The Kik Messenger application for smartphones has taken the chatting world by storm. It has become a very popular tool for chatting in the teen and young adult world. Kik Messenger allows the user the ability to share photos, sketches and different interactive mobile content with whomever they share their user name with.
Kik Interactive was formed in 2009 by a group of students from the University Of Waterloo. They set forth to create new technologies to be used on mobile smartphones. The Kik Messenger app was released on October 19, 2010 and within 15 days reached the one million user registration mark.
Kik’s undeniable popularity has been great for the company but there has been in some cases extreme backlash from parents. Kik allows anyone with a computer or smartphone to troll Twitter, Facebook and many other social media platforms for Kik usernames. This gives the “troll” the information needed to contact anyone posting there username on a social media site. There have been instances of stalking, the transmission of child pornography, and even rape by adults targeting underage children. This has many parents on guard and worrying about the safety of their children while using this very popular messaging app.
There are several avenues parents can take to help protect their children while using this messenger app.
Taking the time to explain to your children about the dangers of giving away personal information online and what they can do to protect themselves while chatting in the cyber world.
You should also change passwords often and create a unique username. This will help shield a user from unwanted conversations and online encounters by making it more difficult to “cold call” or just type random names into the Kik user search function.
Kik offers a new security measure called the “Ignore New People” feature. It gives you one more line of defense when dealing with strangers online by letting you review new chat requests from strangers.
Always remind your kids to block any cyber bullies, negative people and anyone they do not know or feel comfortable corresponding with. This is a very important practice to instill in your child early on before they develop unsafe habits online.
Kik messenger is a wonderful app that can connect people all around the world and brings joy to many. Young children and teens need to be taught the dangers that are associated with this kind of technology so they can arm themselves with the knowledge and tools to enjoy these wonderful applications safely and to their fullest potential.