Parents constantly ask me about their children and their participation in social media. Among other things, they want to know which app or site they should start their child on. I could recommend some specifically designed for young eyes and ears, but those aren’t as popular as the ones the mass of humanity has embraced. If your child has a phone, chances are they really want to be on Snapchat or Instagram. Those are by far the most popular right now, with Facebook and Twitter losing traction at least among teens. And if you had the choice of giving your child access to one or the other — perhaps to get their proverbial feet wet with the whole “social media” experience — I strongly believe it should be… Snapchat. Here’s my reasoning:
It’s for messaging between single friends
How are you going to protect your children?
Snapchat in particular is pretty hard to monitor; it was designed that way, right? But there are some things you can do to make sure your kids are safer.
First of all, my daughter would need to have a private account, with friends she knows IRL as her only contacts. And if she wanted to add a person, I have to see her and also know who she is.
How old do you have to be to have Snapchat
There is no minimum age requirement to have Snapchat, but the app’s terms of service state that users must be 13 or older. If you’re under 13, you won’t be able to create a Snapchat account.
Snapchat requires users to be 13 or older to use the app. This complies with COPPA, which regulates COPPA on the Internet for children. Snap Chat users are concerned about their kids using it because pictures and videos disappear so quickly. Pornography is often shared privately by app users without their permission. When accessing the app settings, choose “My friends” instead of “Everyone”. Similarly, if you are a child or a vulnerable young person, you should also use the Snap Map to hide your location. You have to select “Ghost Mode” to change it. It means your location is hidden from the map, so no one can see it. As long as other people are sharing their locations publicly, you can still access Snap Map and see where others are.