Tips to keep kids safe on Threads

With the recent launch of Threads, the Twitter rival by META, the app has already gained over 30 million downloads. However, as parents embrace this new platform, concerns about its safety arise. To address these concerns, Titania Jordan, author of “Parenting in a Tech World,” shares insights on how parents can implement safeguards to protect their children while using Threads. While it is still too early to determine the app’s overall safety, there are several features and settings that parents can control to enhance their child’s online safety.

Titania Jordan provides valuable advice on the safety features parents can utilize on Threads to protect their children:

1. Private profiles: Parents can toggle this feature on, ensuring that only approved followers can see and interact with their child’s content. This creates a controlled and secure environment for their child’s online presence.
2. Mentions: Parents have the ability to choose whether people can mention or tag their child in threads, replies, or bios. This empowers parents to manage who can engage with their child on the platform.
3. Muted: By muting someone, parents can prevent their child from seeing any content from that individual, while still allowing the person to see their child’s content. This feature gives parents control over the interactions their child has on the app.
4. Hidden words: Parents can manage whether comments containing offensive or custom-defined words show up on their child’s feed. This filtering mechanism helps protect children from exposure to inappropriate content.
5. Blocked profiles: If parents want to completely block someone from their child’s Threads experience, they can do so. This ensures that the blocked individual cannot view or interact with their child’s content.
6. Hide likes: Parents have the option to prevent their child’s content from displaying view counts and likes. This feature reduces the pressure and potential negative impact associated with popularity metrics.

As Threads gains popularity among users, parents are rightfully concerned about the safety of their children while using the app. While it is too early to make conclusive judgments, Titania Jordan, author of “Parenting in a Tech World,” provides valuable insights on how parents can take immediate steps to protect their children on Threads. By utilizing features such as private profiles, controlling mentions, muting, managing hidden words, blocking profiles, and hiding likes, parents can enhance their child’s online safety and create a secure digital environment. These proactive measures empower parents to guide their children’s online experiences and promote responsible and safe internet usage