MeetMe Review: What Is MeetMe App?

Many social media platforms are focused on encouraging people to interact with others who are already in their social circles. These apps connect teens one by one as they choose to add each connection.

What is MeetMe? It's an app designed to help teenagers connect with new people. This app is used both as a way to make new friends and as a dating app for teenagers. Which means it's gaining swiftly in popularity. Unfortunately, this app also contains several hidden dangers. Read our MeetMe review before deciding, is MeeMe safe for my teen?

Matched by Location

While meeting online pen pals can be fun, meeting them in real life can be a risky practice. Teens have a limited capability for risk assessment due to their underdeveloped frontal lobes. They think because they've been chatting with someone and seen their picture, they know that person. The problem is that online sexual predators know where kids are hanging out online, which apps allow them the most access to the most information, and how to gain a teens trust.

Unfortunately, because MeetMe connects teens with one another based on their geographic location, it opens the doors for online sexual predators to meet up with your teen. Once they connect with an individual through the app, that individual already knows that they're in the same general geographic area--and they are eager to get more information out of your teen.

Anonymous Questions

MeetMe includes a feature called "AskMe" that allows users to ask one another anonymous questions. Additionally, the anonymous questions feature is not monitored. Parents should think about whether or not access to this type of content is harmful for their child. Especially, if your teen has already been bullied before online. Rude, inappropriate, or downright nasty questions are passed along just as easily as more appropriate content.

It's also important to note that these anonymous questions can quickly stray toward material that many parents would rather their children weren't involved with, such as drug or sexual content. If your teen is using the app, the only way to monitor them is by actively checking their messages yourself. Plus, sit down and have a conversation about how anonymous commenting can lead to cyberbullying and access to other risky content.

The Privacy Settings

MeetMe connects strangers to one another--and as such, its automatic private settings are open. That makes posts and photos visible to all users. This visibility makes it very easy to track down an individual at a specific location. Remind your teen, if they're using the app, that they should be careful about the types of photos they post, and to avoid adding location tags or taking photos in places that are easy to identify when they're out.

Credits

Like many apps, MeetMe runs on a virtual currency. Teens have two options for acquiring this currency: either purchasing it directly or completing actions in the app. If teens do things like chatting with other users or logging in more regularly they get more currency. Unfortunately, this can quickly raise addictive behaviors and lead to teens who are more engrossed in their phones. Parents who allow their teens to use this app should monitor smartphone time usage and ensure that their teens are able to keep up with schoolwork, after school activities, and real-world socialization before using the app.

MeetMe Review: Is It Safe for Teens?

So what is the MeetMe review? Like most social media apps, MeetMe is an interesting concept that has some very real dangers to the teens who use it. Before allowing your teen to use this app, it's important to set some guidelines in place. These guidelines should include how you, as the parent, will monitor their app usage, how often your teen is allowed to be on their phone, and what type of information can be shared through the app. You can even update your technology contract with these guidelines. By teaching your teen appropriate digital safety measures, you can keep them safer online as they navigate this app and many others like it.

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