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.
Instagram is one of the most popular social media apps among teens. It’s entertaining, easy to use, and offers different ways to create content to share with friends and family. Instagram is a great way to stay connected to others and share about your life. But besides following friends and family, there are many popular creators that can give your teens positive and inspirational content while scrolling through their Instagram feed.
What’s on Instagram
Instagram pages can either have dedicated themes or can be a mix of personal and themed content. Many popular Instagram users use their platform to keep fans updated on their personal lives and share positive and educational content. Because not all content is appropriate for kids and teens, we’re sharing seven (six plus a bonus) positive and influential Instagram pages that are safe for teens to enjoy. Although we’ve done our best to choose from the most family-friendly popular creators, check them out and decide for yourself whether they are a good fit for your teen.
Meet Our Favorite Creators
Entertainment
In entertainment, the Instagram page zachking creates entertaining and mesmerizing videos using special effects and editing.
Zach and his team choose and edit their videos in a way that makes his actions seem magical. Whether its defying the laws of physics, conjuring celebrities, or making things disappear or multiply, Zach’s content is entertaining and leaves you wondering how he does the different tricks in his posts.
Zach King is entertaining and inspiring for those interested in learning about video editing as a skill or even a career. Zach also posts about life with his wife and two sons. He’s done many collaborations with celebrities and fellow influencers and occasionally does sponsored content, marking sponsored videos with the hashtag “ad”. Zach does not seem to use explicit language or explicit images in his videos.
Design/Organization
In design and organization, author and TV personality mariekondo (Marie Kondo) is best known for her organizational methods and lifestyle tips. Marie’s page is full of beautiful photos and videos made to inspire people to declutter their spaces.
This page can be useful for young teens to see how they can best make use of their space and easily keep organized. Plus, it can be really beautiful and satisfying to see clean, organized, and well-decorated spaces.
Marie is a firm believer that your space, as well as the things in it, should “spark joy.”After scrolling her page, you’ll feel inspired to clear out the unnecessary clutter in your life to live happier and more stress-free.
Aside from her design and organizational content, Marie shares photos from her fans on how they’ve decluttered and decorated their spaces and also posts videos about her two children. Marie does not seem to use explicit language or do sponsored content. The content she promotes is of her own products and projects.
Journalism
In writing and journalism, the Instagram page humansofny is dedicated to sharing photos and stories from New York residents. This page publishes stories and interviews from different individuals, whether it be about their current situation in life or an impactful story that helped shape who they are.
This page does a great job displaying the joys and struggles of contributing New Yorkers. It also does a good job of representing diversity in race, gender, religion, and political ideologies. For teens, this page can be a way to learn from different people’s experiences. By combining the images of the residents and their stories, this page also serves as a reminder to not judge others based on their outward appearance.
Caution: humansofny is recommended for older teens, since it talks about heavy topics like assault, addiction, abuse, etc. This page does not seem to use explicit language or do sponsored content.
Food
In nutrition and food, the Instagram page pickuplimes, run by licensed dietician and YouTuber Sadia Badiei, is a popular page full of vegan recipes. Food pictures have long been popular on Instagram. On Sadia’s page, you can find her beautiful food pictures and her easy recipes, perfect for people who want to go vegan or simply have a desire to start eating a more plant-based diet.
As plant-based food becomes trendier, this page is great for teens to get recipe ideas and get inspired to cook healthy foods to try and live a healthier lifestyle. Besides recipes, Sadia’s page contains posts about her hobbies, her partner, and positive messages towards her fans. Sadia does not seem to do sponsored content or use explicit language. She mainly promotes her YouTube channel on her page with links to her YouTube videos in her posts and bio.
Travel/Nature
In nature and travel, the official National Geographic Instagram page, natgeo, posts pictures and stories from different countries and cultures around the world.
Like food pictures, travel and nature have also been a popular form of content on Instagram. The National Geographic’s page contains beautiful photographs and descriptions of the people and places depicted, educating their followers about different traditions, environments, plants, and animals around the world. Their posts often reflect the different events and news stories happening in our world today.
This page is full of interesting stories and beautiful imagery that can inspire your teens to research different countries and cultures, maybe even sparking an interest in traveling. It can also serve simply as a way to relax and read about different people and places. This page does not seem to do sponsored content or use explicit language.
Business/Nonprofits
Lastly, in business and nonprofits, the official Instagram page for the nonprofit organization Kiva, kiva.org, promotes the work of the organization and shares the true stories of the people this charity benefits.
Kiva is an organization that gives small loans and provides aid in accessing loans to individuals and small businesses around the world. Similar to the Humans of New York Instagram page, Kiva shares stories from these individuals and small businesses, specifically about their work starting their business, and how the aid from Kiva allowed them to grow and become more successful.
This is an inspirational page that shows the impact nonprofits can make in the lives of others and how the hard work and perseverance of these individuals helped them become successful business owners. This page does not seem to use explicit language or sponsored content, the page only promotes their organization.
Bonus Instagram Page for Parents
While your teen is enjoying the content from these creators, parents can enjoy the content from our new official GKIS Instagram Page. Get updates and notifications about our newest blog posts and catch up with Dr. B and our team of GKIS interns. Our Instagram page is a great resource for parenting tips and effective ways to keep your family safe online.
Thanks to Alexandra Rosas-Ruiz for her research and help with writing this article. To learn more about Instagram and how to best protect your teen on the app, check out our GKIS Sensible Parent’s Guide to Instagram. Learn about how to access Instagram’s different privacy options, trends, language, and our tips for keeping your teen safe on the app.
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
Instagram is the second most popular social media app among teens, with 78% using the social media platform in 2018. Instagram has become a necessary tool to manage relationships and participate in public culture.[1] Teens love to develop their virtual identities, follow friends and popular celebrities, and keep track of popular culture. Relative to other platforms, Instagram is easy to use, encourages creative content with photo filters, and has privacy and protective report features that are easy to access. But there are danger potentials and parenting strategies you should be aware of before you give permission for this social media staple.
What is Instagram?
Instagram is a free mobile social media app that offers photo or video sharing to followers or a select group of friends. Videos range from 3 to 15 seconds. All you need to sign up is an email address and a username (a phone number is optional).
How long has it been around and how popular is it?
Instagram was created by Stanford graduates Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger and launched in October 2010. Within two months, Instagram gained over a million users. In 2011, Apple named Instagram iPhone app of the year. In April 2012, Instagram was acquired by Facebook for a billion dollars. As of April 2019, Instagram has 500 million daily active users.[2] It is the gateway app for most young social media users.
How old is old enough for adoption?
Instagram Terms of Use state, “You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service.” I recommend sixth grade as the youngest adoption age for Instagram and only under the following conditions:
Require your child to create a persuasive PowerPointthat covers risks, benefits, and privacy and protection features so you both know the ins and outs of Instagram’s features. For more information about how to create and judge a persuasive PowerPoint about a social media app along with other useful screen safety strategies, check out our Connected Family Online Course.
Add it to your free GKIS Connected Family Agreement as an “OK” or a “not yet,” so parameters, rules and regulations, and etiquette issues are understood. (If you haven’t downloaded it yet, enter your name and email on our GetKidsInternetSafe home page and it will be emailed immediately.)
Require the account to be set to private and you agree on the number and nature of followers and frequency of posting.
Ensure you are friended and you have their username and password for backside control.
Instagram Basics
Instagram’s big appeal is its image-based simplicity. Here are its regularly used features:
Stories (like Snapchat) that allow the user to post a collection of photos or videos to their profile. The story lasts 24 hours then disappears.
Your personal photo & video collection profile with captions that others can love, comment, and share.
Photo filters that offer limited editings, like color and hue.
Option to tag and @mention others or your post.
Links to other social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.
The ability to search and explore public profiles and follow favorites, like celebrity profiles.
Instagram offers suggestions of videos and posts you might like as well as potential FB contacts to follow.
What are Instagram’s popular features?
Direct Messenger allows users to start a conversation with friends.
Send messages, photos, videos, and posts. You can even video chat with up to 6 friends.
Watch long-form videos where users can create and watch videos that are not limited to one minute.
Similar to Stories or photos and videos you see in your Feed, you can like, comment, or share IGTV videos with friends.
Shop as You Scroll allows users to find products in your Feed and Stories that you’re curious about.
Tap the Product Tag to see the price, item name, and even have the ability to buy it directly from Instagram. There is also a save ion that will automatically add the item to your private Shopping Collection.
Search & Explore offers fresh content based on people you follow and posts you like.
Refresh the Explore page to see a new set of photos and videos, all created based on your interests.
Close Friendsallows for private messaging and posting to occur on Instagram, similar to private stories on Snapchat.
Start at the main page of Instagram, press the top-right icon of three bars, choose which followers you’d like to add to your list, and press Done.
What is included in the personal profile?
Number of posts, followers, and following
Username (can be a nickname)
Bio (like a website and other social media contact info here like Kik messenger, Skype, Facebook)
Your collection of photos and videos with the date posted, likes, and comments
Tagged photos and videos of you
Photos and videos you save
What are the privacy options?
Profiles are set to public by default. To change this, follow these steps:
Go to the settings icon, select the Privacy icon, and under Account Privacy turn the Private Account toggle on to require the approval of follow requests. If your profile is private, posts will not appear on the EXPLORE tab and only followers can see your posts.
Teens typically create more than one account for improved privacy options. Instagram allows you to simply toggle between the two. I require my teens to keep even their main profile on “private.” But they also generate a second account, offered referred to as a “Finsta” (a spam Instagram account) where they only friend their closest friends. Be aware that the posts on the finsta accounts are where the most questionable content is posted. Don’t forget to spot-check those from your child’s phone directly. You can’t just assume you’ll see everything they are up to on your feed.
Be aware that if your child posts other contact information on their profile (like Skype or Kik usernames), the public can view that and reach out to them even if their post is set to “private.” Another tricky workaround that people aren’t usually aware of is that if you SHARE your Instagram post on another social media platform like Twitter, your Twitter followers can click on the link and see your private post.
What Instagram trends and slang should I know about?
Clickbait: The practice of using a provocative title with the sole purpose of driving clicks.
Finsta: “Fake Instagram account.” Followed by a close circle of friends where teens post their casual, authentic side, where they can let their guard down a bit, act silly and not edit out every blemish.
#influencer: Instagram is becoming a huge platform for brands to publicize their company. 48.8% of brands use Instagram for promotional purposes. They pay people who are “Instagram famous” to show these brands on their profiles.
Rinsta: “Real Instagram account.” Usually accessible by a wider audience for teens polished and idealized selves.
Slide into someone’s DMs: The practice of randomly sending a DM to someone.
Throwing shade: The act of publicly denouncing or disrespecting someone. Often used in reference to sarcastic remarks against someone or something.
VSCO: The term originally referred to an app used for simple photo edits. It is now commonly used to make fun of girls who use the app.[3]
What are the risks for use?
Cyberbully potential:
Bullies posting unflattering or humiliating tagged or @mentioned photos and videos (@drtracybennett is a loser).
Cruel comments or hashtags (#annoying).
Fake accounts and impersonation.
Influencers making certain activities or expensive clothes/makeup seem normal.
Tracking potential:
Users can include contact information on comments or in their bio. Although posts are set to private, anyone can see your profile photo, username, and bio.
Photos and videos may be geotagged so the location can be tracked. For safety, turn off this feature on your device by turning off the “location” option for “camera.” To prevent Instagram from capturing your location on the iPhone, go to the phone’s settings, tap Instagram, select Location, and choose the “Never” option.
Attention-seeking potential:
Users often try to attract large numbers of followers with poor posting or comment choices.
There are numerous other apps that are affiliated with Instagram and they give the option to buy likes for your posts and even buy more followers.
Inappropriate content potential:
Sexualized, cutting, violent, politicized, and eating disorder images and inappropriate memes are commonplace and easily found when viewing photos and videos from the Explore tab.
Ability to send and receive instant messages, photos, or videos directly:
If your child’s profile is public anyone, including Instagram users your child does not follow, can send them messages, photos, or videos directly. If your child’s account is private, then the messages will be sent to their “message requests” instead of directly to their inbox. From there, you or your child can proceed to decline or accept the message. If one ignores the request folder, the sent item will disappear after two weeks.
What are the protection features?
By setting your profile to private, only followers can see your posts and stories. (There is an option to let anyone see your Stories, followers or not, make sure this setting is turned off). However, keep in mind that ANYONE can see your profile information (profile image, username, and bio), even non-followers.
If you come across an inappropriate photo (or you are tagged inappropriately), go to your profile page, select the three-line icon located at the top right corner above “Edit Profile”, select “Settings”, and “Report a Problem” in the Help area. From there Instagram offers many categories for the report with specific instructions.
Spam or Abuse
Something Isn’t Working
General Feedback
Image or Video Quality Issue
After the Block or Report is completed, that person cannot search for you or view your photos. However, mutual followers can still see your likes and comments on other people’s pictures. Blocked users can also still @mention you. You will receive a notification that they mentioned you but it will not show you the comment they made unless you unblock them. You must change your username to avoid mentions.
If an unwanted comment on your page appears, simply swipe on it and select the “!” icon to report Spam or Scam or Abusive Content or simply trash it.
Review your profile often and delete old or questionable photos.
Finesse your posts to favorably reflect positive activities, experiences, and character traits (like a digital resume).
Track your time.
Parents – check for extra accounts and other social media follow requests.
Social media can be really fun, but it has its risks. If you think your child is ready for an Instagram account or if they are on it and you want to optimize safety and resilience, YOU WILL LOVE OUR GKIS Social Media Readiness Training Course. It covers social media risks to digital injury and teaches tweens and teens the psychological wellness tools they need to thrive!
Thanks to Isabel Campos for her research and help with writing 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
