These Are the Social Media Apps Parents Trust the Most (and Least)

pcmag.com:

I have a 4-year-old, and the only apps he uses unsupervised on the tablet are kid-specific: They include PBS Kids, plus his curated-by-me Netflix and Paramount+ profiles. He sometimes uses YouTube, but I supervise that in person, so he doesn't click off into something he shouldn't see.

Some parents consider YouTube the safest of the social media options available for kids, according to a survey from PrivacyHQ. The advocacy site (and VPN reviewer) surveyed 1,013 parents with kids below age 18—659 of whom have kids under 13—between Jan. 7-11, and key among the findings is that 69% of parents believe social media has an influence on kids.

Children replicating dangerous trends on TikTok and other platforms is a big worry; remember the Tide Pod Challenge? YouTube has long been awash in bizarre, children-targeting videos. The most-watched content on YouTube is for—or features—children. Which is probably why YouTube created the standalone YouTube Kids app. Though it had a rocky start, YouTube Kids is now the platform parents think is the safest for young viewers, at 68%. Regular YouTube is not far behind at 56% of parents who agree. TikTok is at the bottom at 35%.

Safety is the key; it's near-impossible for today's parents to keep kids offline. Ninety-five percent of parents said they've talked with their kids about some form of internet safety, but the numbers are low on the specifics. Fifty-one percent of respondents have talked about cyber predators and never meeting a stranger in person. The stats are under 50% on everything else, including cyberbullying, trolls, addiction, and not posting personal info.

Age 13 is the magic cut-off for most parents—73% said that kids shouldn't have social media access before then. The