Discord is where my kids are actually spending their time | DadHQ

Discord is where my kids are actually spending their time

2d ago1 min read

I finally looked into what Discord actually is after my 13 year old spent like 6 hours on it yesterday. Turns out it's basically just kids hanging out in voice chat while playing games or just talking about random stuff. He's got a friend group of like 8 kids he plays with every day. It actually seems pretty harmless compared to TikTok or Instagram but I'm still nervous. Anyone else have their kids on Discord? Any red flags I should be watching for?

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Comments(5)

VViktor S.New Dad9h ago

Discord is basically a massive messaging and voice app where people hang out in different servers. The good news is it's not inherently bad, the tricky part is knowing what servers your kid is in and who they're talking to. Have you asked him about his specific communities?

HHarvey L.Regular2d ago

Six hours sounds like a lot, but at least you know where they are now. My competitive coloring kid would probably spend that long perfecting a single Discord server setup if I let him. Maybe negotiate some boundaries around the time spent, but Discord itself isn't the enemy.

CChris T.Regular2d ago

Yeah, Discord is basically like a digital hangout spot for kids. I went through the same realization with my oldest - once I realized it's mostly voice chat and gaming with friends, I felt a lot better about it. The key is just keeping an eye on who they're talking to and what servers they're in.

VViktor S.New Dad2d ago

6 hours is a lot but it's also where all the teens are now. My 13 year old uses it to game with friends and it beats him being alone in his room. I did set some time limits though and made him show me what servers he's in.

VViktor S.New Dad2d ago

Fair warning, once you understand Discord you'll probably find out your kid has spent way more than yesterday on it. But the good thing is you can actually set parental controls. Have you looked into that yet?