If you are a current user of social media, you’ve likely faced short videos of people lip-syncing, dancing, doing stunts, or performing short clips. These bite-sized videos come from TikTok, an app that has gone viral like a wildfire.
What is TikTok?
It is, simply, known as a video-sharing platform. Similar to the now-defunct Vine (R.I.P., you beautiful app), TikTok encourages users to share videos between three and 15 seconds with the most common format being a comedic and cringey lip sync of a popular song.
Millions of seeking their 15 seconds of fame are flocking to TikTok, but many of their parents are only now learning about the express-yourself video app — often to their dismay.
It became the most downloaded on Apple’s App Store in the first half of this year according to market analysis firm Sensor Tower, beating out titans like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.
The site, owned by China’s ByteDance, boasted 500 million users as of June following its purchase last year of Musical.ly, which greatly expanded its reach in the US.
Analysts say it filled the void left by Vine, which introduced countless numbers of teens to the creative possibilities of ultra short videos but failed to find a sustainable business model.
TikTok offers a way for teens and young people to express their creativity in ridiculously fun (and sometimes, downright stupid) ways.
The downside is, with so many young people on the site and online privacy being an afterthought for many of them, safety can be a bit of an issue. There is, however, a tendency to lean into moral panic for parents when it comes to reportage on TikTok. It's important to understand the app is no more dangerous than other social media sites.
Parents can help children manage their screen time by selecting how much time they would like their child spend on TikTok (40, 60, 90, 120 minutes per day).
This feature is password-protected; when users reach their limit they have to enter a password to continue. Parents can set the password to be in total control of screen time.
Anyone 13 or over can legally have an account but under-18s will need their parents' permission. The eSafety Commissioner offers some tips on how young people can protect their privacy while using the app, including advice on cyberbullying and inappropriate content.
What’s the best way to help children stay safe on TikTok?
The best way to keep your child safe is to be as informed about the app as you can, particularly about its safety and digital wellbeing features. Find out what your child uses it for and talk to them about what they enjoy about it.
There are some practical considerations to bear in mind when discussing TikTok with your child:
1) Make sure your child is old enough to use the app.
2) If your child has their account set to ‘public’, be sure they understand what this really means. The ‘private’ setting, allowing your child to share their content only with approved followers, may be the safer option. Be sure to discuss with your child whom they allow to follow them. If they’re accepting requests from people they don’t know, this could expose them to risk. You can make your profile private by clicking on the profile tab in the app, then go to the three-dot menu in the top-right corner, click on 'Privacy and Safety', then toggle 'Private account'.
3) It’s worth making sure that your child knows how to keep their identity secure, by for instance not including any personal information, such as name, address, phone number or age in their profile. Make sure they know not to film videos wearing their school uniform or personalised clothing, and that they shouldn’t give out personal information. They should be particularly aware of the location they film in, and not film outside their home, which might mean inadvertently revealing where they live.
4) Make sure your child knows how to report inappropriate content and that they should speak to a trusted adult if they have any concerns about anything on the app. If you or your child want to report a specific video, click on the 'share' icon in the bottom-left corner of the video, then click report and follow the on-screen instructions.
History of Tik Tok
TikTok originally started out as an app called Douyin, which is essentially the Chinese version of TikTok. This Chinese variation still exists today, as it’s there to comply with special Chinese censorship laws. In other words, the world has access to TikTok, while China can only use Douyin.
ByteDance developed Douyin in 2016, and launched TikTok for the rest of the world in 2017. The app was an immediate hit, gaining millions of users in a fairly short period of time.
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