There is a rapid growth of potentially harmful apps. Apps that strangers and predators can use to seduce children are in the wrong hands, and they are out of control. For instance, KIK is an instant messaging application that has nearly over 200 registered members at the age of five years. This app only requires you to register a username that can be any name and then you gain access to becoming anything. That’s the reason there is a great awareness cautioning parents about such apps that can lure their children into a dangerous experience with these fraudsters.
Statistics has it that, a stranger lured a Tennessee teenager who was a customer of this kind of application, and she went on and snuck out of her home stealing her father’s Ford Explorer (2004). All this was to pick up an old man aged 41 who is a sex offender. She has thoroughly harassed sexually contrary to her expectation that the man was indeed a good friend. The two seems to have met on this online platform and exchanged talks. The teen had no information about who she was chatting with a talk that drowned her to sexual harassment. KIK is a dangerous app and parents should take extra caution to keep off their children from such apps.
It happened that a certain parent installed KIIK app on her mobile phone and upon automatic searching of contacts who are members of the dangerous app, it was shocking to find her teenage son in the cloud. Messaging apps have a potential danger to children and parents should be highly alert to these threats that applications like KIK may expose their children. Therefore, parents should have a proper understanding of every app in their children’s phones as more of these kids of scary apps keeps on raising a red flag.
Some apps have age limits that any subscriber should have attained. However, this is not a reliable control measure because children can navigate through and give a fake age, thus accessing the chat option of the app. The only way parents can help in preventing their kids from this menace is by making thorough supervision of their kid’s phone activities as well as checking latest online app that promises a new way of chatting.
On the other hand, children should be sensitized to the potential danger such applications possess. They should also be cautioned not to talk anyone they find online as some may impersonate themselves with the intent of luring children. Other apps include snap chat and line app.
