One of the many challenges that we might have with our children and social media is simply knowing what is going on with their accounts. There are more apps out there than parents even know exist. It might feel like the only options you have for your children include watching them like a hawk by regularly logging in and viewing all of their messages while violating their privacy or simply giving them free reign and hoping for the best.
Fortunately, there are some apps on the market that offer other solutions. One option is an app called Bark.
Bark is a monitoring service that you can use to link your child’s social media accounts together. It is important to note that this app will only track the information disseminated through their phone and not their computer. Your first month is free and then it is around $10 per month.
By linking the various social media platforms to Bark, this app will look for sensitive content including:
Cyberbullying
Sexting or controversial content
Content related to drugs
Signs of Depression
Potential grooming from online predators or pedophiles
The app has been trained by analyzing millions of messages between people already. With this training, the app is even available to differentiate sarcasm from truly hurtful content. If a potential issue is detected, you will be alerted to the content. The app is even so advanced that the app will give you potential ideas regarding how to the situation.
There are numerous dangers with this connected world, and the Bark app gives us a degree of control while also preserving the independence of our children.