Have you heard your kid or teen saying something about Discord?
New entertainment ways are coming up for kids and adults these days. Discord is one such and the most popular apps among Gen-Z and Millenials as well. All of them are looking for fun and things that can kill their time and keep them hooked for hours, keeping them away from boredom.
Discord is one such entity that is a hub for these kids and people who share the same interests. This app especially is very popular among teenagers. Saying that some of them are obsessed with it will not be any wrong. They love to be on discord.
The reason being its services and feasible features. They can discuss anything and everything on it and make their conversations fun by sending in some elements like pictures, links, or other things. Generally, kids use it to share information about new and existing games. To have a closer look at this app, you should read the full article.
What is Discord?
Discord is basically a social media app just like the other ones but with certain differences. It has a number of functionalities and it isn’t like Facebook or Instagram where you get to see the content of all. People on this app join chats on the basis of invitation.
The other way to use this app is by creating private servers or chatrooms and inviting friends to join in so that all can play games or chat over there. This app supports communication without boundaries. You can discuss almost anything here.
The main objective why teenagers or gamers, I would say, prefer using this app is because it is loaded with proactive gamers and users. The statistics on the internet suggests that it has a traffic of over 19 million people each day. It is more or less like “Skype” where you can converse about your game or other strategies.
Discord was launched in 2015 and it is progressing at a high rate. It made an appearance on the top charts because of the game Fortnite and Drake! He played this game with an avid gamer ‘Ninja’ on discord and this is how a lot of people got to know about its existence. It is available for PC, smartphones, and Mac and you can exchange video, text, and voice messages over this app. The basic agenda of kids these days on discord is to find more and more players so that their games can be further fun and challenging.
How does Discord work?
After downloading this app, if one has to initiate a private conversation, they can invite their friend to chat or discuss anything. However, such usage of this app is preferred only by elderly people or the ones in business or job.
Teenagers and kids basically use it by joining groups or servers. For instance, there can be servers like Fortnite or Music or Roblox or Science or anything else. A particular server has like minded people who share messages in the video, audio, or chat, or voice messages.
Some servers are open or public while the private ones can be joined only by invitation. While playing a game, the players can communicate seamlessly with their friends or co-players and discuss strategies by forming teams and coordinating accordingly.
Is Discord safe for kids to use?
Everything has its own merits and demerits. The same is the case with Discord. It definitely is a useful platform for kids, teenagers, adults, and everyone else but if utilized in the correct manner.
Kids while playing get high on adrenaline and can say anything to their competitors or fellow players. The instances have been noted where kids were found suggesting “kill yourself” or “you don’t know how to play” or “I am the boss”. People even share racist memes over this app.
Saying that obscene and lewd language is used by many players over Discord will not be wrong. Furthermore, some of the people here have found discussing mature games fantasizing violence, drugs, or physical torture, or even sex!
Though hate groups are instantly banned by the app, still people manage to conceal their identity and can chat anonymously. Sadly, last year, the app was flooded with child pornographic clips.
To keep your kids or teenagers safe on this app, make sure they do not join any public groups and stick only to the private servers. Discord is trying its best to make it suitable for 13+ but still, things can get complex if not monitored properly. Hence, as a parent, it is your duty to keep a swift check on your kid’s servers or groups and timings on Discord.
Conclusion
There is nothing wrong with this app. The thing that is wrong with it is some people who spread hatred and unfair competition. This app supports parental guidance and offers some features with which you can bound the privacy and safety of your child.
You can choose who your child connects to by changing the settings. You can even enable a filter to block obscene DMs. to know it all in detail, you can follow parents’ guide to Discord. Most importantly, making your children aware of the threats they can find here will do the trick for you. So, communicate and keep them safe!
