Never, for heavens sake

14yo does not have Snap/Tok/Insta. No social isolation (yet, at least) as a result.

The only friends who do have older siblings.

7th and 8th graders—their 15-20 friends just use text and FaceTime.

Here is the info on the family setting; we use this with my kid: https://parents.snapchat.com/safeguards-for-teens

13yo here. No Snapchat. It’s not happening. Pictures/messages disappear. It’s dangerous.
My kid has regular texting and Instagram. No other social media.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you can hold off I would but in reality most kids do use it on middle school. All 3 of my kids got it around then and we never had any bullying or drama with it.

My 16 year old still uses it just to check where his friends are.

I don't "most" is true in my middle schoolers' experience. One just finished 6th and the other 8th.

Neither have it nor web browsers or other social media other than text and email on their phones. Actually we did allow WhatsApp this summer since two close friends are in other countries so this is how they FaceTime for free.

PS for my older one I said I'd consider it after first semester of high school but I'd like her to sit with me when she opens it occasionally, especially in the first few months and the response was "never mind I didn't want it that badly."

Anonymous wrote:If you can hold off I would but in reality most kids do use it on middle school. All 3 of my kids got it around then and we never had any bullying or drama with it.

My 16 year old still uses it just to check where his friends are.

I don't "most" is true in my middle schoolers' experience. One just finished 6th and the other 8th.

Neither have it nor web browsers or other social media other than text and email on their phones. Actually we did allow WhatsApp this summer since two close friends are in other countries so this is how they FaceTime for free.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will also add - you can get away with waiting to allow Snapchat if your kid has an iPhone bc iMessage group texts are still a thing with close friends but if they have an android and no Snapchat that’s social suicide

Best to avoid corporate minions with that mindset anyway.

Androids are sold by corporations…lol

Being 13 is hard. Especially socially. Making it hard for your kid to be included in hopes it makes your kid quirky and different isn’t really the way to go. Kids who buck social norms are born not made

No tik tok as long as we are paying for the phone. We said ok to Snapchat in 8th grade. It does become hard socially because “everyone”
Is using it. Not saying that’s a good excuse but if you have a kid who struggles socially, it feels like another hurdle and worth the risk. We haven’t had any issues with it but the first year, I did go through it with him. DS had to open the app with me there and show me messages he received and what people were posting. Location needs to be off at all times.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid received hard core porn pics and videos through Snapchat. This is from a nice girl with well-respected parents. Cheating is also used through Snapchat in these group chats.

I didn’t know how bad Snapchat was until I followed my kid’s account. My second kid will not have it. Texting is more than sufficient. No coach would object to having the team communicate via text.

The coach has nothing to do with it—official team chats are via text. The kids make kid only Snapchat groups.

Is Snapchat somehow worse than Whatsapp? My kids teams usually use that, both for the parent and the kid chat.

Yes, Snapchat is the one that is most used for bullying because of its disappearing feature, and has features (location sharing, public facing content) that can create risks the other conversation apps don't share.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And TiK Tok? I also have a young teen begging for these saying they feel socially left out … which I think is true but also their way of trying to build their case for why we should say yes. We’ve held firm at no but are curious like the OP how others are handling this.

I responded that these responses are not typical IRL. Also, my youngest is 14. I can’t think of anyone she knows who hasn’t had TikTok for years. Say no if you want but yes, your kid is socially left out. The strictest parents I know allow it with limits and have for years.

Also if they can access You Tube on any device (like school device) all the Tik Tok content shows up on You Tube.

DP. My DCs can have Snapchat at 13 and Instagram at 15, but never Tiktok. I know everything on Tiktok shows up on YouTube, but I'm primarily concerned about protecting them from the algorithm.

Our kids would all be better off if parents would just say no to these things.

My kid is about to start hs and I gave him Snapchat last week. I use the family function so I can track a bit. I also control how much he uses it.

One poor girl was bullied by harsh name calling, flashing on screen and then quickly disappearing. Pics can be flashed on screen and vanish. It makes it hard to document that there is a bullying problem. Kids are mean with it.

Good parents don't let their kids on social media, ever.