Family Tech Blog

Tag: tik tok

  • Old Town Road Proves How Much Memes are Shaping Our Culture

    Old Town Road Proves How Much Memes are Shaping Our Culture

    Montero Lamar Hill spent days and days in his closet recording music. He would take samples from YouTube and lay his own lyrics over them. Then he would post his songs to the popular music site Soundcloud and start sharing on social media. At 20 years old, Montero didn’t have a job, he was focused solely on his music and hoped that some day his hustle would pay off. In March 2019 one of his songs, a trap beat with some country banjo and silly lyrics, went viral as a Tik Tok meme and less than a month later Old Town Road by Lil NasX was on the Country Music Charts. 

    The song was pulled from the Country charts because it “wasn’t country enough,” but it had garnered some attention from producers in LA and Nashville. Soon, Billy Ray Cyrus got involved and the Old Town Road Remix was born. The duet is now the most popular song in the world and NasX’s life is completely different. Some of the latest stories about NasX include his purchase of a luxury sports car for Billy Ray, and the fact that he’s moving into an extravagant new apartment. You can’t go anywhere without hearing Old Towne Road and everyone from kids to adults, urban to suburban, city to country folk all know the song and most of us like it at least a little bit. All of this was made possible because of social media influencers and the viral nature of short music videos on apps like Tik Tok.

    What Parents Should Know

    This story is interesting from an internet safety standpoint because it highlights the capability of social media and viral media to shape the offline culture. When Tik Tok was Musical.ly, the app allowed you to make short lip sync videos to popular songs. While much of Tik Tok still centers around that model, there are so many influencers making original content and using music or soundtracks from other places that the content on Tik Tok is now becoming a pop chart in itself. Old Town Road  is a great example of how content on social media can get so popular that it becomes main stream based solely on the sheer force of its popularity. The lines between internet fame and mainstream fame are blurring more and more.

    There has always been a gap between the culture kids are living in and the culture that their parents remember and understand. We try to keep our fingers on the pulse of society but often have a hard time keeping up. In some cases this is no big deal. We don’t always need to know what their latest slang phrase means or where that dance move came from. It is, however, important to understand the big picture of how our kids’ culture is shaped and how their influences shape the mainstream society as a whole. Many parents see Tik Tok and other social media apps as little programs that our children use to have fun with their friends or express themselves but we have to curb that attitude and remember that these services are now some of the most influential driving forces in our culture. Old Town Road is a trendy, catchy song that won’t last super long and is fairly family friendly but the next “big thing” could be a politically driven stance against something your family stands for or for something your family stands firmly against.

    The days of social media being mere expression on an island of youth sub culture is over. These viral videos and memes are shaping the culture that we all live in, not just that of our children.

    Listen to this article on the Family Tech Update podcast below:

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  • Indian Agencies Ask for Removal of TikTok from App Stores Citing “Pornographic and Illicit Content.”

    Indian Agencies Ask for Removal of TikTok from App Stores Citing “Pornographic and Illicit Content.”

    The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in the country of India has asked Apple and Android to remove Tik Tok from their app stores due to pornographic and other inappropriate content. The statement says that the app encourages illicit content. This comes just months after being fined by America’s Federal Trade Commission for improperly managing data collected from users in their young target audience.

    TikTok, managed by Chinese company Bytedance, has hundreds of millions of users and features user generated lip-sync, livestream, and other short form videos. The app has come under fire from many child protection agencies because of their lack of age verification and limited parental controls. The app is most popular with kids under 20 and mostly with girls. The app is wildly popular with kids under the age of 13 but it isn’t likely that stats will show that demographic since most who sign up say they are over 13 years old to line up with the company’s terms and agreements.

    Tik-Tok Under Fire as Study Finds 25% of Kids Talk to Strangers Online

    What Parents Should Know

    TikTok is another example of user generated content getting away from the company who is supposed to manage that content. They say they are doing all they can and boast how many videos and posts they’ve removed due to violations, all the while more illicit content is being uploaded by new accounts. While these companies play catch up our kids are the ones seeing the inappropriate videos that haven’t been flagged enough yet and being contacted by the creepy predators who’s accounts have yet to be removed. As I often say, the responsibility falls to parents to protect our kids from this content.

    You have to ask what it is, besides the sheer scale of numbers, that makes it so difficult for companies to get a handle on this. These issues continue to flare up yet the companies continue to grow and growth is ultimately the goal. Growth means money. Companies need more users to grow. More content will earn you more users. So perhaps they try to remove as little content as possible because it is easier to ignore the illicit and pay the bills than take a stand to protect your users and possibly slow the growth of your company. 

    Parents have to be aware of what apps their kids use. We should know when they are live-streaming or posting videos of themselves. We should follow their accounts and see what everyone who follows them see. If they won’t allow you to follow them you shouldn’t allow them to use the app. It’s really simple. Tic Tok, Snapchat, Instagram; none of them exist to keep your kids safe, they exist to make money and only take steps toward security and privacy when not doing so may hurt their bottom line. Parents have to stand up, not to these companies, but to our kids, and tell them that our goal is safety and health. Then set the right example and work with them to have the right attitude about our time on social media and other tech. You can do it! We’re here to help you.

    Listen to this article as a podcast below:

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  • Tik-Tok Under Fire as Study Finds 25% of Kids Talk to Strangers Online

    Tik-Tok Under Fire as Study Finds 25% of Kids Talk to Strangers Online

    Tik-Tok is at the center of a controversy surrounding the exposure to predators and child pornographers through live streaming on their app. One in twenty children who use live-streaming apps have been asked to take off their clothes according to a study by the UK’s Children’s Charity NSPCC.  Originally called Musical.ly, Tok Tok claims to “empower everyone to be a creator directly from their smartphones, and is committed to building a community by encouraging users to share their passion and creative expression through their videos.” Their mission statement sounds like they are building a place for our kids to stretch their creative muscles and build a supportive audience but in reality it is exposing them to potential danger.

    Sexual exploitation is only a part of the issue, there are popular hashtags on the app that highlight self harm and eating disorders. Tags like #thinspo (thinsporation) feature videos of children as young as eight showing their rib cages through their skin and proclaiming that they are inspiring to others who desire to be thin. Suicide and self harm are also featured on the app with complete with encouragement to hurt yourself and instructions on how to do so. Tik-Tok says you have to be 13 to use the app but as we have shared multiple times on this site, that age exists to protect the company from legal action concerning the collection of children’s data, not to protect your children from content on the app.

    While the app is rated 12+ in apps stores in the U.S. the reasons listed for the rating prove to be, in fact, very mature. The issue, again, as I’ve mentioned, is user generated content. Anyone with a smartphone and a wifi connection can make videos and now livestream in Tic-Tok, they can also watch you perform on the app. This makes for an open, dangerous atmosphere filled with predators, adult content, scams, and violence.

    What Parents Should Know

    Tik-Tok says they have filters and parental controls in the app that allow you to set the app to private but all of these measures have proven to be less than effective. Kids who use the app on their own can easily come across content that isn’t age appropriate. The content restriction and  time management settings in the app are password protected; they can be useful and should be set up if you allow your child to use Tik-Tok. Also be sure to turn off the ability for non-friends to comment on, share, and download (this is on by default, creepy right?) your child’s videos.

    We don’t want our kids talking to strangers online. All parents understand the dangers associated with live-streaming and posting public videos to the internet. Unfortunately many parents feel that their hands are tied when it comes to keeping their kids safe on these apps and websites. That isn’t the truth, however, there are tools (some in the app and some third party) which you can use to keep them from accessing things that are dangerous. An algorithmic filter is never going to be enough, though, so it is important that we have open communication with out kids about what they are posting and seeing on apps like Tik-Tok. Also, if your child doesn’t meet that age restriction then they shouldn’t use the app.

    Twenty five percent of kids talking to strangers online is a horrifyingly high statistic. It shows that while there are privacy settings and parental controls out there for parents to use, either parents aren’t using them or their kids are getting around them. I know that the privacy settings in Tik-Tok aren’t password protected so if your children want to talk to strangers on the app and they have time using the app by themselves there are ways for them to make that happen. It is important that parents take the responsibility to protect our kids online. Many media outlets are blasting these companies for putting our kids in danger but I have to be honest, you don’t blame the slide for your kid falling off and busting their face, you think of precautions that YOU can take to keep that from happening in the future.

  • 5 Kinds of Apps Parents Should Look Out For

    5 Kinds of Apps Parents Should Look Out For

    It’s that time again, time for BecauseFamily to release our list of apps you should look out for on your kids phones. Unfortunately things change so fast that is seems silly to just throw a list together and tell you to look for those particular icons. Instead, this is a list of app categories that you should be aware of. Some are very malicious and can be dangerous for your kids, some aren’t inherently dangerous but can have some risk associated with them. The list below is not exhaustive, though, I have included several examples of some of the most popular apps that come up when you search for these particular types of app in the app stores. Hopefully this will help you make quality decisions as to what apps your kids have and don’t have on their devices.

    Photo Vaults

    These apps allow users to store private images and videos behind a password of some kind. Oftentimes hidden behind a calculator, camera, or music icon, these apps are intended to fool people into ignoring them and are disguised well. Of course these apps can pose a problem for parents who are worried about their child(ren) sending or receiving inappropriate images or videos. Having a supposed safe place to hide them could make more kids prone to take the risk. Some examples of photo vault apps include:

    Social Gaming

    Many games come with built in friend messaging and ways to connect with players you didn’t already know. This is considered social gaming and it’s standard with most mobile games. Many games seem like they are intended for a younger audience but are actually played by people of all ages. Language, sexual innuendo, and much more can be expected in these “in-game” chat rooms. Also, predators have been known to use messaging in some of these games to identify, target, and groom their prey. Some examples of these social games are:

    Apps with Disappearing Messages

    Cyberbullying and sexting have become a major issue for many junior high and high school administers. Parents are also concerned that their kids are sending and receiving messages they shouldn’t be distributing. Disappearing messages can encourage more of this behavior since it enhances the sense of anonymity. It’s critical our kids understand that what you send over the internet should always be considered permanent and that just because something said it has disappeared doesn’t mean it’s gone. Some examples of apps that allow you to delete messages after sending are listed below:

    Dating Apps

    Online dating is nothing new, apps that connect singles for chatting, dates, and much more are all the rage as well. Sometimes they become trendy among teens also. The following apps are meant to connect older users for romantic purposes but have no foolproof way to be sure kids don’t use the app:

    Live/Life Streaming Apps

    It seems like every social media platform encourages its users to “go live” as often as possible. Live streaming broadcasts you to all of your followers and allows them to engage through comments and questions. Oftentimes you can even broadcast publicly and allow anyone who would like to watch you. Life-streaming is when kids, teens, and adults broadcast much of every day of their lives. The following apps allow kids to life stream to their audience:

     

    Try Not to Freak Out

    Please keep in mind that just because you see one of these apps on your kids’ phone or tablet doesn’t mean they are using the app for the wrong reasons. Much of this list is based on a risk that is associated with the app, not an automatic danger as soon as it is installed. We need to be vigilant when it comes to our kids’ online activity. Not because of fear or mistrust but from a place of wisdom. Remember to keep communication open with your kids. You should be a safe place to come if something negative does happen to them online. I never recommend spying on your children without their knowledge and I always recommend over communicating with them about the steps you are taking to keep them safe and what you expect from them while they use their connected devices. Be sure to download the PDF of our internet safety resource list!