TikTok launches new research to empower parents to have digital safety conversations with teens

TikTok has commissioned new research to better understand how Australian parents are tackling conversations about online safety and wellbeing with their teens (13 -17 year olds).

The research revealed that while the safety of teens online is a concern to Aussie parents and guardians, only 41% of them proactively talk with their teens about it when their teen opens a social media account, and over a quarter (28%) believe it's the responsibility of someone else.

When it comes to parents' top five concerns, cyber bullying (54%) was the number one concern among parents across the country, followed by exposure to dangerous or explicit content (50%), connecting with strangers (49%), data security / privacy (41%) and screen time (37%).

While parents acknowledge the potential issues associated with being online, many are not completely confident (39%) discussing them with their children, rather waiting for a trigger such as them coming to them with a problem (56%), a change in their mood or habits (57%), seeing something in the news, or information coming from another source such as a friend or social media (57%).

Other Key Findings:

• Only 29% of parents use family pairing/parenting tools to support their teens' online wellbeing, with Dads leading the charge over Mums (32% compared to 25%).

• 5% of parents said they were not very, or not at all, confident to talk to their children aged 13-17 about their social media usage and need more guidance. An additional 34% said they needed some guidance.

• One in three parents (33%) have their child's phone passcode.

• Over a quarter (27%) ask their child to show their profile and social media feed

• 25% parents take their child's phone or devices away at certain times of the day

• Parents that are savvy social media users themselves, are more confident talking to their teens about social media use, with nearly all (97%) of parents who are TikTok users very or fairly confident in talking to their teens about the topic

To help empower parents and give them a greater level of confidence in this area, TikTok has launched a minor safety campaign and teamed up with ySafe, Australia's leading provider of cyber safety education, to encourage more in-person conversations that support a positive digital experience.

TikTok has also launched an awareness campaign about how to use Family Pairing, which includes in-app educational content, updating the Guardian's Guide and a national media campaign.