Similar to fire, social media is both our friend and foe. If used responsibly you can create miracles with social media and if not then it can destroy you beyond healing.
Being an adult it’s easier to tackle the negative effects of social media sites. However, your younger child let’s say your tween or kid doesn’t have the sensibility to handle the abuse and grooming from predators alone.
For the same reason, parental control apps are popular among parents of teenagers that help them keep an eye on their kid’s social media accounts and protect them from any such threats.
But you can’t always be there to protect your child online. Therefore in this article, I have come up with some of the safest social media apps for tweens and kids that your 10, 11, 12, 13, or 14-year-old child can use without your guidance or any parental control app.
Table Of Contents
- Why Social Media Isn’t Safe For Kids?
- Safe Social Media Apps For Tweens & Kids
- At What Age Should You Let Your Kids Use Social Media? Final Verdict
- FAQs
Why Social Media Isn’t Safe For Kids?
Almost every popular social media has hidden dangers for kids be it Facebook, Kik, Snapchat, etc. The biggest threat to kid’s on social media is due to a large number of pedophiles waiting to groom the child and sexually assault them.
Also, social media apps can be addictive as hell. If your kids use social media sites a lot then there’s a danger that they will get addicted to it as well which can impact their physical and mental health.
Not just these, there are many more social media dangers that you must be careful of. In this article, I will show you some safe social networking sites for kids which are made keeping young kids in mind and hence they are totally safe for your teens and tweens.
Safe Social Media Apps For Tweens & Kids
1. KidzWorld (4+)
Kidzworld is a kid-friendly social site that you can let your tweens and teens use without any fear. It provides a totally safe environment for your young child where they can play games, participate in quizzes, chat with like-minded people, win rewards, and much more.
KidzWorld proclaims itself to be the safest social media platform for kids and looking at its safety features I couldn’t agree more with them.
2. GeckOLife (8+)
GeckoLife is a social media site for families and small groups of friends. However, it has special security features which are made keeping the safety of your child in mind. As a parent or guardian, you can create your own account on the app, and then later you can add your teen’s account to it. Whenever your kids use the app you will get a notification regarding the accounts they follow or their other activities on the app.
3. PopJam (7+)
PopJam is a popular social media app among kids under 13 years of age. This kid-friendly social site helps bring out the inner artist of your child and allows them to be creative by creating drawings, paintings, and stickers, which they can share with their friends later.
Due to the artistic touch of the app, it is also known as Instagram for kids. What makes this app the safest social media app for 12, 11, or 10 years old is that it has time restrictions (6 am to 11 pm). This makes sure your kids don’t get addicted to the app and use it at night time instead of sleeping.
4. Grom Social (4+)
Grom Social is a safe social media app for tweens and kids and there is no doubt about that. Its password-protected network and 24/7 live monitoring make parents worry-free. On this social networking app for kids, they can message their friends, share media, and do group studies. For added security, the parents receive regular emails regarding their kid’s activity on the app.
5. YouTube For Kids (4+)
YouTube is the first social media app that parents let their kids use according to a study. There’s so much for kids on YouTube, they can watch cartoons, learn poetry, and other important things. However, the YouTube app is also filled with lots of adult content that the kids can easily come in contact with.
But there’s a solution for that as well, you can let your kids use YouTube For Kids app which is totally built keeping kids in mind. If you let your tweens use YouTube For Kids, you don’t have to monitor their YouTube search history or activities.
6. Spotlite (8+)
If you don’t let your kids use social media because you fear that your child is being bullied on social media then Spotlite is the app you need to opt for. Spotlite is an entertainment company, it offers a safe social networking experience for teenagers.
With features like chat filters, reporting system, and customizable parental controls, Spotlite is one of the safest social media apps for 10, 11, 12, 13, or 14-year-old. At the time of writing the article, the app is only available for iPhones. However, they are working hard to launch an Android app as soon as possible.
7. GoBubble (4+)
GoBubble is a simple and interactive social media networking site for kids which is highly secure. All the content available on the app is verified before it even appears in front of your child.
There is a live moderation team that keeps a keen eye on all the flagged messages. They quickly remove any kind of inappropriate content(text, photos, videos, or audio).
At What Age Should You Let Your Kids Use Social Media? Final Verdict
There is no perfect age at which you should let your kids use social media. Some would say that it is 12 years, while some would say that you should wait till they are 13 or 14. Looking at the threat social media sites possess to teenagers you should not let your kids use social media if you can’t monitor them.
However, the social media site and apps which I have shared with you above are quite safe and can be used without any active monitoring from the parent’s side. Until your child is grown enough to take care of themselves you can let them use these apps and enhance their social skills.
FAQs
What Is The Safest Social Media For 12-Year-Olds?
Spotlite, YouTube for Kids, PopJam, etc. are good apps for 12-year-old kids.
Is Snapkidz Still Available In 2022?
No, it has been discontinued and is not available for use anymore.
What Is An App Like Instagram But For Kids?
Spotlite and PopJam are some apps like Instagram for kids.