Kik messenger is different from the online prevalent messaging applications. According to Pew Internet research, it has been observed that the teenagers majorly communicate through text messages. And this is the reason that parent of teens are worried about their kids indulging in sexting. Infact my mailbox is flooded with the emails from the anxious parents who ask the ways to refrain their kids from using the mobile messaging apps or put app locks. Many of them want to know that how can they completely monitor their children’s smartphone activities and especially the IM chats like Kik, Snapchat, etc..
Lately, I received a mail from a single mother who was really perturbed with her daughter’s phone mannerisms. She wrote that her daughter marcella never allows her to touch the cellphone and try to stay aloof when at home. She’s also bunking her college to date a guy with whom she has been chatting through Kik. Atlast the mother found out that the guy has turned out to be psychotic and is now coercing her daughter to talk and keep exchanging lewd pictures.
However, I would like the parents to understand that kik isn’t an unsafe application to be used by your kids but it’s crucial to make your children aware of the safety risks involved in using such apps. It is a free app that can be downloaded easily on any popular mobile brand like samsung, iPhone, motorola, sony, LG etc.. Let’s just learn more about this trendy chat messenger.
Following are the features that are proffered by the kik messenger –
Unlike other apps it doesn’t require the phone number to get connected with each other. It uses the username to communicate with the people that are accessing the kik messaging platform. It is compatible with Android and iOS operating systems. And one can correspond with each other in groups or as individuals simply by exchanging the text messages, photos, videos, voice/audio messages etc..
1. Notifications – A user gets notified when a message is sent, received or delivered.
2. Live typing – Unlike SMS texting once you start chatting on Kik then you can see when a person is about to revert your message as the screen displays a message ‘typing’.
3. Social Integration – One can get connected with other trending IM apps like Instagram. Infact it also has a built-in browser thus you can use the internet or share any information without quitting the kik app.
4. Invite friends option – To invite friends on Kik a text can be sent through SMS or email. One can also use the social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat etc..
5. Multimedia message – Apart from text threads you can also send the images, videos and use multiple emoticons to exhibit your feelings and moods.
6. Customize Profile Info – A username can be customised it is not necessary to use your original name as the username. Along with this a profile picture and contact information can also be uploaded.
7. Custom Chat Display – More or less the Kik messenger looks like the iMessage. One can select the colors and many more things on their chat window.
8. Privacy Factors – Do check the privacy settings intended on the address book. You can restrict the sharing of your phone contacts with your kik contacts. Block contact option is also available, in case you find the contact to be inept.
Do’s And Dont’s Of Kik Messenger
1. DO NOT let your children share their kik username on the social networking apps. It involves the high safety risks and they will unnecessarily solicit the bullies, deviant users or perverts.
2. Ensure that your child is using the needful privacy settings to stay safe while enjoying the kik services.
3. DO NOT immediately accept the requests for Kik that are made on Instagram, Facebook etc.. This might be a trap to quickly ask for your undressed pictures. Also be careful for the porn bots. these are the automated programs that are formulated in a simple picture, message or link which eventually leads you to the porn websites.
4. Get known to the app passwords that are set by your children. Have a serious conversation with them over the apps advantages and disadvantages. Make sure your kid isn’t lying about using the app because if you cannot see the icon on their home screen then probably they have hidden the application into their cloud storage.
5. DO NOT randomly start chatting with the option chat now or with the users who are anonymous. Do apply the age range filter and chat with your age group people only. Because the people double or triple your age with anonymity or weird names can be pedophiles or sex predators.
Parental Responsibility
Being parents it is essential to monitor the cell phones of your teens. It is imperative because the internet enabled apps can never be completely safe for your kids. Hence with little prudence and vigilance you can keep all the internet dangers at bay. The third party applications like FlexiSPY are the best ones to watchdog your child’s Kik messenger and many more apps installed on their smartphone. Just install the app onto their mobile and thereafter you will be able to see all the information related to their kik chat messenger on your online web account.
So parents do not get worrisome for your children’s phone mannerisms just keep tab on their mobile actions through any of the above mentioned spying software.
