We all love to entertain ourselves and destress our minds by scrolling through social media. Social media scrolling happens because these platforms keep showing content that interests users. All thanks to the workings of the social media algorithm. The algorithms of the various social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, are good at understanding what their users like to keep them hooked.
TikTok, the favorite short-form video-sharing app, has around 1 + billion users. Gen Z and millennials hugely dominate TikTok. Many teens and early adults enjoy making their presence known to everyone, and some use Trollishly to become TikTok famous quickly. However, teens and young adults should stay safe and responsible in the digital space. This article aims at educating parents to help their children use TikTok safely and shield them against the activities of cybercriminals.
How Accessible Is TikTok to Your Child?
TikTok offers complete access to your kid, allowing them to watch everything and anything on TikTok. Upon creating a TikTok account, TikTok asks the user to specify their age; in most cases, children tend to lie about their age. TikTok accepts whatever information your child provides without cross-verifying the info. To ensure your child or teen’s safety and security on TikTok, using the family pairing feature would be a safe bet.
Failing to monitor your child or teen’s activity on TikTok can subject them to cyber attacks as they are the most vulnerable population. Let’s now understand what family pairing is and how parents can leverage it.
What Is the Family Pairing Feature All About?
The Family pairing feature that TikTok provides allows parents to set limits remotely by linking their TikTok account to their child’s account. In addition, parents can use their phones to access the family pairing feature. The good news is that children cannot modify the settings without their parent’s permission.
Failing to use the family pairing feature can affect the child’s physical well-being, mental wellness, and academic performance and also cause unwanted arguments at home. Hence, the family pairing feature is an excellent option for parents concerned about their child’s digital well-being.
Ways Parents Can Use Family Pairing to Keep Their Children Safe
Family pairing can be of enormous help to parents in three significant ways:
Limit Screen Time
The family pairing feature allows parents to limit their child’s screen time. Parents can set a specific time for their children to use the app. You can set your child’s screen time from 40 to 120 minutes. Restricting your child’s screen time helps them focus on other vital areas and will not affect their academic performance either.
Many teens are addicted to social media to see how many likes, comments, and followers they gain. Some teens also buy tiktok followers because how their TikTok profile appears to others matters a lot to them. The performance of their content impacts their mental health as well.
Privacy Control
Parents can make their child’s TikTok account private. In addition, the family pairing option allows parents to restrict what their children can see, who they can connect with, and who can comment on their photos. Taking these measures will be beneficial in saving your child from crooks.
Use the Restricted Mode
The restricted mode allows parents to stop their children from watching age-inappropriate content. Parents also have the option to report inappropriate and vulgar content. According to Trollishly, the restricted mode also allows parents to deactivate the usage of the search bar. A search bar lets users find people and specific categories of content.
How to Get the Family Pairing Feature Activated?
To activate family pairing, you need to have your own TikTok account. So first, install TikTok on your and your child’s phones to use the family pairing feature. Next, you will need to follow a few steps given below using your child’s phone:
- Open TikTok using your child’s phone.
- After their profile is open, go to” menu.”
- Choose the settings and privacy option.
- Locate “family pairing.” Read to know what family pairing offers, and click continue.
- Since you are using your child’s mobile, choose “teen” when TikTok asks who is currently using the account.
- Next, you will receive a prompt on your child’s phone asking you to scan the parent’s QR code. To open your QR code, visit your TikTok profile and hit the small QR code icon next to your TikTok username.
- Lastly, scan the parent (your) QR code using your child’s mobile.
You can now use the family pairing feature and modify your child’s phone settings. If you wish to, you can change your child’s password too.
What to Do if the Family Pairing Feature Is Not Working?
If family pairing on TikTok fails to work for you despite your best efforts to activate it, please try the following fixes:
- Ensure to update the latest version of the TikTok app.
- Check if your internet connection is stable. A strong internet or Wifi connection is needed for the family pairing feature to work well.
- See if you have followed all the guidelines while activating the family pairing feature.
- Try restarting the device after trying out other ways to solve the issue.
- If everything fails, contact TikTok’s support team, who will look deeper into the issue and solve it for you.
How Effective Is the Family Pairing Feature?
Though the family pairing features offer some excellent benefits to parents, teaching your child how to stay safe online is advisable. Here are some tips:
- Educate them about what they can do or watch online and what is unsafe for them.
- While explaining the don’ts to them, let them know about the consequences for better understanding.
- Also, please help your child identify the red flags and encourage them to discuss them with you openly. Such discussions help the child to stay safe in the digital space.
Wrapping Up
Family pairing is an excellent way to help your child stay safe online. However, educating them to use social media platforms responsibly and safely is very important. In addition, open communication is very crucial to ensure your child’s online safety. Encourage your child to open up to you and assure him that you will not be quick to judge; this way, the child will trust you more and speak up.
Related –
- Top Baidu Online Video Downloader to Download Video from Baidu
- How to Enable TPM on MSI Motherboard for AMD & Intel systems
- Mobile Rescue: What to Do if Your Phone Has Water Damage
