Assessing Discord safety and creating a kid-friendly environment

Discord being an instant chat and messaging platform, it allows people including kids from all over the world, to communicate using video, voice or text. With high chances of interacting with online strangers, one of the most pressing concerns with Discord usage is “Is Discord safe for kids?” The truth is that communication dynamics keep changing every day. New and more exciting communication platforms keep arising with Discord taking the internet by storm and especially with the gaming communities. However, Discord’s user base has grown to accommodate those outside the gaming community and that’s what brings about the concern of Discord’s safety to kids.

To determine how safe Discord is for kids, we need to delve into how the platform operates, creating servers for various interests among others features. In this article, we’ll discuss the various potential risks with Discord and possible solutions you can consider for your kid’s safety in Discord.

Is there a kid-friendly version of Discord?

Unlike other social media and messaging apps, Discord doesn’t support a kid-friendly version. However, once a user signs up for a Discord account, they can easily adjust user settings based on their privacy preferences by navigating to the platform’s Privacy and Safety page. The privacy and safety features include;

Privacy Settings. Discord app includes a default privacy setting that limits who can send direct messages and friend requests.

Content Filter. This feature offers aggressive content filtering ability that helps detect and prevent sharing of age sensitive or inappropriate content.

Age Gate. The Discord restricts people under 13 years to access the platform through provision of date of birth verification.

Moderation Tools. Discord app offers various moderation tools that enable administrators and servier owners to control and manage the entire content within their communities. This includes channel permission, user bans and message filters.

Server Verification. A server verification system enables server owners to authenticate the details of their servers thus offering an extra layer of confidence

Safe Direct Messaging. This feature can block and filter explicit content sent in direct messages.

Is Discord safe for kids?

Yes, Discord can be safe for kids but there are several considerations you have to make. Basically, the safety of kids on Discord ultimately depends on how effective the administrators and server owners implement the various control measures. Besides, parental involvement, communication and education with their kids about their online safety while using Discord.
Pros:

Diverse Communication channels. Discord supports voice, text and video communication thus making it ideal for a wide range of collaborations and conversations.

Community Building. Kids can easily create and join servers that serve common interests, topics and games.

Moderation Tools. Discord supports various moderation features such as message filters, user bans and role permissions.

Cross-Platform Support. Kids can access Discord on several platforms including Linux, Windows, macOS, Web browsers, Android and iOS.

Integration with different Apps. Discord enables integration with a number of services and applications thus allowing users to connect other favorite tools.

Real-time collaboration. Real-time collaboration and communication are enabled thus making Discord a suitable platform for online communities, gaming and remote work.

Why not to use Discord?

Chances of accessing inappropriate content.

While Discord supports moderation tools, that doesn’t mean that servers cannot contain some inappropriate discussions or content. This is even pronounced when users join unofficial or unmoderated servers.

High chances of Cyberbullying.

Just like most online platform, Discord has also instances of pronounced cyberbullying and negative interactions
Stranger Danger: Kids can easily join public servers where they may end up interacting with online strangers thus exposing them to conversations with strange individuals.

Mature content.

There are quite a number of servers that secretly share or discuss mature content, which is not suitable for your kids.

Why do kids prefer Discord?

There are several reasons why teenagers and kids find it interesting to use Discord over other popular messaging apps. Some of these reasons include but not limited to;

Social Interaction.

Basically, Discord is a platform for real-time communication via video, voice and text messages.

Gaming Communities.

One of the major reasons that draws many teens and kids to Discord is its gaming communities. This allows gamers to discuss strategies, coordinate and create groups for multiplayer games.

Ease of Customization.

Discord enables users to customize and create their servers, user-profiles and channels. This personalization is quite appealing to kids and teens who look forward to expressing themselves uniquely to their friends.

Can Kids below 12 years use Discord?

No! Discord set the minimum age requirements at13 years old according to their Terms of Service. Discord’s Terms of Service has this age restriction as their minimum user-entity to comply with various legal standards relating to handling and collecting personal information from a minor. This implies that if Discord receives an allegation about someone being under 13 years old, their account will be locked out until they verify their age through an official ID document.

How to help your kids stay safe on Discord?

We all can agree that Discord can be beneficial to kids and teens and kicking them out of Discord isn’t the most viable solution unless it’s a must. They may devise other cunning ways of coming back. Instead, using a reliable parental control app such as FlashGet Kids can be the real deal. Recently, FlashGet Kids Parental Control has emerged as a robust and multi-purpose parental control app designed to protect kids beyond the limitations of a single platform or app.

The app supports a wide range of parental control features, all aimed at promoting a secure and a safe digital environment for teenagers and children.

App blocker. Certainly, app blocker is one of the most outstanding features of FlashGet Kids app .

Live monitoring. FlashGet Kids app supports live monitoring feature that allows real-time insights into your kid’s digital activities.

Location tracking. If you’re concerned about your kids whereabouts, FlashGet Kid’s app location tracking feature is all you need.

Screen Mirroring and screen time management. FlashGet Kids app supports screen mirroring that allows parents to observe what activities are going on their kids’ device remotely. This ensures responsible device usage and also prevents unnecessary screen time.

Multi-device compatibility. FlashGet Kids app is compatible with both iOS and Android OS devices. This helps you to seamelly protect your kids from intrusive digital interactions.

Notification and Alerts: It allows you to;

• Monitor Friend requests: With FlashGet Kids app, you can easily monitor who does your kid send or receive friend requests on Discord. This can help prevent wrong interactions in the future.
• Regularly check conversations: FlashGet Kids app enables you to periodically check your kid’s conversation on Discord and thus ensure they’re engaging in safe discussion.

Bonus: What parents should know about Discord?

Originally, Discord was designed for ardent games but it has now evolved and grown into a multifunctional messaging platform. It operates by allowing users to join servers where one is free to engage in voice, text and video conversations with others. While it enhances socialization and collaboration, there are potential concerns parents should know.

• Joining public servers can expose children to online strangers or inappropriate content.
• It’s important for parents to fully Understand privacy settings for their child’s safety.
• Direct messaging feature on Discord facilitates private interaction and hence raises concerns and especially over unsupervised communications.
• Establishing open communication with your kids to discuss responsible online behavior can help them spot online predators and protect themselves from bad intentions.
• It’s important to familiarize yourself with various Discord features. Monitoring your kids’ Discord activities can help you know how best to advise them on how to remain safe online.
• Using a third-party parental control app such as FlashGet Kids app can help ensure kid’s safety while on Discord and other messaging apps.

What are the parents concerns about Discord?

While Discord offers a collaborative and interactive space for kids to engage in voice, text and video conversations, parents fear concerns about various potential risks in Discord.

Access to inappropriate content: With Discord usage taking kids into storm, parents are concerned about the platform’s public servers which can host discussions not suitable for young teens.

Interaction with strangers: Kids can easily join servers with people they are not familiar with in real life.This can lead to serious safety and privacy issues for the kids.

Direct Messaging: This is one of the most concerning issues about Discord usage and especially in case of unsupervised private conversations.

Unfamiliar with Privacy Settings: Parents may not understand all Discord’s privacy settings which sometimes are complex to set up. The fact that parents should actively manage such privacy settings for their kids’ Discord account can be stressful

Cyberbullying. When children join public servers ,chances of interacting with hostile strangers is quite high and this can send the kid into untold sadness or depression.

Time Management: Discord usage can be addictive and if kids are not regulated can spend excessive amounts of time on the platform which can negatively impact on their sleeping, academic or overall-well-being.

To address these concerns, it’s good for parents to consider embracing various parental guidance,using parental control apps like FlashGet Kids app, educating their kids about responsible internet usage and actively monitoring their daily Discord activities.

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