TikTok is one of the most popular apps ever, so successful that kids are flocking to it. TikTok is pressing YouTube hard for kid's famously short attention spans. Viewers comment, engage with and share individual videos. Tagging friends or other users so they may enjoy it as well. TikTok has been criticised for not doing enough on internet safety for children on its platform. The company has been slow in rolling out its user safety programme since COVID19 started, but it is making improvements.
Most of the time, comments are positive and represent everyone in a good light. Creators enjoy public comments responding to their content, especially as it allows them to see what the public like, and want to see more of. The flipside is the overly aggressive nature of the naysayers, the bullyboys and girls, who often don't even mean what they say but just enjoy being nasty. Of course, these naysayers usually do so behind a false proxy account. Comments are offputting, mean spirited, hateful intended simply to insult and hurt the creator.
TikTok has two new features to give creators more control over viewer comments encouraging viewers to think twice about their actions before posting negatively. This is similar to the Instagram project launched in 2019 when Facebook agreed to curate self-harm content. They specifically want to promote happiness, reduce the number of likes displayed on popular content building a genuine atmosphere to the platform.
TikTok now has a ‘Filter All Comments’ layer allowing users to check comments before they are made public. As the comments are made, they are sent directly to the creator for review. Then they can choose not to publish or not publish.
This is a great feature for users who want more control over their content and who only want comments that they are comfortable showing, positive or negative.
There are some issues though
This Feature develops the existing option to filter out offensive comments and specific keywords selected by the creator. TikTok will determine whether a comment is harmful and won’t publish it until approved by you. If you feel a specific word or phrase is offensive, you can add these in and TikTok will hide any comment that uses those keywords until approved by you.
Like Instagram, TikTok wants to promote respect throughout the platform prompting users to reconsider their words before posting aggressively.
Commentators will be asked as they type to re-consider their language and rephrase. They will be reminded about community guidelines which if not followed, could result in the suspension of their account or being banned from TikTok.
Users will have the final decision whether to post a comment or not. But the prompt allows for a moment of reflection to encourage people to reconsider their actions. TikTok hopes will inspire people to be nicer.
These features are important steps forward in making social media platforms positive areas for people of all ages. If you want to know what other safety measures and privacy features TikTok has in place, then don’t forget to check out our site. We have lots of great content about TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram.
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Age-appropriate content Manage their screen time Want to learn more?
YouTube help: https://support.google.com/youtube/
More information for parents and carers: https://www.internetmatters.org/
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