Live Streaming Apps: Parents, Who’s Watching Your Kids?!

/ John Dennis

Top Live-Streaming Apps (1)

“I am a golden god!”

Almost Famous Russell

Billy Cruddup in Almost Famous

Aren’t you so glad live-streaming and video technology didn’t exist when you were growing up?!

How many of your idiotic moments would be preserved for all eternity?

Just think about how we cringe at the sight of our old yearbook photos and the outfits we were allowed to leave the house in!

Today’s adolescents have to deal with the potential for every moment being captured either by their own hand via live-streaming or by someone else (see the previous post on Self-Destructing Apps).

Live-streaming has created the ability to have an internet star in every household.  App designers are cashing in, playing off of the perfect storm that was created by the Jackass and Guitar Hero “I could do that”-phenomenon as well as the “reality” TV boom and the growth in video technology brought on by the likes of the iPhone and GoPro.

Streaming Teen.jpg

Photo by Kees Streefkerk on Unsplash

There are a number of live-streaming apps on the current app-store market that parents need to be aware of.  I’ll briefly mention some that I’ve already covered in other sections of this social media segment before highlighting some newer apps.

Facebook Live – We all know about Facebook and their addition of live streaming video content.  Facebook and its live capabilities have been largely responsible for school districts across the country creating social media policies in their student handbooks.

FB Live Camera

Photo by Sticker Mule on Unsplash

Instagram – Adding the ability to broadcast and upload videos has kept Instagram in the game.  It didn’t hurt that they were bought and backed by Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook in 2012.

Vine – This app allows users to create 6 second videos that they can share.  It became widely known for the school fight videos that were so widely circulated.  Originally, it was designed for ages 12+, but, due to the flooding of pornographic images they upped the age requirement to 17+.  Vine was acquired by Twitter in 2012, and Twitter had announced in January of 2017 that videos can only be shared on Twitter or saved on a camera roll as Vine is being phased out.

Persicope – This live streaming app has gained in popularity since 2016.

Periscope Logo.png

Periscope’s notoriety took off when a French teenager live streamed her own suicide while some thousand viewers watched the feed.  The woman spoke to the camera and built up to throwing herself in front of the Egly station train while some streamers pleaded with her to stop and others criticized and egged her on.

Teenage Suicide

Photo by Tanja Heffner on Unsplash

Live.Me – This live streaming app allows for chatting as well as broadcasting.  The user is supposed to be 18+; however, underage users are pretty prevalent.  The app uses geolocation features and can allow users to share personal information either intentionally or unintentionally.

Live.me Logo

Musical.ly – This is an app that has put a musical spin on the Snapchat-video sharing platform.

Musical.ly Logo

Users can view, create and post music videos that are 15 seconds or less; however, they don’t self-destruct.  In addition, users can view, rate and comment on the videos of other users. What parents have to pay attention to is that there can be sexually explicit content and language as well as the ability to connect to strangers.

Musical.ly App.jpg

Photo by Jason Rosewell on Unsplash

Live streaming apps aren’t going away anytime soon.  They have many positives including connecting friends and family, business and marketing applications, as well as helping people overcome anxiety.
While there are positive uses for these types of apps,  parents need to be aware of these and the coming generations of apps so that they can educate themselves and their children about both the pluses and minuses of using social media.
In the next post I’ll unpack different ways to stay out in front of social media and how to deal with its use by our children and teens.
Disclaimer: The author of this post is not engaged in a therapeutic relationship with the reader and cannot give counseling advice without a confidential appointment. Readers should be sure to consult with a licensed therapist in their area or seek emergency medical attention if they are experiencing difficulty.

 

25 thoughts on “Live Streaming Apps: Parents, Who’s Watching Your Kids?!”

    • It’s a great question! Knowledge is power they say. But you can abuse anything. Obviously there are some technological advancements that we can unequivocally say, “yes, we are better for it”. But there are many we would prefer to undo like Einstein’s work on the atomic bomb. It has shaped entire cultures, generations and eras. Thanks for your comment!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • Don’t be too hard on yourself. I think that’s most parents, particularly with adolescents. Which is ok for the most part. It becomes an issue when parents have absolutely no clue and choose to stay that way. Thanks for your honesty!

      Like

      Reply

  4. Scary stuff. I’m glad that my children are grown now, and we didn’t have to deal with this kind of stuff. We did limit internet access and monitored EVERYTHING they did online, but it’s out of control now. My adult children are now exercising great prudence and caution with their own children, but their job will be much harder than ours was. 🙁

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. I think life is very hard for young people now. They have to grow up and experiment with social media and the camera watching them. I wonder how seriously it impacts on their emotional development and understanding of themselves. I only hope I’ve brought my children up with the guidance they need to ensure they’ll make sensible decisions about which keep parts of themselves to keep private.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. My son isn’t yet a teenager (thank heavens?) but I found this list helpful and informative. I don’t use live streaming apps myself, but I think they do represent an opportunity for both good and evil as kids mature. An excellent book, “Irresistible” by Adam Atler explores the various “addictive” pieces of technology in our lives. He didn’t touch on any additions to actually sharing content–though I think that’s a very real concern. Are our lives really lived if we aren’t streaming it live? I know Warren Beatty made some comment to that effect about Madonna in Truth or Dare. Can that be where our kids are headed?

    Like

    Reply

    • Mine either, thank god! I’ve got some time to learn and get ahead of them at least. I myself am going to venture into live-streaming as a part of my work in mental health; but, we’ll see how it goes. I think a lot of kids are already there in some form or another. I was in a magnet arts high school just this morning and during bell break one of the female students complained that she had only received a few snapchats in response to hers. We as adults do it here on WordPress. We’ve become obsessed with social media validation and how many likes or comments we’ve gotten. Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to comment!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  10. It’s difficult to be a parent now since these kids have access to electronics. School provide chrome books and they don’t block social media websites. I’m dealing with that at this moment.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment