(Rated 12+, Social Networking)
All children and teenagers seek a way to connect with like-minded individuals, share their passions and interests, and discover new experiences. Many of them seek out the Amino app to fulfill these requirements. In this review, we will take a comprehensive look at the features, benefits, and overall user experience of the Amino app and give our recommendations for whether or not this app should have a place on your child or teenager’s device.
What is the Amino App?
One of the primary features of Amino is the wide variety of communities available. Whether your young one is interested in a specific hobby, pop culture phenomenon, or brand, they will find a community on Amino that caters to their interests. Made and maintained by community members, the content possibilities are endless.
In addition to communities, Amino also offers networking opportunities. Users can connect through private messaging, creating an environment where users can share ideas, collaborate, and make new friends. The app also includes a feature called “Amino+” that allows users to promote their content (like polls, quizzes, blogs, etc.), develop a profile, and connect with others in the communities they choose to post to.
What Parents Should Know About The Amino App
It is not an understatement when the Amino app is described as having a wide variety of community topics available to be a part of. That is to say, however, that there are many collections of self-identity-oriented cases.
The topics are community-created, so while wiki-style content moderation is in place (and nudity is more administration-monitored), the users ultimately choose what remains appropriate. Essentially, the bias of specific communities will play a massive role in whether the types of content they post are suitable.
Potential Concerns
Inappropriate Content
Many of these identity-oriented topics are sexual, for example, various sexual orientation communities, and some are designated for roleplaying sexual scenarios with others. We disagree with the designated 12+ rating on this app, given the very abundant sexualized nature of plenty of the content on Amino.
Made of Generated Content
Much of the content that can be acquired on the Amino app is created by members of the communities in Amino. It is designed for users to be able to curate their communities of users completing their content. This means endless possibilities exist for writing blog posts, crafting questions in polls, videos, and more.
Ability To Privately Interact With Other Users
In addition to illicit categories and collections, there is much ability to interact with others within these topics. Chat groups can be made for community discussions, and private messaging is also made possible in Amino.
One situation a ten-year-old girl and her mother experienced out of Scotland involved a direct message she had received from Amino’s self-acclaimed (although not official) employee. She was requested to send a picture of her bare chest to verify that she was indeed a female for meeting the requirements of joining the community she was looking to enter.
It has also been documented that private messages often branch off of community chat and other discussions from people looking to continue communicating in an environment that is not moderated for inappropriate content.
Recommendations
It is worth mentioning that there are plenty of communities on Amino that appear friendly to younger ages, whether they are inclusive of sports fans, artistic techniques, or more of the like. We do not recommend children or teenagers be able to use the Amino app due to the amount of illicit content available to interact with, let alone this content that the app itself features as “top content.”
When you factor in the ability to communicate back and forth with others in these communities, including sending images of yourself and your surroundings, the stage can easily be set for creating a situation that can victimize your child or teenager.
Finding groups in your area full of other children or peer-aged individuals for your child or teenager to connect with over their passions might provide an alternative solution if this is the goal you are trying to achieve. If practicing and competing is not for them, creating their outlet of expression online (where you are in control) could also help.
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