According to a study by KB&B, the video app TikTok is a largely unknown social media offering for many parents.
The video app TikTok is the big unknown among social media. At least for parents, as the current study “Children, Parents and Social Media 2019” by KB&B, the Hamburg specialist agency for children and family marketing, showed. Children up to 14 years old and their parents were asked about their social media use.
TikTok – the great unknown
The debate about TikTok on the points of data protection and child protection is currently widespread, but it seems to be receiving little attention from parents. Only around 35 percent of the parents surveyed in the study even know the app - the lowest value compared to other social media: Facebook performs best at 94 percent, YouTube (89 percent) and Instagram (84 percent) are also known almost everywhere . With an awareness of around 65 percent, Snapchat is well ahead of TikTok.
The lack of knowledge surrounding TikTok is also accompanied by a shifted assessment of the possible risks. Parents' worries particularly revolve around the issue of money: 28 percent of parents surveyed are concerned that their children could make unwanted in-app purchases. Inappropriate posts, especially from people who are not the same age as the child, are usually not a cause for concern - not even ten percent of the parents surveyed see this critically.
However, the children are aware of this possible danger. In contrast to their parents, they use the app and know the mechanisms and possible pitfalls. A good one in three of 10 to 14 year olds feel unsafe: in relation to posts from strangers, inappropriate comments or messages and the fact that posts can be forwarded without the consent of the owners.
“The fact that the children actively use TikTok means that they can assess the risks much better than their parents,”
said Rolf Kosakowski, founder and managing director of KB&B.
Friends and influencers – but not parents
YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok – these are the winners among the social media apps among 10 to 14 year olds. Not only are they the most frequently used apps in comparison, with Snapchat and TikTok, children are in the vast majority of these apps and use them more often than their parents. The children therefore stay among themselves. Facebook is no longer relevant for children between the ages of ten and 14: just under 16 percent say they use the social network.
The children use social media apps actively and for exactly what they actually want: for 65 percent, interaction with friends dominates. In addition, the content of influencers (around 27 percent), celebrities (around 21 percent) and brands (a good 13 percent) are also relevant for 10 to 14 year olds.
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What determines whether children are interested in something or someone is their potential for identification: around half of the children surveyed stated that they have contact with people who think and feel like them. And around one in four people are willing to reveal something about themselves in return for information from social media.
Good news for influencer marketing, which can continue to score points with the young target group with good content.
Source: KB&B – Family Marketing Experts
Article image: Shutterstock / By Primakov
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