The advent of technology has brought a lot of improvements into our daily lives and one of these improvements is the use of live streaming for a wide range of purposes. However, despite the benefits of this awesome technology, there are certain things that parents must be aware of so that their kids can use it without exposing them to any harm.

Because of this, let's explain what live streaming means and describe the various things that parents must know about it.

What does live streaming mean?

Live streaming is a special technology that is designed to allow users to watch and share different types of videos in real-time. In other words, with the help of this technology, you can watch or show others an event as it is happening irrespective of where the audiences are located. Furthermore, live streaming can be compared to live TV broadcasts. Nevertheless, it is often created to be viewed on computers, smartphones, and other mobile devices.

Interestingly, there is no limit to what can be watched, created or shared via live streaming apps. TV shows, movies, sporting events, musical concerts, classes, and so on can be shown or watched via live streaming. As a result of this, this technology is good for everybody, including the little ones.
Besides, tons of apps and platforms have been specifically made for this purpose. Planetnews Live, Twitch, and are just a few of the live streaming platforms that are popularly used by many people around the world.

Does live streaming offer any benefits to children?

As a parent, you may want to know whether your little one can gain anything from live streaming. For a starter, there are numerous educative and entertaining events that are hosted in real-time. Hence, children can gain immensely from such events. Besides, live streaming can provide kids with an opportunity to showcase their talents, create a unique identity for themselves, develop their communication and presentation skills, and create a campaign for any event.

Moreover, this unparalleled technology can give kids a platform to build their careers. As a matter of fact, kids can start earning money through live streaming. Therefore, live streaming comes with a plethora of benefits.

Safety concerns that parents should be aware of

As stated earlier, live streaming is a technology that everyone can use. But this puts children at risk when using live streaming as it may expose them to certain things that are not recommended for their age. Foremost, since the events are taking place, they are usually not censored and, as such, anything can happen when you least expect. Hence, children may be suddenly exposed to bad languages or swear words, physical arms, violence or sex scenes.

Similarly, the majority of individuals who host live streaming are often concerned about getting as many viewers as possible. Resultantly, they usually do anything (whether good or bad) that will attract more viewers. So, it is not surprising that many live streaming hosts do outrageous things to get and retain viewers.

For instance, some live streamers have engaged pornographic activities as their viewers watched while others have tried nerve-racking and risky stunts that either injured or killed them. By viewing this kind of uncensored event in real-time, children are exposed to porns and may be encouraged to engage in violent activities due to their naiveness or desire to gain fame on the internet. Also, engaging in some of these activities when they are still young may come back to haunt them in the future.
Therefore, parents must be fully aware of the dangers that live streaming poses to the safety, development, and safety of their kids.

What can parents do to reduce or eliminate the negative impacts of live streaming on their kids?

When you consider the various negative effects of live streaming, you will agree that parents are saddled with the responsibility of managing what their kids can watch or share. Given this, here are some of the things that parents can do to help their children:

● Help your kids to open a live streaming account
If you don't have access to what your children are watching, it will be difficult for you to monitor them. So, the first step to take is opening a live streaming account for your kids. With this, you can keep track of what your kid has been watching or sharing.
● Determine when and where your kid can be engaged in live streaming
In general, a bedroom is often assumed to be the best and most comfortable place for kids to live stream. Unfortunately, a bedroom can be too private, personal and intimate in many cases. Hence, it can make a kid susceptible to certain vices. While kids may trust people, some individuals are predators that are looking for young individuals to can prey on. Also, kids may want to do live streaming late in the night. Of course, this also puts them at risk of meeting some predators.
To combat these challenges, parents must limit when and where their kids can use live streaming services. Make sure your kids don't live stream in any room within your apartment. Also, they should avoid streets, schools or other places with identifiable information that can be used to trace them. Also, they should only do live streaming in broad daylight.
● Use settings to promote the safety of your kids
Live streaming services usually have settings that parents can use to ensure the safety of their kids. So, before your child starts streaming online, you should enable safety settings. Besides, you must disable location services that can let others know where your kid is.
● Establish rules and punishments
You need to establish certain rules for your kids. These rules should involve when and where to use, who they can invite for live streaming, the live events they can join, and so on. Encourage them to adhere to these rules. However, you should also determine the punishments that will be meted out if they failed to adhere to the rules.
Overall, it is the duty of parents to help their kids maximize the benefits of live streaming without exposing them to any dangers.