What Social Networking Websites Are Your Teens Using?

There has been a lot of talk lately regarding social media and keeping your family safe online.

Status updates, comments, instant messages, videos, tweets, texts, and online gaming have become a regular part of our kids’ lives. In today’s digital society, kids are logging on from everywhere—including smartphones, gaming devices, tablets, and laptops—many parents are not aware of what kids are up to, much less what social media they are using.

“The increasingly online-savvy nature of young people today was reflected by the fact that two in five of those aged between seven and 19 had created an app, website, game or blog.” — Independent.co.uk

Most parents are aware of the common social media outlets—Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. The reality is that parents are not aware of the additional online social sites that are starting and put our children at risk without even knowing.

I’ve collected a few interesting and not-so-common social media and social networking sites that your kids and teens may be using:

• Ask.fm – Social networking website that allows users to ask others questions anonymously. Harassment is common.
• Qooh.me – Anonymous question-asking site (no longer active).
• Pheed – Content-sharing site with media ratings (now defunct).
• Vine – Short video app (discontinued, replaced by TikTok in popularity).
• Club Penguin – Virtual world for kids (discontinued, replaced by Club Penguin Rewritten, also shut down).
• Kidswirl – Facebook-style social site for kids (inactive).
• Webkinz – A virtual pet care and social platform for kids.
• Whyville – Educational virtual world with games for tweens.
• Kidzworld – Safe social network and news hub for kids and teens.
• FaceChipz – Kid-created network (no longer active).
• Kidzrocket – Pre-teen social network (now defunct).
• Google+ – Social network by Google (shut down in 2019).
• Snapchat – Messaging app with disappearing media. Widely used by teens.
• WhatsApp Messenger – Cross-platform chat app used for messaging and voice/video calls.
• Kik – Anonymous messenger app often linked to privacy and safety concerns.
• Oovoo – Video chat app (shut down in 2017).
• Thumb.it – Opinion-sharing app (discontinued).
• Skout – App for chatting and meeting new people, with separate teen/adult spaces.
• MeetMe – Social discovery app for meeting and chatting with nearby users.

Social media and networking sites are great ways for kids to connect, play, and learn. But when kids share thoughts, photos, videos, and personal info—especially with location tracking enabled—it opens the door to serious safety concerns.

One Piece of Advice for Parents

Go online. Create accounts for yourself. See what your kids see.

What Social Media Sites Are Your Kids Using?

I’d love to hear from you. Drop a comment and share what sites your kids are using and how you’re keeping them safe.