I heard about the most terrifying thing this week. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to me, given my digital employment, but it did.
There’s this thing called a Kik bomb, also known as a Snapchat bomb, and I reckon it’s almost as dangerous as the real thing.
Kik and Snapchat are communication apps that kids love because there are no call fees. But they have terrifying capabilities, like the bomb thingie.
The “bomb” lets you send a photo to someone that “explodes” and disappears 10 seconds after they view it. I will leave it to your imagination what sort of things that might lead people to send.
Especially teenaged girls. Though it appears people in their 40s who should be wiser and more sensible are doing it too.
Such a bad idea. I mean, I can understand the appeal. It’s kinda like bungee jumping. Thrilling and dangerous.
But I’m putting my Operation Noah hat on here: Just say no.
housegoeshome 
A nightmare for high school teachers and parents I’m sure. I’ll have to speak to my daughter about it.
At least I’m not alone in my ignorance. When I Googled it very little came up, so I think it’s a grey area for most of us
Probs arrive when someone takes a screen shot of something that’s supposed to vanish in seconds. Don’t worry, Alana, in a year or so when your girls are old enough for it to affect them, it will be all over and there’ll be something else.
Exactly, nothing is gone forever on social media
Thanks for posting this, I had no idea!
I couldn’t believe it when an adult told me they were doing it. The leap to how kids could get themselves into trouble was pretty quick
I wonder what will be out there when my six-year-old is old enough to be affected by these platforms. I love social media but it definitely has its dangers. We just have to make sure as parents we’re on the front foot.
I have an almost 11-year-old so it’s getting close to real for me
Yes, it is. A friend has a 12-year-old who took herself off Instagram (which has an over-13 policy) because she was sick of the intensity of the comments (not necessarily nasty comments, but just too much she felt she had to engage with). But now she’s looking for a new platform to keep in touch with old friends from primary school – these kid don’t use email I’m told – it’s for “old” people. But that’s nothing compared to Kik and Snapchat worries. It seems as parents, we swap one set of anxieties for another as our kids grow up!