Rosie Ramsey warns parents against childrens’ use of TikTok

Podcaster and presenter Rosie Ramsey, has warned parents against children under the age of 15 using popular social media platform, TikTok.

36-year-old Rosie, who hosts the successful podcast Sh**ged, Married, Annoyed with her husband, comedian Chris Ramsey, also speaks frequently about parenting.

The pair from South Shields now live in Northumberland with their two children Robin and Rafe. Rosie was nominated for Celebrity Mum of the Year in 2019.

Rosie posted a video of herself chatting about TikTok, which is currently one of the most popular social media platforms. The platform really took off in the first initial lockdown due to the global pandemic, and now has many different users, from celebrities and businesses to everyday people.

In Rosie’s video which was posted to her Instagram story, she explained to fellow parents that they should “watch over the shoulder” of their children if they use TikTok, due to finding “inappropriate” content at times.

She started the video by explaining that she had begun to use TikTok again as a consumer and described herself as “obsessed” due to funny videos. She further explained though that she didn’t deem the platform appropriate for children.

“If your kid’s got TikTok and they’re under 15….I don’t know” she said. She went on to say: “I don’t know how you parent but watch over their shoulder because there are some freaky lives, really weird lives on there.”

Rosie is referring to the TikTok live feature, where TikTok users can interact with each other via a livestream. According to TikTok, users must be 16 years of age or older to launch a live stream, however TikTok users of any age can watch one.

“Sorry to bring doom and gloom to you. But I know a lot of people don’t have it and don’t watch it, so I’m just trying to give you the heads up.” Rosie said, explaining that she just wanted to make parents aware of the content on TikTok.

TikTok launched a Guardian’s Guide to ensure the safety of children using TikTok. The guide details various content that may be harmful to children, as well as an explanation of various controls guardian’s can enable to ensure their child’s TikTok account is safer and monitored.