A ban on the popular social media app TikTok in the US is taking center stage after President Biden passed the bill into law after gaining a majority of Congress votes.
The news might not make the platform happy but it’s happening as the app has been given just nine months to either separate from its Chinese parent firm ByteDance or face closure across the American market.
Today, the app has close to 170 million Americans making use of it daily. More than 50 million of those are below the age of 15. And most of them are the youth that make use of social media daily, putting a lot at stake. This includes privacy as well as security, not to mention their mental health as well.
While the information comes at a time when all social media giants vowed to roll out greater measures to ensure the online community of underage users stays protected at all times, we’ve got more information on this front.
Plenty of states including the likes of Florida are passing out stricter laws and governing access so that underage users can benefit on these platforms today.
To better understand this, a recently published online study spoke more on that matter in detail and how parents wish government officials would ensure greater protection of kids online. And it’s interesting how the findings pertaining to close to 1,000 adults based in the US proved how they really felt regarding the ban.
Today, close to 31% of parents are in favor of the app’s ban but nearly half of them feel that such bans would enhance their kids’ safety in general. Meanwhile, 25% revealed how one of the most dangerous apps in the world of social media today is really TikTok when you look at younger audiences.
This was linked to the fact that it puts forward inappropriate content and very influential content that can transform young minds for the worse. Other information on this front had to do with 67% of parents strongly feeling kids under the age of 18 require legislative protection to ward off the risks that such apps pose.
In the same manner, 86% of all parents felt stronger laws that force kids below 18 to attain permission from parents to join such apps are necessary, while 84% feel greater support to give them greater access to kids’ accounts online must be made a priority. In the same way, 85% urge educational institutions to teach kids about safety measures to take part in.
To see so many parents speak about the app being a dangerous platform for children is not something new. TikTok has been an apprehensive topic for many parents, ever since lawmakers raised fears about data belonging to US citizens being shared with officials in China.
The fact that kids use TikTok so frequently and how the screen time minutes isn’t going down, parents are more than happy that a ban would automatically reduce exposure to an app they find worrisome.
Other than TikTok, it's Snapchat that scored the greatest number of votes in terms of being the second most dangerous app for underage users. People feel it has raised so many questions in terms of its content and regulation which they find worrisome and hence wouldn't mind a ban in this scenario as well.
Read next: X's Growth Amid Speculation: EU Report Reveals Strengths and Challenges
The news might not make the platform happy but it’s happening as the app has been given just nine months to either separate from its Chinese parent firm ByteDance or face closure across the American market.
Today, the app has close to 170 million Americans making use of it daily. More than 50 million of those are below the age of 15. And most of them are the youth that make use of social media daily, putting a lot at stake. This includes privacy as well as security, not to mention their mental health as well.
While the information comes at a time when all social media giants vowed to roll out greater measures to ensure the online community of underage users stays protected at all times, we’ve got more information on this front.
Plenty of states including the likes of Florida are passing out stricter laws and governing access so that underage users can benefit on these platforms today.
To better understand this, a recently published online study spoke more on that matter in detail and how parents wish government officials would ensure greater protection of kids online. And it’s interesting how the findings pertaining to close to 1,000 adults based in the US proved how they really felt regarding the ban.
Today, close to 31% of parents are in favor of the app’s ban but nearly half of them feel that such bans would enhance their kids’ safety in general. Meanwhile, 25% revealed how one of the most dangerous apps in the world of social media today is really TikTok when you look at younger audiences.
This was linked to the fact that it puts forward inappropriate content and very influential content that can transform young minds for the worse. Other information on this front had to do with 67% of parents strongly feeling kids under the age of 18 require legislative protection to ward off the risks that such apps pose.
In the same manner, 86% of all parents felt stronger laws that force kids below 18 to attain permission from parents to join such apps are necessary, while 84% feel greater support to give them greater access to kids’ accounts online must be made a priority. In the same way, 85% urge educational institutions to teach kids about safety measures to take part in.
- Also read: The Impact Of The US TikTok Ban: New Study Proves Less Than Half Of The Nation Supports The Decision
To see so many parents speak about the app being a dangerous platform for children is not something new. TikTok has been an apprehensive topic for many parents, ever since lawmakers raised fears about data belonging to US citizens being shared with officials in China.
The fact that kids use TikTok so frequently and how the screen time minutes isn’t going down, parents are more than happy that a ban would automatically reduce exposure to an app they find worrisome.
Other than TikTok, it's Snapchat that scored the greatest number of votes in terms of being the second most dangerous app for underage users. People feel it has raised so many questions in terms of its content and regulation which they find worrisome and hence wouldn't mind a ban in this scenario as well.
Read next: X's Growth Amid Speculation: EU Report Reveals Strengths and Challenges
