Zift Advisory
Tumblr is a free microblogging and social networking site that has a constant feed of user content. Users can post photos, videos, artwork, audio files, text, links, GIFs, and quotes. It is free to download and use, but features advertisements. The Tumblr app is rated for mature for users aged 17 and older and is not safe for kids.
What is Tumblr – Culture, Art, Chaos?
Tumblr is a free microblogging and social networking site that has a constant feed of user content. The platform combines many aspects of traditional blogging with the shareable aspects of social media.
The site is used to post photos, videos, artwork, audio files, text, links, GIFs, public chats, and quotes. The content of the blogs that a user follows are displayed on their home feed, through which users can scroll endlessly. Users can reblog content to their own page, like, comment on, and share posts.
Users do not need to produce their own content, and many choose not to. Any reblogged content will appear on a user's Tumblr page, indicate from who it was shared, and includes any comments unless deleted by the user.
Each person's Tumblr page can be personalized. There is a large collection of free and paid "themes" to choose from. Most themes can be edited by the user to suit their style or design needs.
Tumblr posts can be tagged to increase traffic and discoverability. Users can also search for content by tags to find posts about a specific topic.
This blogging site is very social, many of the most popular posts have a lot of user interactions and comments. Users can chat publicly or message each other directly.
Is Tumblr – Culture, Art, Chaos safe for my kids?
Tumblr's visual and social aspects make the platform more attractive for younger users than many other blogging services. However, Tumblr is not safe for children or immature teenagers due to an overwhelming amount of pornography and other mature content including nudity, drugs, violence, and profanity.
Tumblr blogs that share adult content are marked “NSFW” (Not Safe for Work) and cannot be viewed unless a user is both logged in and has “Safe Mode” deactivated in their user settings. Even though "Safe Mode" exists within this platform, it is relatively hard to find and easy to turn off once you know where to look.
User interactions are featured prominently on the site, which is part of why so many adult users like Tumblr. Many users solicit interactions from strangers by posting “asks”, or questions to their followers, and promoting submissions of comments, photos or videos.
Tumblr pages usually do not contain a lot of personal information about its users, which can be good and bad. While this may protect your child's identity, users also may never really know with whom they are interacting.
Users who don't want their blogs to be public have the choice to password protect their page. Only people with the password can view their Tumblr.
With the right settings, Tumblr could be safe for mature teens. However a savvy teen could easily change their settings, be exposed to mature content, or talk with strangers.
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