Online Safety: The Most Dangerous Apps & Social Media Sites for Kids by Ann Marie Patitucci

As parents, our No. 1 goal is keeping our kids safe, and this includes online safety. Navigating apps and social media sites can be daunting, but luckily people like Kyle Roberts, Professor of Developmental Psychology at BYU-Idaho, can help. Roberts and EducateEmpowerKids.org have compiled a list of this year’s most dangerous apps and social media sites. Unfortunately, "a lot of these require no age verification and if they do it is a simple check mark..."

Social Media Apps: 

• Instagram
• Twitter 
• Snapchat

Live Streaming Apps

• musical.ly
• Omegle 
• House Party

Dating Apps

• Hot or Not
• Down

Anonymous Apps

• After School 
• Yik Yak 
• ask.fm 
• Wishbone

(Please visit EducateEmpowerKids.org for the specific reasons why these apps and sites made the list. Please note that while this is a helpful guide, parents should always use their own discretion when making decisions about online safety for their children.) Some general tips to keep your kids safe: 

1. Put restrictions in place so that you must approve every app on your child’s device. 
2. Trust your intuition; if an app or site seems inappropriate or feels off somehow, don’t allow your child access to it.
3. Teach your children about cyber-bullying and how to use technology responsibly.
4. Have regular discussions with your kids about their use of apps and social media. Keep the lines of communication open.

Read more about the most dangerous apps of 2017 and learn about parenting books from EducateEmpowerKids.org (purchase from links below).

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