My 12yo is begging to join Discord so he can game with his friends. I'm nervous about it. I know the platform has some sketchy people on it. Has anyone let their kids use it? What precautions do you take? Can you monitor what they're saying?
It's not inherently unsafe if your kid knows the basics - don't share personal info, don't click random links, mute or block sketchy people immediately. We had the conversation first, then I monitored it for a few weeks. He's been fine with it for over a year now.
My take: let him use it but make sure you've got Discord open on your own account so you can see what's happening. Not to spy exactly, but just so you know the landscape. He'll hate it at first but it's reasonable.
I was nervous about Discord too when my oldest wanted to join. What helped me was sitting down with him and actually checking out the servers he wanted to join, talking about privacy settings, and making it clear we'd be monitoring activity. There's parental controls built in if you dig for them.
Discord itself isn't inherently unsafe but 12 is pretty young to be on there without supervision IMO. The issue is more about what servers he's joining and who he's talking to. I'd say yes to Discord but with some ground rules and periodic check-ins.
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My oldest wanted Discord too at that age. I ended up letting him use it but we set up parental controls and I check in on it regularly. The key is teaching him about who to talk to and what not to share, same as with any online platform.