Discord is actually pretty cool for kids

Dec 91 min read

Been nervous about my son joining Discord for his school robotics club but checked it out and... it's actually way better monitored than I thought? He can't add random people, the club moderator is pretty active, and I can see the chat history. The kids use it to coordinate meetings and share project updates. Anyway not saying it's perfectly safe but definitely seems like a legit tool for his age (13) rather than the cesspool I assumed it was. Pleasantly surprised.

10 comments424 views

Comments(10)

NNick J.RegularDec 9

This is actually good to hear. I've been the same nervous parent about Discord but if the club moderator is actually present that changes things. Does your son actually like the robotics people or is he just on it for the club?

RRandy S.RegularDec 10

wait, he CAN'T add random people? that's actually a huge thing I didn't know. my daughter is begging to join her volleyball team's Discord and I've been the paranoid dad blocking it. did you enable extra safety settings or is that default?

LLou P.RegularDec 11

The moderator being present is the key detail everyone misses. It's like the difference between kids hanging out at someone's house with a parent home vs at an abandoned warehouse. Context matters.

SSam Y.RegularDec 10

Yeah Discord gets a bad rap but honestly it's way more controlled than the anonymous garbage sites we had as kids. At least you can see what channel he's in and the mod is right there.

KKeith L.RegularDec 10

One question though - how much free time is he spending on Discord outside of robotics stuff? That's where it got sketchy for my son. The club time was fine, but then he was lurking around servers randomly.

DDustin P.New DadDec 10

This needed to be said. Kids are using Discord anyway, better it's for school clubs with actual oversight than them hiding it completely.

KKarl J.RegularDec 11

How old is your son? I'm wondering if age matters for whether Discord is actually safe or if it's more about the specific server setup.

HHarvey L.RegularDec 12

The fact that the moderator is present is honestly the whole ballgame. That's not true for most Discord servers kids join. Sounds like the robotics club actually has their stuff together.

MMatt D.RegularDec 11

Honestly glad to see this take. Discord gets vilified but the school club moderation angle changes everything. At least he's not just hanging out in random gaming servers at 2am. That's the real risk.

BByron S.RegularDec 11

Right there with you. Checked the robotics club Discord myself and the mod is actually engaging, sets clear rules, timestamps stuff. Feels way more supervised than their Instagram group ever was.