So my son wants Discord to talk to his friends from school. I'm pretty tech savvy but I honestly don't know much about Discord beyond it being where gamers hang out. Is this just a normal thing kids do now or am I about to let him into some kind of chaos? What are the actual risks here? Has anyone set parental controls on it or does that even exist?
I went through this with my 11yo last year. The real thing to understand is the privacy settings and which servers he wants to join. Discord itself has some decent parental controls now. I'd say let him have it but set clear boundaries about who he can chat with one-on-one. That's the actual risk.
Discord itself is pretty neutral, but yeah the trap is less about the app and more about WHO they're talking to. I've got three kids and we did a compromise where my oldest could use it but I had her give me her username so I could occasionally lurk in the servers she's in. Not creepy monitoring, just spot checks. She's 13 now and honestly it's been fine.
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My takes: it's not inherently a trap but you need to understand what your kid is actually doing on there. Have him show you around first. Make it part of the deal - he gets Discord, you get to know his moderators and what the servers are about. Not unreasonable.
12 is still young for Discord IMO but if his friends are all on there I get the pressure. Just make sure you talk about stranger danger stuff and keep the door open for him to come to you if anything feels weird.