Amid TikTok’s meteoric rise, questions have also been raised about the safety of the app, from its viral challenges that can cause harm, to exposure of youngsters via video trends, to predators in DMs, and more.

In response to these concerns, TikTok has added a range of safety features, including Family Paring, which enables parents to keep tabs (within reason) on their child’s activity in the app.

In addition to this, TikTok has today published the results of a new survey it conducted, in association with ConnectSafely, which looks at how parents are approaching discussions about online safety with their teens, and what can be done to improve openness and engagement around this critical topic.

As per TikTok:

“We commissioned YouGov to survey over 2,000 US parents of 13 to 17 year olds to help us better understand the different ways they tackle conversations about online safety and well-being with their teens. We sought to identify how often parents talk with their teens about online experiences, how comfortable they are discussing safety topics, and which safety measures they employ in their own households.”

Among the key findings:

• 78% of parents surveyed believe that they have the biggest responsibility to talk to their kids about online safety
• 61% of parents only talk with their teens about online safety after their teens encounter a problem and come to them about it
• Only 33% of parents reported speaking with their teens about their use of online and social media platforms on a weekly basis

The findings show that while most parents feel a level of confidence in talking about these issues with their kids, many hesitate to proactively and consistently initiate these conversations.

As a result, TikTok says that it’s launching a new campaign to raise awareness of Family Paring specifically, in order to spark more discussion about active action in providing guidance and advice.

You can check out an overview of the results from the TikTok/YouGov survey below.