Pat's Answer

Hello, welcome to Ask Pat,

You are asking how to stay safe on TikTok.

TikTok as an online social media platform. So, like all online platforms there can be good parts and not so good parts. 

We get the sense that maybe you are concerned for your online safety, from your question. There are a few things that you can do to ensure that you keep safe while online. Firstly, it would be important that you have a chat with your parent or guardian about creating an account with any online platform, as there are age appropriate guidelines for each platform. If you do create an account, making your account private and only being friends with people you know off-line  online would also help to keep you safe.

In Childline we would be concerned for young peoples’ online safety, but by the sounds of things you are very sensible in reaching out and asking for further information about it. You may find some useful tips here at www.webwise.ie/youth/ . Webwise Youth offer advice to young people on internet safety issues.  On our Childline website we also have some articles on how to keep safe online which you may find helpful www.childline.ie/online-safety/

In addition to those, our other Childline services are available to you 24/7 too. We would love to chat to you more about your feelings on online platforms and how to keep safe, if you would like to get in touch. We are a confidential listening line for children and we are free for you to contact.You can get in touch with us by phone at 1800 66 66 66, or by text on 50101. You can also chat with us through our web chat service on our website www.childline.ie.

Thank you so much for contacting Ask Pat, take care,

Pat