As parents we should expect that 2017 will hold an even greater appeal for teenage apps and popular social media outlets. As you know, more than ever teenagers and tweens love to connect and share fun events and memories on social media. Each day apps and social media sites get booming traffic from middle and high schoolers. When asked by CNN how much time they spent on their phone or on social media, many teens gave sheepish answers.
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However, research has shown that teens spend an average of 9 hours a day browsing social media feeds. Apps for teens are getting enormous daily usage. Tweens between 8-12 years spent about 6 hours. With the skyrocketing popularity of apps for teens, particularly ones geared exclusively toward social media, parents have a growing need to learn about these outlets and discover both the positive and negative aspects of each. Consider the top 5 apps for teens and everything your teen may or may not want you to know about each one. 
According to a survey through Business Insider, Instagram leads as the top social media app used by teens and tweens. This social media app allows teens to share pictures and short videos. Instagram is one of the most popular social media apps being used by anyone from elementary school students to grandparents. Everyone loves it for its smooth and easy to navigate design, the ease of sharing pictures with friends and family, and convenient method of communication. Instagram is a great place to show off one’s photography skills, what they did over the weekend, or maybe post a hundred different pictures of their cute pets. Google Play gives this app a broad “T” rating for teen-appropriateness.
Pros:
- Good privacy features
With the proper settings in place, your teen’s photos are safe from strangers’ eyes. Their account can be set to allow only certain friends and followers to see their posts.
- Easy accessibility
This app is relatively easy to use and offers little confusion. Teens and tweens who struggle with technology find it a fun easy app to use.
Cons:
- Stranger danger
If not closely monitored, your teen may allow strangers or others to follow their account. This is a common theme with any social media app; with frequent check-ups, this can be avoided.
This app is famous for fast and easy “status updates.” In less than a minute, your teen can post a quick selfie, check in at their favorite restaurant, or share a joke. Many actors and celebrities have made this app famous; some have thousands of followers hanging on their every update. Although your child most likely will not gain this level of following, they can still enjoy connecting with friends. Although Google Play gives this app an “M” for mature audiences and a 17+ warning, with proper monitoring, this app can be used with relative safety.
Pros:
- Easy way to connect with others
Friends and family can easily connect with this app and stay current with new life developments.
- Fast way to find news
Teens who wish to stay current on any and all news find Twitter an easy way to see what’s “trending” and most popular. Many popular news outlets use this app for breaking news stories.
Cons:
- Damaged self-esteem
Teens who see friends constantly bragging or sharing fun activities and accomplishments may find their self-esteem suffering. Twitter is an easy way to put up a “good front” and look popular, especially if you have a high number of followers.
- Damaging conversations and bullying
Social media offers bullies and gossipers easy access to share the latest scoop. Unfortunately, Twitter’s easy, fast accessibility offers some young people the opportunity to quickly ruin someone’s name and credibility with “trash talk” and cruel stories or pictures.
Although not quite as popular as in the past with the younger generation, this social media platform is still a social hotspot for young people. Facebook offers teens the ability to share photos, videos, and messages with ease. This app also allows them to find old friends and quickly make new connections. Google Play gives it a broad “T” for teen-appropriateness. Many safety issues are avoided with parental supervision.
Pros:
- Relatively good privacy
Although this social media outlet has suffered some privacy concerns, it still offers reasonably good safety measures to guard your child’s profile against unwanted eyes. Your teen can choose how visible their profile is and who to share posts with.
- Good accountability
As a parent, it’s fairly easy to check their profile and post history. This is done by “following” them as a friend or logging into their account directly.
- Facebook Messenger
For teens who frequently text, Facebook Messenger offers a free instant messaging option. This can help cut back on cell phone text charges.
Tumblr
What happens when you cross a blog with Twitter? In 2007 Tumblr was founded as a quickly growing social media outlet for young people and adults to blog and share posts. On average, this app has upwards of 550 million monthly users with new accounts created every day. This app is a digital scrapbook for nearly everything and many teens use it to stay current with pop culture and share posts on their favorite bands, tv shows, movies, and books.
Pros:
- Creative outlet
Aspiring artists, photographers, and writers can easily share their creations with like-minded friends and followers.
- Connectivity and new relationships
Teen and tweens who find it difficult to find others with similar tastes and hobbies can easy find a peer group founded on similar interests.
Cons:
- Porn and explicit material
When not closely monitored, it’s very easy for teens to find illicit accounts and posts depicting pornographic or explicit material. Posts encouraging self-harm and other destructive behaviors are infamous “skeletons” in Tumblr’s digital closet. Google Play rates this site and its corresponding app with an “M” for “mature” and a 17+ age warning for appropriateness.
- Lack of privacy
Unlike other social media outlets, Tumblr has a very lax privacy policy. Posts are easily copied and quickly shared. Accounts are also very open with very little privacy. If your child shares a post they later regret, it’s very difficult if not impossible to track it down.
Snapchat
Similar to Instagram, this app allows teens to share pictures and videos. The only catch is the fact that these posts are automatically deleted after a short period of time. This app also allows its users to use fun “filters” to transform their pictures. Their selfies can be transformed into “dog” faces and other types of funny characters. Other popular effects include artsy borders and other special coloring effects to make their pictures truly unique. Many teens use this app to share and enjoy goofy or embarrassing pictures without fear of awkwardness later on.
Pros:
- Easy accessibility and social connections
Teens can enjoy easy sharing accessibility. Teens can also enjoy sharing and connecting with all their friends through games and “selfie challenges.” After all, who doesn’t love silly pictures?
- Relative privacy
The fact that these posts are permanently deleted is a myth. Even though deleted posts can be recovered through tech-savvy means, most Snapchat accounts enjoy fairly good privacy from unwanted eyes. Teens can control who sees their pictures.
Cons:
- Lack of accountability
The fact that posts don’t stick around in their posting history offers a tempting lack of accountability. “Sexting,” nude pictures, and other explicit posts can be shared between teens with little fear of being caught. Although Google Play gives it a broad “T” rating, this risk-free kind of messaging easily opens the door for very dangerous behaviors and relationships. Parents should be vigilant and cautious of this app.
Although there is an ever-growing pool of teenage-geared apps and social media platforms (see our post on Musical.ly), many are based on the same type of traits and features. By understanding the pros and cons of the most popular apps, you arm yourself with a good idea of what to expect for similar apps in the future. Talk with your teen and learn about their social media interests. When it comes to apps and social media, knowledge is the best preventative weapon a parent can have. For more information on popular apps and social media dangers sign-up for Netsanity’s free social media guide today.
Also published on Medium.