In commemoration of World Children’s Day, TikTok partnered with the Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia (Content Forum) and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to launch the #ThinkTwice Parental Advisory, providing guardians with practical guidance to safeguard their teens’ digital experiences.
The joint advisory, part of TikTok’s ongoing #ThinkTwice digital literacy initiative, called for a community-wide and evidence-based approach to online safety. It underscored the need for proportional collective responsibility of parents, platforms, and policymakers, while also respecting the internationally recognised rights of children to access information, express views, protect privacy, and have freedom of thought.
Empowering families to build a safer digital future!
Firdaus Fadzil, Malaysia Head of Public Policy, TikTok, emphasised: “Most of the challenges faced by youths today are not new. In fact, issues such as bullying, peer pressure, mental health struggles, and harmful habits predate even the internet. Parents and guardians are the primary source of guidance for youths, because they are the closest to their children and know their needs best. Hence, we aim to empower parents by equipping them with knowledge and tools to raise digital natives responsibly so that our youths will be better prepared to navigate the online world safely. Our #ThinkTwice Parental Advisory aims to help parents play an active role in safeguarding their teens’ digital experiences by utilising TikTok’s robust safety measures, consistent with findings from global research.”
Mediha Mahmood, CEO of Content Forum, echoed the sentiment: “Online safety is not about disproportionately removing teens’ access from digital spaces. The internet only mirrors social issues that we already face offline. Culture comes from communities and good habits start from home, so it is clear that digital wellbeing among youths cannot be achieved in isolation. Instead, it is imperative that we empower parents to nurture creativity alongside caution by encouraging healthy routines and facilitating meaningful discussions with their teens.”
MCMC underscored: “We welcome TikTok’s proactive step in launching the #ThinkTwice Parental Advisory, which complements MCMC’s Kempen Internet Selamat and supports Malaysia’s ongoing commitment to a safer and more responsible digital ecosystem. Online safety is a shared responsibility that must be embraced by parents, platforms, industry, and policymakers. Platforms such as TikTok have a crucial role to play in safeguarding users while respecting the internationally recognised rights of children to access information and express their views in ways that are age-appropriate and consistent with Malaysia’s efforts to strengthen online safety standards.”
Guiding parents with practical tools for safer online experiences!
The #ThinkTwice Parental Advisory highlights three key practical tips on digital youth wellbeing:
- Supervise your teens’ digital activities
The first step in safeguarding your teens’ experiences online is to understand their digital journeys. With the Family Pairing feature on the TikTok app, parents can link with their teens’ accounts for greater visibility on their account activities. Once linked, parents will be notified when their teens upload a public video, story, or photo on TikTok. It also allows parents to monitor their teens’ app usage patterns on TikTok with the Screen Time Dashboard.
This enables parents to stay informed and decide when to start open conversations with their teens, without disrupting their creativity or independence. Additionally, TikTok’s Safety By Designprinciples ensure that users under 16 have private accounts by default and limited features, while those under 13 are not permitted to create an account.
- Customise settings based on your teens’ digital journey
The next step is for parents to play an active role in instilling healthy digital habits by placing guardrails. Parents can set their teen’s screen time limit on the linked account directly on Family Pairing, including scheduling time-away periods when TikTok will be unavailable, as well as muting notifications. Additionally, parents also decide whether their teens’ account is private or public, along with determining who can send direct messages or message requests to their teens.
Through TikTok’s Manage Topics feature, users can take control and customise how often content related to over 10 popular topics is recommended in their For You Feed (FYF) based on their own preferences, including creative arts, travel, nature, sports, and more. These content preferences will be visible to the parent’s linked account via the Family Pairing feature. By combining over 50 features and settings on teens’ TikTok accounts, parents can empower their teens to safely discover, create, and connect online within a controlled and secure digital environment.
- Have open conversations about digital literacy
The final step in fostering digital wellbeing is for parents to maintain an open and ongoing dialogue with their teens. It is essential to hear directly from teens about any emerging trends, risks, or uncomfortable experiences they encounter online. Parents can use insights from Family Pairing to guide discussions about sensitive topics, while helping their teens understand safe interactions and how to use tools such as blocking or reporting.
Regular conversations allow parents to adapt as their teen’s digital journey evolves, including staying aware of emerging risks and new forms of circumvention. With TikTok’s #ThinkTwice knowledge hub, parents and teens are further equipped with accessible resources to strengthen digital literacy and discernment, covering areas like scam prevention and mental health awareness.
For more information about TikTok’s #ThinkTwice digital literacy initiative, please visit the in-app knowledge hub and click here to know more about TikTok’s Family Pairing feature, along with its step-by-step guide.
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