Currently, there is a debate about TikTok, as far as the points of data and child protection are concerned. But the topic is still not really present with parents. For example, only around 35 percent of the parents surveyed in the study are familiar with the video app at all. For comparison: Facebook is known with 94 percent, YouTube (89 percent), and Instagram (84 percent) also perform very well. Snapchat ranks with a reputation of about 65 percent by a large margin ahead of TikTok.

Parents fear expensive in-app purchases

Even when it comes to possible risks, parents assess this completely differently than the offspring. Above all, they have concerns when it comes to money: 28 percent of the parents surveyed fear that their children could make unwanted in-app purchases. Inappropriate posts, especially from people who do not correspond to the age of the child, are apparently no reason for concern – just ten percent of the parents surveyed are concerned about this.

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Children know about possible dangers

Then it looks very different with the children. They are well aware of possible danger in this area. Unlike their parents, they use the app and know about the mechanisms and possible pitfalls. Well, one in three of the 10- to 14-year-olds feels insecure. The reasons for this are posts by unknown persons, inappropriate comments or messages, and the possibility that contributions can be forwarded without the consent of the owners.

Kids interact with friends and influencers

YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok are the winners among social media apps for 10- to 14-year-olds. With Snapchat and TikTok, there is also the fact that the children are in the clear majority of these apps and use them much more often than their parents. Facebook is almost uninteresting for children between the ages of ten and 14: Only just under 16 percent say they use social networks. The children actively use social media apps and exactly what their real purpose is: For 65 percent, interaction with friends dominates.

In addition, the content of influencers (around 27 percent), celebrities (around 21 percent), and brands (about 13 percent) is also important for 10- to 14-year-olds. This shows that the topic of influencer marketing continues to have strong relevance, especially when brands leverage this using the best Social Media marketing panel. The importance of social networking is therefore still enormously high, especially among young users. Above all, however, one should not forget that there must also be rules for dealing with social media and that there should be a great awareness of dangers and other aspects, especially among parents.