WhatsApp is a popular instant messaging app amongst young people with an age restriction of 13, which was lowered from 16 last year. According to Yahoo News, this move has led to criticism from parents/carers and campaign groups. Daisy Greenwell of Smartphone Free Childhood has stated that by lowering the age it could act “like a gateway drug for the rest of the social media apps.” While counsellor Georgina Sturmer has said that if parents and carers view WhatsApp as “just a simple messaging app,” then they are unlikely to encourage their children to use its safety features. So what are the potential dangers of children using WhatsApp? West Sussex County Council have given parents/carers the following guidance on what dangers to look out for and what to educate their children about.   

1. All anyone needs is your phone number to start a chat

This means that complete strangers can talk to your children if they discover their number or enter it by

mistake.

2. Be aware of chat lock

Chat lock on WhatsApp allows users to keep their chats in a locked folder, with a secret code. This means that conversations can be hidden and messages featuring harmful behaviours such as inappropriate sexual content and self-harm could be hidden from parents and carers.

3. Disappearing content

There is a feature which allows messages to be sent and only be viewed once. This means that evidence of abusive and inappropriate content cannot be reopened.

4. Scams and fakes

False information can spread quickly on WhatsApp and many children do not have the critical thinking skills at their age to understand what is real and what is not.

To combat these concerns, parents and carers are advised to teach their children about the potential dangers of WhatsApp by doing the following. Teach them to be cautious when receiving a message. E.g. How likely is a message from a number they do not know from someone they actually know. You can also adjust the settings to protect them from potentially harmful group chats which enables you to specify who can and who cannot add your children to group chats. This can be done by going to the settings menu under the groups tab. Potentially most importantly, is to talk to them openly without judgement about what they are sharing and talk together how group chats can be used safely and that it is ok to exit group chats if they feel uncomfortable.