How to keep your kids safe on social media
A young girl looks at social media apps on her phone, including TikTok. Picture: Peter Byrne/PA Wire
Amid reports of a distressing video circulating on TikTok, parents are being urged to take measures to ensure their children use social media safely and responsibly.
It is understood a video of a suicide is circulating on platforms including TikTok, an app popular with younger social media users.
The video was originally live-streamed on Facebook before appearing on other platforms, including TikTok.
In a statement, TikTok said it is deleting the clips and banning users who repeatedly try to upload the distressing content.
“On Sunday night, clips of a suicide that had originally been live-streamed on Facebook circulated on other platforms, including TikTok,” a spokesperson said.
“We are banning accounts that repeatedly try to upload clips, and we appreciate our community members who’ve reported content and warned others against watching, engaging, or sharing such videos on any platform out of respect for the person and their family.
“If anyone in our community is struggling with thoughts of suicide or concerned about someone who is, we encourage them to seek support, and we provide access to hotlines directly from our app and in our Safety Centre.”
Facebook confirmed it was aware of the footage and said it was blocking further attempts to share it since it emerged.
“We removed the original video from Facebook last month on the day it was streamed and have used automation technology to remove copies and uploads since that time,” a spokesperson said.
Social media users have been warning others about the clips, with some saying it has been edited to include shots of cats to trick viewers into watching it.
The video’s presence on TikTok, in particular, has highlighted ongoing concerns about social media platforms and their handling of content linked to suicide and self-harm. Concerns have been expressed about the damage such content can cause to younger viewers.
Children as young as 13 can have their own social media accounts, and CyberSafeireland’s Annual Report in 2018 indicated that by age 13 almost 100% of kids surveyed were already on social media in some form or other.
With the digital age of consent being 16 in Ireland, children aged 13 to 16 children need parental permission to be on social media and parental oversight of what children are doing online is encouraged.
Philip Arneill, Head of Education and Innovation at CyberSafeIreland, said there are steps parents can take to avoid letting their children see disturbing content online.
“There is no complete solution, however, to exposure to the kind of content currently circulating in the media about TikTok and inevitably some content will always slip through the cracks,” he said, adding there are ways to limit the risks.
“Doing this means that even if you can be found on the platform, you have control over who follows you and sees the content that you’re posting. You will need to give permission to people before they can view your posts,” Philip said.
“This means that the GPS will not geotag photographs and videos that you post and will prevent you from giving away your location inadvertently when posting live or real-time content.”
“Never share any personal information - whether verbal, visual or written - in your profile or when you’re posting on social media platforms.”
“We would recommend that if you don’t know the person in the offline world, don’t add them as a follower to your accounts! If you do have followers you don’t know, be very careful about getting dragged into private messaging conversations on the platforms, and never send any images or videos of yourself to someone you don’t know.”
“When you are posting, be aware of who is looking at your content, and also remember that it’s almost impossible to remove things from the internet once they’re out there. Even if you do delete them on your own device or account, there is a fairly good chance that someone else may have screenshot or downloaded your posts, and you may find that they will reappear sometime in the future, somewhere on the internet. Posting unpleasant, inappropriate or illegal content can have real life consequences offline in your future: many schools and employers will Google applicants and look at their social media accounts before offering them interviews or positions, and many people are rejected on the basis of things they have posted online.”
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