Our kids are able to find websites that are not recommended for minors. All parents must be aware of these listed websites so that their child will not be a victim of digital injury. Unlike apps, websites make it much easier for underage children to gain quick access to explicit content. GKIS will provide a brief description of the websites, dangers attached to the websites, and methods to prevent digital injury.
Websites to Look Out For
Parler
In our previous blog article, Parler the Free Speech App was covered as a social network platform focusing on the freedom of speech protected under the first Amendment and user’s rights privileges. An increase of conservative users arrived on the platform in the wake of feeling censored on Twitter. In a battle between liberal and conservative views, big tech censorship has become a public outrage sending users to Parler.
As for children, GKIS stands by our previous decided outcome of Parler not being appropriate for minors due to extreme views and lack of censorship. According to Google Trends, the analysis of popularity for search with interest over time (IOT) ranges from 0 to 100. From January 10th to 16th 2021, Parler had a 78 IOT.[8] With a high population usage and the ability to not fact-check user’s posts, children using the app would likely be exposed to false and conspiracy-laden content.
Onlyfans
One of our most-read articles of 2020, Is Your Teen Selling Nudes on Onlyfans?, explained the risks that on Onlyfans kids and teens may easily access pornographic content. Onlyfans is a social media platform meant for users to access a creator’s content that may provide sexual content to subscribers for a monthly payment. From February 21st to 27th 2021, Google Trends reports that Onlyfans had a 99 IOT.[8] According to Onlyfans terms of service, the user must be 18+. Still, there are reports of minors bypassing the age verification without parent knowledge.[1]
GKIS cautions that minors should not have access to Onlyfans due to leaked information, stalking, life-threats, unemployment risks, and family separation. If you worry that your child could become a victim of sexual exploitation, you will get huge benefits from Dr. Bennett’s weekly parent and family coaching videos on the GetKidsInternetSafe App! Your first 30 days are free!
Toomics
In this comic book subscription service, users can receive Japanese and South Korean comics on horror, romance, and action genres. The service does provide a family mode to exclude inappropriate content. However, children can enable or disable the mode without password requirement.
GKIS recommends monitoring this service or, even better, blocking it from your children entirely. There is a vast amount of sexual content and nudity on this service, including comic book sex scenes, incest, and rape. According to the Google Trends report, from February 7th to 13th 2021, Toomics reports an 85 IOT based on search popularity.[8]
Reddit
In 2005, Reddit grew to be the most popular forum website on the internet. But how safe is it for children? The service provides subreddits of vast topics into smaller ones (e.g., from r/books into r/horror stories or r/Stephen King). Subreddits are organized by moderators who are individuals who manage the forum. As of February 27th 2021, Google Trend reports Reddit as an 87 IOT.[8]
Reddit may not look dangerous, but it does have a high volume of not safe for work (NSFW) material that may be easily accessible to children who lie about their age upon entry into the site. Reddit can be used for searching, browsing, and messaging anyone or anything which obviously holds a high risk of digital injury. For more information on the signs and risks of digital injury, be sure to check out Screen Time in the Mean Time A Parenting Guide to Get Kids and Teens Internet Safe.
The Chive
The Chive’s mission statement is “an outlet for attractive ladies from around the world to strut their stuff.” Although intended to be funny, much of the content on this site demonstrates misogynistic views and a strong prejudice against women.
Google trends reports, The Chive has a 95 IOT from February 21st to 27th 2021.[8] GKIS considers this a red light service due to its raunchy and sexist humor. A study by Brown and L’Engle (2009) reported a significant finding that adolescents exposed to sexual content in media are more likely to engage in sexual harassment two years after watching the activity.[3]
DeviantArt
DeviantArt is an online social community where members share their artwork for critique and to build a fanbase. According to their website, DeviantArt has 55 million users and has a score of 92 IOT from February 21st to 27th 2021.[8] DeviantArt earned a red light GKIS rating because reviews report extremely violent and bloody works of art. Parents also report content involving cursing, insulting, stealing art, fetishes, and nudity on community posts.[4]
4Chan
This highly controversial (and GKIS-rated red light) forum had made headlines because of anonymous users posting nude photographs of dozens of celebrities, including Emma Watson. 4Chan users often endorse sexist ideologies against female gamers like the cyberbullying of Jessi Slaughter and discuss neo-Nazi radicalism.[5] Unlike Reddit, users are not required to form an account. Due to its anonymity, kids can easily participate in R-rated posts undetected and unmonitored.[5]
If you haven’t selected a child-safe browser or set parental controls on devices, through your internet service provider, or through third-party apps and services, you’ll want to check out our Screen Safety Toolkit. We did the research for you with this comprehensive how-to safety resource guide.
Tumblr
In our GKIS article “The GKIS Sensible Parent’s Guide to Tumblr,” we rated this social media platform as a yellow-light app due to sexual images and inappropriate content often displayed on member accounts. With over 30 million users and a score of 83 IOT as of February 14th to 20th 2021, this microblogging social platform is still quite popular.[8]
High-risk content includes self-harm, sexual content, eating disorders, and drugs. There are also reports of sex offenders using the website to incite sexual conversations with children. We stand by our previous decision to recommend parents closely monitor their teen’s activities within the website.
Pornographic Websites (NSFW)
A popular website used for viewing pornographic content like photos, videos, and live streams is PornHub. To learn more about how porn impacts our kids and teens, read our GKIS article “Online Pornography’s Impact on Kids and Teens.” We previously reported that 13% of internet searches are found to access pornography. Due to increased access, that percentage has increased to 20% on the computer and mobile internet browsers.[6]
Fight The New Drug is a non-profit organization trying to reduce porn addiction and set regulations for the porn industry. In 2020, they reported that PornHub’s popular searches were “lesbian,” “teen,” “stepmom,” “mom,” “step-sister,” “hardcore,” “gangbang,” and “rough sex.”[7] Further, the average age for first exposure to hardcore pornography has been estimated to be 11 years old.[7]
GKIS highly recommends that parents add pornography websites onto their restricted website list in parental controls. The website Top Porn Sites can help you block them in child-safe browsers.
Hide it Pro
We would all love to believe that we can trust our kids not to search out, post, and collect inappropriate content online. But sadly, we just can’t. Kids and teens often delight in discovering and sharing titillating and forbidden content and hide it from parents. We cover how to check for apps that hide content in our Screen Safety Toolkit and Dr. B covers it in her coaching sessions on the GetKidsInternetSafe App. To get you started with safety, check all devices for Hide it Pro, a particularly popular hiding app.
Set up content restrictions on tablet and phone devices.
On iOS products, Apple has designated a method for parents to limit adult websites for their safety. Follow these steps:
Go to Settings > Screen Time
Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions and enter your Screen Time passcode
Tap Content Restrictions, then tap Web Content
Choose Limit Adult Websites, and Tap Never Allow: Add Website[9]
In this section, you can add each of the listed above websites to protect your child.
Google has designated parents’ methods to limit adult websites for their child’s safety on Android products. Follow these steps:
Open Settings
Tap Digital Wellbeing
Tap Parental controls > tap Get started
Select Parent
Tap Get Family Link and install Google Family Link for parents
Tap Open (review the information) > tap Get started
Use the on-screen instructions on both phones to finish connecting the two devices. Once it’s all set up, you can use the Family Link app to keep an eye on everything[10]
Thanks to CSUCI intern, Christian Sandoval for locating harmful websites that parents should restrict minors from interacting.
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
Onward to More Awesome Parenting,
Tracy S. Bennett, Ph. D.
Mom, Clinical Psychologist, CSUCI Adjunct Faculty
GetKidsInternetSafe
[3] Brown, J. D., & L’Engle, K. L. (2009). X-rated: Sexual attitudes and behaviors associated with U.s. early adolescents’ exposure to sexually explicit media. Communication Research, 36(1), 129–151.
Four out of five GKIS interns this semester admit to visiting dangerous video chat sites as middle schoolers despite parent warnings. Could that mean it’s common these days? After surveying friends, we think so. Parents have no idea what kids are actually seeing and doing during these online chats. Today’s GKIS article is the real story from the mouth of a millennial, where I discuss how we worked around parent supervision and what actually happens in popular chat rooms. Learn what video chat rooms are, the dangers associated with them, red flags to look out for, and just how simple it is for your child to access them. With this information, you can parent smarter and prevent digital injury … our GetKidsInternetSafe mission.
Video Chat Rooms, Sites, and Apps
Video chat is a way to interact face-to-face with anyone around the world through webcams. Video chat rooms are on multiple platforms including online websites and apps on your child’s smartphone, computer, gaming system, or tablet.
To place a video chat call, all your child needs are internet access and a webcam. Video chat sites and apps can also include alternative ways of communication such as instant messaging and chatting through sharing photos. Video chat sites and apps randomly pair your child with another user.
The Most Popular Video Chat Websites and Apps
There are hundreds of video chat websites and apps that are easily accessible. Many video chat sites and apps are free, while others require purchase. The most popular sites include; Omegle.com, DirtyRoulette.com, ChatRandom.com, and Chatroullette.com.
Video chat sites accumulate millions of users a month, with the most popular being Omegle.com with a whopping 34,000,000 monthly visitors.[1] The most popular video chat apps for Android and IOS devices include Badoo, Telegram, and Azar. Similar to video chat websites, these apps are used by millions of people. The most popular video chat app is Badoo, with over 460 million users.
Why We Did It
Kids love discovery and novelty. Just as they would visit random neighborhoods in town if they could drive, they love to browse random neighborhoods on the internet if they have access. Get them with their friends and they’re even more reckless and bold. That is why we offer our GKIS Screen Safety Toolkit. Parents told us they felt overwhelmed by the number of parent-management tech options, so we made it easy for you. The GKIS Screen Safety Toolkit is a family-tested, outcome-based resource guide with our best recommendations, how-to information, and links to our favorite easy-to-onboard parental control systems. With the toolkit, you’ll be set to create the custom screen safety toolkit for your unique child. Managing your child’s access is a first step toward protecting them from dangerous choices.
Our parents didn’t have these resources. That’s why we were video chatting with strangers by middle school. When I was thirteen years old, using Omegle and Chatroulette was the fun thing to do. My friends and I would go on during sleepovers and after school hangouts. Occasionally, I would even access it late at night when I was alone in my bedroom.
We did it because it was funny and exciting. We were kids having face-to-face conversations with complete strangers; it was interesting to us. We felt like we were the ones in control, and we always felt relatively safe. Disgustingly, a majority of the random connections would connect us to older males masturbating in front of the webcam. They would continue touching themselves even when they could clearly see just how young we were.
In my personal experiences, whenever a creepy man would be touching himself, my friends and I would quickly hit the skip button in hopes to be connected with a clothed person we could talk to. But there were also times when we would chat with one of those perverts and let them know how disgusting it was.
Now that I’m in my 20s, I realize just how dangerous and repulsive our online experiences were. Luckily, nothing horrible happened to us. But if I or a friend would have shared enough information or decided to meet up with someone we met from Omegle or Chatroulette, it could have been devastating.
Dangers of Video Chatting with Predators
Psychological injury can result from children viewing sexual behaviors or being groomed by predators online. It’s not uncommon for kids to be coerced to reveal identifying information like where they live, where they go to school, and who their friends are. From there, some predators will persuade their victims to meet up in person, which can lead to a number of dangerous possibilities.
Red Flags That May Signal Risk
Your child interacting with a predator may go unnoticed, but there are a few red flags that you can look out for. For example, your child may be at risk if they
become secretive about what they were doing online or change screens the minute you walk into the room,
regularly deletes their browser history or their browser is typically on private browse,
spend a lot of time on the phone or computer, or
seem nervous when asked if the parent can check their history or search their phone.
For a more comprehensive list of child red flags, check out our Cybersecurity Red Flag Supplement. Three-tools-in-one, this supplement to your free Connected Family Agreement offers:
Our GKIS CYBERSECURITY SUPPLEMENT – Did you know that kids are the #1 targeted population for identity theft? That’s because the cybercriminal can benefit from fraudulent charges for years before the victim discovers it. Protect your family from hacking, scamming, malware, and phishing with our cybersecurity setup guide and best practices checklist (at home and while traveling).
PLUS
Our GKIS ONLINE SAFETY RED FLAGS FOR KIDS & TEENS – Parents in my clinical and coaching practices frequently ask me to teach their kids the red flags that may alert them to the tricks of online predators, hate groups, and cyberbullies. I offer you my clinical teaching list so you can educate your kids. Knowledge and assertiveness coaching are key elements of child resilience and good judgment online.
PLUS
Our GKIS ONLINE SAFETY RED FLAGS FOR PARENTS – Parents need to know the behavioral red flags that may signal their child is suffering a digital injury. This tool teaches parents what child behaviors to look for that may signal they are at risk – a tool I created from 25+ years of clinical practice. Being able to recognize behavioral red flags in your child may be the difference between stopping risk after one exposure versus not recognizing dangerous relationships and exposures until it’s too late.
With parent management tech tools, cybersecurity awareness, child education, and parenting tools to recognize risk, you are far better equipped to block anonymous strangers from predating on your kids.
Thanks to CSUCI intern, Remi Ali Khan for researching video chat websites and apps for this article.
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
Onward to More Awesome Parenting,
Tracy S. Bennett, Ph.D.
Mom, Clinical Psychologist, CSUCI Adjunct Faculty
GetKidsInternetSafe.com
Photo Credits
Photo by Andrea Piacquido from Pexels
Photo by Julia Cameron from Pexels
Works Cited
[1] ChatHub. (2020, February 13). Top 12 Sites Like Omegle in 2020 (Ordered by popularity). Retrieved September 29, 2020, from https://blog.chathub.cam/top-12-sites-like-omegle/
