Understanding 4chan: Parental Concerns and Safety Measures

Parental Concerns and Safety Measures

Randomly click on the website 4Chan, and it will take you to a world where several people post, discuss, and share anonymously about everything coming to their mind.

In short, the website is highly contaminated with unacceptable content, which of course is not meant for young teens to view. 

Still, plenty of teens visit this site out of curiosity, raising their parent’s concerns about their user experience and safety on this platform. 

Unfortunately, because the site is rated 18+, there are also no built-in security settings available on this platform to limit or restrict their usability on this platform.

But don’t you worry as here we got your back. In this blog, we not only have discussed how this website works, and how risky this website is but also how you can prevent your children from visiting 4Chan. 

How does 4chan work?

There’s nothing rocket science in understanding how this website works. The users or those who are new to the website can simply visit the official site and sign in for free. 

Next, you’ll view different boards and conversation threads where you can also choose to create a new thread.

Now, you can anonymously begin sharing images and engaging in discussions.

Moreover, you’ll also be viewing some boards that are marked as ‘mature’ conveying that young teens shouldn’t view this content. 

How 4 Chan Has Raised Concern Among Parents?

4Chan is an adult site, and this sentence is enough to trigger parents who don’t want their teens to be exposed to something age-inappropriate. 

However, you can also consider the following factors that equally contributed to raising parent’s concerns:

1. Highly Objectionable Nature

The site is filled with extremely offensive and unacceptable content, and there’s even no one to take action against this odd behavior.

Also, exposure to such content at a very young age may lead to poor mental health, objectification, and other negative outcomes.

2. No Security Settings

The content on this platform is specifically prepared for people above 18, so here you will not find any parental functions like filtering out the content.

All you can do is keep your kids away from the shadow of websites like 4 Chan.

3. Encourages Violence

Adult content is often violent, so accessing such sites can highly distort the way young children see this world. 

This may make them get involved in assaulting or fighting other children or acting against someone.

4. No Age Verification

The website doesn’t ask for any accountability process which means even a nursery child can make a free entry here. 

The only disclaimer that will appear on your screen is that the user must be mature, and so-called rules and regulations that you can walk through or skip.

5. Encounter with Extremist Groups

On this site, many groups or organizations target immature users with the intent to influence them toward their ideology of hatred and violence. 

With these pointers, you might have gotten a clue of how hazardous this website could be for young teens. 

How Can We Stop Young Teens from Visiting 4 Chan?

You can’t completely ban the website, and scolding strictly is also not the best solution you can apply to your young teens. 

However, if you are seriously concerned for your children and want them to stop visiting this site, then you must try the given measures:

1. Communicate Openly

Before you begin, ensure that your child feels comfortable communicating with you on such sensitive topics. 

Try not to be straightforward as it will make them scared and they will hesitate to share anything with you.

2. Awareness of Cyber Harms

Make them aware of the risks involved in certain websites, and why they should avoid them. 

Also, teach them not to share personal information, never click on unknown links, and only download apps from official stores.

3. Security Tools

On the app store, you can find several parental control apps, the specialized tools, like Robin, that are specifically developed for securing and enhancing young teens' safety on the web world.

4. Show Your Concern

Tell them you are just concerned about them and they will try to be cooperative with you.

5. Educate them about Internet Use

It’s vital to make kids realize how dangerous the virtual world is and is always waiting for young teens like them to get into their trap. 

Remember the mission is not to make them terrified of the web world but to make them understand that websites like 4Chan and 12Chan are not meant for their age level, and can harm their mental peace. 

Wrapping Up!!

For many teens, 4Chan is a space to express themselves freely without worrying about how others will react, as here your identity won't get revealed. 

But they also need to figure out the flip side of this website which is far more dangerous than their thoughts.