Online Safety
Roblox
What is Roblox?
You can either use Roblox to create games or play games that other users have created. Roblox has a PEGI rating of 7+ BUT as a lot of the content is user generated, which PEGI does not rate, these games may not be suitable for your child to view/play.
What should I be aware of?
Chat Facility - Players can chat to each other on Roblox. You can add parental controls to turn this feature off completely or add restrictions.
Virtual Currency - Players can buy Robux (their virtual currency) to buy in-game upgrades or accessories. If you do not want your child to purchase them, then ensure your card details are not saved.
What should I do?
• Play the game with your child.
• Explore the parental controls within Roblox and set appropriately for your child (for example restrict access to age-appropriate games).
• Show your child how to use the Report Abuse system within Roblox to report inappropriate content and how to block other users.
Further information:
• https://corp.roblox.com/parents/
So your kids are using Tik Tok
(from ‘Safe on Social’)
As you have probably heard before, Tik Tok has numerous risks. We are firm believers in adhering to the age recommendation guidelines of 13yrs+ for social media. However, that said, it is not against any law for a child to use under the age of 13yrs with parental permission.
If you have decided that you are okay with your child using TikTok, here is what to do and what to look out for to make it as safe as possible.
Make sure they are not being moved from another social media site or game onto Tik Tok by someone that they don’t know
This is a big one that we hear about far too often. Particularly for kids under 13yrs, but it may happen to older teens also. They make “friends” on games such as Roblox. Their new “friend” suggests that they connect on TikTok. Once they are both following each other, they can message each other for free. This includes sharing videos. This can become every parent’s worst nightmare in the blink of an eye.
If they are under the age of 13yrs, set the app up with your email address.
Set it up on your device so you have full access to it at all times and can see who is following them and who they are following. Make sure you set up notifications so you will be emailed with any messages that come through the app. Think of it as putting on training wheels. Monitoring your child’s online life under the age of 13yrs is extremely important. As they get older, you can lift the monitoring in line with their online maturity.
Set their profile to private
While they are too young to always make good choices, as they get older, you can lift this, especially when they know what is right and wrong online and how to block and report if things get weird. Make sure they are only connected to people that they know and are following legitimate sites.
Look for the verification symbol
There is a verification symbol on all social media sites that proves it is the actual verified celebrity or group. There will be a little blue circle with a white tick in it next to the name. No tick, no follow. Predators can set up fraudulent accounts that may have a small spelling mistake or a similar version of a celebrity name.
Encourage them to speak up
Kids need to understand that an adult can help when they know what is going on and can help them.
Know how to block and report
This should be the case for every app that they use. You should always know the basics and spend some time looking at how it all works before letting your child use it.
What are they looking at?
You may never know what they see, and there is a lot of graphic content, porn, and other inappropriate content on TikTok. Make sure they know to get off the app immediately if they see something that makes them feel uncomfortable or worried.
Know how to take a screenshot
In case you need it as evidence. This is a great tool to teach kids as young as possible.
No videos on TikTok in school uniform
Or anything else that gives away too much personal information is critical. Remember, a school’s reputation can be destroyed in a heartbeat with kids posting videos on TikTok of them misbehaving someway. It is also a privacy risk; your child could be telling the whole world where they go to school.
Don’t give away any personal information.
Use a fake user name like “popcorn fairy” or something. Teach your kids never to give away things like name, address, age, phone number, where they go to school, etc.
Watch out for what is in the background
It is easy for people to determine a location, take a screenshot, and zoom in on a certificate on the wall.
Turn off location tracking
In your device settings, turn location tracking off for TikTok completely.
Set time limits
Be very clear about how long they can be on TikTok for, or they can be watching all kinds of stuff for hours!
Use a strong password
Do not use the same password on TikTok that they do for everything else.
Beware of bullying
There is a lot of bullying on the platform as kids judge each other’s videos etc. Remember, being mean once isn’t bullying.
If bullying is occurring
Make sure your child knows not to respond
Take screenshots or screen record
Block and report the bully to the app
Support your child
If the bullying continues, please refer to our cheat sheet on cyberbullying to report it.