Discord is a fun place where you can chat with like-minded people. However, there is some risk associated with Discord that makes it dangerous for some people, especially children.
In this article, we are going to take a look at some Discord dangers and how you can deal with them. So without wasting any time let’s know what are the dangers of Discord.
But before moving further let’s see some advantages and disadvantages of Discord.
Table Of Contents
- What Are The Advantages & Disadvantages of Discord?
- What Are The Dangers Of Discord?
- How To Overcome From Dangers Of Discord?
- Is Discord Safe For My Kid? Final Verdict
- FAQs
What Are The Advantages & Disadvantages of Discord?
There are some dark sides to Discord like every other social media app for example Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook. But that does not mean that there are no benefits of Discord. Here I tell you some pros and cons of Discord so that you can know whether or not you should use Discord in the first place.
Pros Of Discord
- You can chat, play games and stream your gameplay on the same platform.
- It lets you meet people with similar interests.
- You can find servers on various topics which can help you in your day-to-day life. For example mental health, fitness, productivity, etc.
Cons Of Discord
- You don’t get any parental control features on Discord.
- Discord is filled with pedophiles, and scammers hence it can be risky if not used wisely.
The pros & cons only tell you whether you should use an app or not, but it doesn’t tell you the dangers of it. So without wasting any time let’s see the dark side of Discord for teens, adults, and children.
What Are The Dangers Of Discord?
Just like any other social media and instant messaging app, Discord can have many dangers associated with it. But in this article, I am only going to discuss a few that are really dangerous.
1. Discord Isn’t Easy To Moderate
Since Discord allows you to talk to strangers in real-time, it’s hard to moderate it. In a public or private group, Discord cannot control what one says about the other members of the group until or unless someone reports it. Even if you report someone on Discord, it may take some time to take action but till then the damage is already done.
2. Predators Are Always Ready To Groom Your Child
It’s easy for someone to hide their identity on Discord and pretend to be someone else. Moreover, predators can groom your child and take advantage of them. Since DMs aren’t moderated on Discord, a predator can easily contact your child on some child-friendly server.
3. Discord Is Filled With Bullies
Cyberbullying is one of the serious dangers of using Discord. Since Discord video and audio streams disappear after some time, cyberbullies take advantage of it to share memes & photos which are filled with racism and hatred.
4. Discord Has Servers Related To Crimes And Pornography
Since Discord is based on private servers, anyone can create groups that are related to criminal activity, child porn, drug dealing, etc. If your child comes in contact with any of these groups then they may fall in trouble.
How To Overcome From Dangers Of Discord?
You have learned about the danger of Discord. Now let’s see some of the safety measures you can take in order to make Discord safer for your child or yourself.
1. Use Discord Sensibly
If you are an adult then you should show some wisdom and use the Discord app sensibly. If it’s your kid who uses this app then you must tell them about the dangers of Discord and how to use it properly. You should also teach them how to deal with online scammers and predators so that if they ever come across one they know how to handle them.
2. Enable Discord’s Safety Settings
Although there are no parental control settings on Discord, you do get some safety settings that you can enable to make this app safer for your child. For example, you can turn on the DM filtering option. Moreover, you can even limit the direct messages on Discord. But since there is no parental control option so your kids can anytime disable these settings. So you must check their Discord account from time to time.
3. Monitor Their Discord Activities
There is no parental control on Discord and we have already seen that. But you can’t let your child use Discord without monitoring and keeping the dangers of Discord in mind. You must do something to spy on Discord voice chats, DMs, and Servers in order to monitor all your child’s activity on it.
You can make use of third-party parental control apps for this task. Apps like pcTattletale can help you track your child’s activity on the Discord app as well as the Discord website on the PC. You can even remotely see their Discord activity in real-time with pcTattletale. To learn more you can check my pc Tattletale review.
Is Discord Safe For My Kid? Final Verdict
There’s always a risk when your kids use Discord or any other social media app without your surveillance. However, you can make Discord safe for your child by monitoring all their activities on it. You can make sure that the Discord app is safe for everyone including you and your child by accepting friend requests from only people you already know. Also, you must only chat with people on private servers because public servers are filled with bullies, scammers, and predators.
I highly recommend that you use Discord monitoring apps to keep an eye on your kid’s DMs, servers, and even voice chats. This will ensure that your kids are safe on Discord and give you peace of mind.
FAQs
Does Discord Have Bad Stuff?
Yes, there are lots of bad stuff on Discord including racism, bullying, scam, etc.
Is Discord Safe To Chat?
Yes, it's safe to chat but you need to be little careful when talking to some stranger on the platform.
Is Discord OK For My Kid?
If your kids are using Discord under your surveillance then it's ok. Otherwise, it has some stuff which is inappropriate for your child.