Back to School and Online Dangers: Beware of the Saturn App!
In today’s digital age, ensuring your child’s safety online is paramount. The Saturn – Time Together app has emerged as a potential hotspot for online dangers that every parent should know. Saturn – Time Together is marketed as a calendar and organizer app for students. Users create an account, find their school, link their schedule, and the app helps the student stay on track with their classes, assignments, group projects and more. With its seemingly innocent facade, the app may pose serious threats to your child’s well-being.
- Predatory Behavior: The Saturn app has significant potential for predatory behavior, as online predators can exploit its interactive features to target vulnerable young users. Users can link Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Venmo, etc., which is viewable to other users within the app. Unverified students can still send and receive friend requests from other users, potentially unlocking a Direct Messaging feature. Whether verified or unverified, the app allows users to see other students’ schedules, a bulletin board listing events and the students who will be attending, and athletic team rosters. These predators can easily disguise their true intentions, befriending children and manipulating them into sharing personal information or engaging in inappropriate conversations.
- Cyberbullying Hub: The anonymity offered by the Saturn app can facilitate cyberbullying, leading to emotional distress and lasting psychological effects on your child. Bullies exploit the app’s communication channels to harass, threaten or spread rumors about their targets, often leaving victims feeling isolated and helpless.
To safeguard your child’s online experience, open communication is crucial. Regularly talk to your child about their online activities, educating them on the potential dangers of all platforms.
- Privacy Settings: Explore and adjust privacy settings within an app to limit who can contact your child and access their information. Encourage them only to accept friend requests from people they know in real life.
- Monitoring and Supervision: Monitor your child’s online interactions by periodically checking their app usage and discussions. Consider installing parental control software to block or filter inappropriate content.
- Reporting Mechanisms: Teach your child how to report any suspicious or harmful behavior they encounter online, enabling swift action to be taken against potential threats. By staying informed and engaged, you can create a safer online environment for your child and protect them from the hidden dangers of the Saturn or other apps.
For more information and resources to teach digital citizenship to children and youth, please visit DFInow.org.