What APPs Are “New” in Social Media?

By: Eryn Jager

One of the most fun and exciting things about the internet and social media is how it is constantly evolving. The ability to communicate with others anywhere in the world at any time is limitless! Ways to communicate and also transfer knowledge and information is constantly upgrading, moving from one app to a brand new app in just days and sometimes even hours! This fast-paced growth of communication can seem mind-boggling and with the majority of youth using electronic methods of communication, knowing what the current trends are can be helpful for parents. While Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest are apps you may be familiar with, below are brief descriptions of some of the other more popular social media apps many teens are using now you may not have heard of.

VINE

This app is similar to Snapchat (talked about in a previous article). It allows a person to post six second videos on anything, which tends to be shared via Facebook and Twitter. This app has a 17+ age rating on here, so use with discretion, according to those who have rated this app. While you can block who has access to your videos, it requires constant upkeep to make sure privacy settings are up to date.

KIK

This may be one of the sillier and more fun-based apps you will not have to worry about. KIK is a smartphone messenger system which allows people to search and send videos and images in the place of text. Basically, if your children look up captioned pictures or funny videos on YouTube, they can send them to friends but are unable to create their own videos through this app. The risk of danger and worry is quite low.

PHEED

This is quite the interesting app and is used almost exclusively by teens. This app allows people to share digital content either publicly or privately. Each person who uses this app to record his or her self has their own channel and can even go so far as to charge for others to have access to this channel. Think YouTube on steroids, because people are able to record themselves doing and saying whatever they may like, and can also have the ability to “live stream” every moment of his or her life if the person should choose to do so. Many possibilities for danger with this app, definitely use with caution or not at all.