Social media applications claim to be a convenient way for teens to keep in contact with their friends. Unfortunately, these apps don’t just allow teens to connect with their friends; they also allow them to communicate with complete strangers. The apps listed below are a snapshot of what is on teens’ devices at the time of this article’s creation. Although social media applications will move in and out of popularity with teens, it’s important to remember that all these troubling apps have two things in common, what I call the “two central problems with social media”: 1) Children can meet and connect with strangers outside their parents knowledge and sphere of influence; and 2) The anonymity of social media and the Internet allow children and adults to act with impunity and without the fear of being identified. If you understand these two “problems” then you can start to identify other problematic apps when they arrive on the scene. The following list of applications are problematic for the reasons mentioned above, and unfortunately they are also the most popular social media apps among teens.

Snapchat: This extremely popular app allows the user to send a picture, text, or video to another Snapchat user. What makes this app special is that the sender can assign a lifespan to the message, up to 10 seconds. Other similar apps: Blink, Skim, and Burn Note.
Problem: This app gives the sender the impression that they can send a “snap” without  being concerned about the possible consequences of sending an inappropriate image or video. Snapchat is no wonder the number one sexting app. Images can be captured in a screen shot or by taking a picture with a second device. Additionally, teens might be using this app to hide conversations from their parents.

Kik Messenger: This instant messaging app is wildly popu ...