Some good practices make it possible to better regulate the use of the application by young audiences.
A real social phenomenon, TikTok has gradually established itself as the number one social network for children and adolescents thanks to its short videos that scroll to infinity. A success which is however not without danger for these young people exposed to certain risks inherent in the Chinese platform such as the viewing of inappropriate content, an addiction to the social network, contacts with ill-intentioned unknown people or even cyberbullying.
Faced with this, “the parents we meet tell us that they are sometimes overwhelmed by the speed at which things happen on TikTok”, notes Thomas Rohmer, director and founder of the Parenting and Digital Education Observatory (OPEN)at Tech&Co.
However, a few simple recommendations, associated with control tools available within the application itself, make it possible to better supervise the activity of the youngest on the platform in order to limit nuisances as much as possible.
• Do not give access to TikTok before 13 years old
“Parents must already be reminded that children are not supposed to be on social networks, TikTok or others, before the age of 13”, underlines Thomas Rohmer while it is not uncommon to see the presence of young people whose age is lower on the platform. Yet signing up for TikTok is, in theory, prohibited for them.
But, “often children cheat on their age to gain access when it’s important they don’t because TikTok automatically adjusts a user’s privacy settings based on the date of birth they have. This automatically blocks access to content that is not intended for his age category and limits the risk that he comes across an unsuitable video”, says Thomas Rohmer.
To ensure that this limit is respected, it is best to activate parental controls within the application stores themselves (App Store for iOS Where PlayStore for Android) to prevent the child from being able to download TikTok without permission.
• Switch the account to “private” mode
“From the moment we pass a TikTok account in private modethe user can choose the people who follow him and who can access and comment on the content he publishes”, assures Thomas Rohmer.
A great way to prevent your child from being put in touch with strangers. Also, users between the ages of 13 and 15 have private accounts by default and cannot send or receive direct messages.
• Ensure a reasonable period of use
The fun and heady aspect of TikTok videos, with the music and choreography that accompanies them, is very addictive to young audiences. “Parents find that the videos produced on TikTok are short and that it is possible to spend a lot of time watching them. We do not see the hours slipping by on this application”, points out Thomas Rohmer.
In this context, it is therefore very important to limit the time spent by the child on the platform. There is precisely a feature provided for this purpose on TikTok which is in the “Settings and privacy” section.
Once here, go to the “Screen time” tab and choose the duration that suits you: 40 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes or even 120 minutes.
Once activated, a secret code, known only to parents, must be entered to deactivate the feature.
• Establish a dialogue about the content viewed
“First, we call on all adults to take an interest in the digital practices of their children. If they do not do this, they will not be able to identify the epiphenomena likely to represent a danger. This allows also to dialogue, to put, with them, words on what they saw on TikTok, or on the Internet in general, with the aim of clearing up situations which could be harmful”, supports Thomas Rohmer. “Many resources are available on the OPEN website to give the keys to the parents on this subject”.
• Parents, link your account to that of your child
“TikTok has deployed a family connection mode which allows the child’s account to be paired with that of the parents”, in order to control their settings remotely, argues Thomas Rohmer. This option allows, among other things, to limit the time spent on the application, to block the display of certain content, or even to remove the search bar, or to make your offspring’s account invisible as well as to block private messages. It just requires the child’s caregivers to create a TikTok account.
“This is an excellent control tool provided that it is not used by parents to ‘flict’ their activity on the network”, however warns Thomas Rohmer.
To activate it, go to TikTok. Go to the “Family Connection” tab under the “Settings and privacy” section.
Here, you will be taken directly to the home page of the family setting. You are then asked to indicate the person who uses the TikTok account on which you are making the settings: parent or teenager.
A QR code, which the child will have to scan from their own account, will then be generated to activate the feature.
