to expect kids to behave like mature adults overnight; we can gently push them to acquire the best digital etiquette.

Bit Guardian is a fantastic app that arms you with all of the functions mentioned above and many more. Let us not leave our children in a lurch, opt to digital monitoring by using and downloading the Parental Control App.

Parent's Guide to Internet Safety with Security

With internet access becoming Omni-present, kids are taking charge of gizmos with manic frenzy. The excessive exposure to screen time leads an entire generation towards tech obsession.

Thus, digital addiction creates anxiety among parents worldwide. To turn your anxiety into serenity, we have come up with the solution of screen time control for children. Let us see how?

Screen Time App - a tool to kill online addiction

An application that secures children from excessive use of smartphones or similar devices is the screen time app. This app comes under the purview of parental control software. 

Parental controls are designed for the users to keep tabs on kids' tasks like viewable contents, application usage, virtual screen control, and many more.

The security of children is the foremost concern any parent will take into consideration. Hence, this is the software which is used to supervise and restrict the device usage ability of teens.

Hold your seats to know more about the preventive steps to curb the excessive screening hours.

• Parents guide to internet safety

Teach your kids the importance of time management:

Establish the boundaries to control the device usage capacity of kids.  Use a screen time app to adjust the proper timing of using each application. 

Follow these effective set of rules and define the parameters on gadgets:

• 30-45 minutes of a target on gaming apps
• 15-20 minutes of goal on social media apps
• 10 minutes for other apps
• Around 1 hour for educational apps 
• Total shutdown of the phone during bedtime

• Switch to another alternative as well:

Parental controls offer various options in concern with the security of the children.

You can apply other tools like App Blockers that can block unnecessary and unwanted applications on kid's devices.

App Blocker will mitigate the risk of over usage of mobiles, and in turn, kids will relieve their eyes from screens.

You can also set up the Kiosk Mode tool in chid's device that allows the use of only selected apps to children. It will create a new launcher on the kid's mobile home screen.

• Safeguard the gateway of devices with passwords: 

The way you lock your house for the safety of property, why not to lock the screen for the protection of children? 

Create an alpha-numeric password that cannot be cracked by children and make sure to save it at a safer place.

Use the fingerprint scanning or facial recognition as a password. You can also go with the device pattern option to avoid typing keyboard passwords.

• Encourage engagement in other activities:

Keep your kids occupied in other activities like sports, skiing, painting, and alike. Encourage their morale with your participation on the board games or sports.

When children spend more time on such activities, they will remain away from gadgets, and in turn, it helps in screen time control.

The latest news buzzing around the electronic media is about the gaming addicted British children who are under the care.

According to a Mirror Investigation, "Device addiction is widespread and blown an 11 year and a 13-year-old child. They lag behind in schools and snub their friends or isolate themselves in a space where they can stick to a screen."

Follow the parents' guide to internet safety for the complete security of kids.

Install the best screen time app i.e., Bit Guardian Parental Control to protect kids from the hiccups of excessive screen time. Get it on your device now!

5 Most Common Online Threats Faced By Children - Secure Them With Kids Safety App

Kids safety app is the need of today's tech-savvy kids, as risks of online threats has increased. 

The internet is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it provides unlimited access and comprehensive information about the surroundings, and on the other hand, it triggers frightening hazards that put users in trouble. Thus, teens should be very cautious while using cyberspace.

In many cases, kids expose their families to digital risks like accidentally installing malware that can give access to cybercriminals of sensitive information such as bank accounts. If parents are allowing children to spend considerable time for accessing the internet, it is important to know what kind of dangers teens can encounter and how to deal with it. 

Let us take a glance at the most common threats children face online and ways to tackle it.

The Most Common Digital Threats Children Face Online:

• Harmful and inappropriate content:

When teens use the web net, they are also vulnerable to objectionable content that includes:

• Gambling sites
• Pornographic material
• Violence images and videos
• Unrestricted chat rooms that permit unsuitable comments 
• Slang words and many more

As parents, you can cure this trouble using online safety apps. (Stay connected to know more about this software.)

• Phishing:

Phishing is a fraudulent attempt to obtain crucial information like credit card details, usernames, or passwords using emails or instant messengers. It directs the user to enter private information at a fake website which seems similar to the original site.

Cybercriminals keep an eye on kid's popular sites to gather information about a child's friend's list, email address, password, etc. to use these data in their scams.

Parents should educate their children to avoid text from strangers or not to click on lucrative emails. Teach your kids the difference between authentic and counterfeit websites and applications.

• Cyberbullying:

Cyberbullying is an act of harassing someone on various internet platforms like social media websites. Bully uses different platforms for threatening a victim, posting rumors, leaking personal information, etc.

Victims may experience frustration, depression, lower self-esteem, negative emotional responses, and can even think of suicide.

If you don't want your children to go through such trauma, we recommend you to download parental control apps

• Online scams:

Internet fraud or online scam is a trick to trap victims for acquiring property, money, or inheritance. Scam artists lure children in many ways that include:

• Asking for private information like date of birth, account number, social security number, etc
• Offering prizes, certificates or gifts
• Redirecting kids to counterfeit websites
• Appearing as a genuine source
• Using identity theft as a means to create trust
• Contacting with fraudulent numbers and offering lucrative schemes, etc.

Young children are easy targets as they have not learned to be vigilant. Online criminals use websites that are popular with kids to identify the potential target and then offer them something in return.

Parents should teach their kids to be cautious of digital schemes that promise too much and is tempting.

• Child molesters:

Online predators are the most dangerous criminals in the digital world. They use children for sexual stimulation by exploiting them in various forms. They take undue advantage of a child's innocence, abuse their trust, and entice them for personal pleasure.

Child molesters can cause anxiety, depression, psychological trauma, physical injury, and other emotional problems.

Parents must involve in a child's digital life to know what is happening and if they are using the Cybernet safely.

How Does Kids Safety Apps Help To Combat Digital Dangers?

The child monitoring application is designed to keep track of kids' online activities like the content they view, the time they spend, the places they visit, and much more.

Parents control and monitor their child's digital tasks using a parental control app. However, this software is useful to combat cyber threats with the help of:

• App Blocker: This tool blocks the inappropriate and harmful applications on the child's device. If they cannot access the malicious apps, it reduces the possibility of threats.

• App Install Blocker: It stops kids from installing any new apps on their phones. Thus, when children do not access unnecessary applications, they are less prone to digital dangers.

Moreover, child tracking application offers other distinctive tools also for complete digital safety of children that rescues them from excessive screen time, dangerous situations, and many more online issues.

Choose one of the trustworthy online safety apps like Bit Guardian Parental Control and rest your worries.

How To Control Social Media Screen Time For Your Kids?

Screen time limit app is widely used by today’s parents to control kid’s excessive hours on digital gadgets.

Children love to interact and make new friends on the digital platform. They find opportunities to connect through social media portals like Instagram, Whatsapp, Facebook, etc. Online communication networks facilitate group messaging, video calling, location sharing, transferring image and video, and much more.

Kids perform their online tasks, usually using smartphones. Devices are helpful in many ways, but its overuse invites several undesirable problems. When children are unrestrictedly using the gizmos, parents need to be more cautious because their immature minds are vulnerable to online threats.

Here we will share the ways of social media screen time limit to help parents in managing their child’s distractions. So stay with us.

Concerns Of Excessive Screen Time:

• Harmful to a child’s growth and development:

Uncontrolled media usage can cause various health problems like memory loss, attention deficiency, irritating and dry eyes, obesity, etc. In the long run, such habits may turn into severe illness such as brain tumor or cancer.

• Sharing of Inappropriate Content:

With uncontrollable access to media applications, children can share and take inappropriate pictures or videos. Harmful posts or rumors on social media platforms triggers thoughts of depression and anxiety in a teen’s mind. 

When kids share any malicious content out of fun and excitement, they are unaware of its outcomes and may indulge themselves in cybercriminal activities.

• Binge-watching habits:

YouTube is the best example where children will not blink an eye from the videos they are watching. 

Recently, this tech giant Youtube has been fined $170M by FTC for using a child’s data without their parent’s consent.

Thus, make sure that your children should remain safe on digital platforms because even the big and renowned companies can breach parent’s trust.

• Online Threats:

Nowadays, the news is flooded with the headlines of cyberbullying, predators, child abduction, and much more. Excessive media hours attract pedophiles as they are watching a child’s online affairs since long. 

As a responsible parent, keep your children digitally safe using parental control app.

How To Control Social Media Screen Time Of Kids?

Social media portals are highly lucrative where adults also get engrossed and spend prolonged hours ( without bothering about time). When people of each age group are addicted to it, what do we say about children? It is advisable for parents and children to be very cautious in using the internet facility.

Practice and follow the below steps to restrict the excessive screen time of kids:

1.Set the mutual rules:

Sit with your kid and set the time of accessing the internet and using multiple applications. Make sure that your children should abide by the rules to mitigate their screen time.

2. Divert child’s attention:

Hey! We are going to a picnic! Hearing this statement, kids will jump in happiness. You can engage kids in such activities where they find pleasure and enjoy their gala time. The outing is just an example; you can also divert their attention by engaging them in their hobbies and interests.

3. Unplug device during family time: 

When all family members are together during meals, ban the use of smartphones (unless it is an urgent call). Ask kids to share their routine and plan for the next day. Discuss about surroundings, child’s friends, their school life, etc.

Exchange some ideas and good thoughts and let them explore their verbal creativity. 

4. Use screen time limit app:

Parental control application is the panacea for all digital hiccups. Child monitoring software offers various tools to control a child’s media hours.

• Time Schedule: Here, parents can fix the curfew hours on kids device for using multiple apps.

• App Time Limit: You can form a group of similar apps like social media sites and fix the hours of using multiple apps in a group.

• App Blocker: App Blocker is another tool to curtail screen time is in preventing children from using inappropriate and distracting applications.

Well, kids safety application provides other features also to safeguard a child from numerous online hindrances.