Responding to parent pressure, Discord is rolling out new parental controls.
Discord is a voice and video social platform. With over roughly 150 million monthly users, many of whom are teens, Discord is one of the most popular messaging platforms around. A few years ago, Discord started blocking porn sites and watching for child predators, but parents and digital communications experts argued that the company still wasn't doing enough to protect teens.
Other platforms popular among teens, including TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram, have offered more robust parental controls for some time. Yet Discord balked at providing fine-tuned controls. Now, the platform is rolling out features that will let parents see the communities their kids join, who they befriend, and when they send messages. If a teen stays up past bedtime to message friends on Discord, it won't be hard for parents to find out.
Discord won't roll out time limits, however — feature other platforms do offer. Discord will also maintain confidentiality for sent messages, citing the desire to "give teens agency over their experience." Given the innate desire for privacy, the platform may also be worried about losing their audience. Many other chat programs that offer parental oversight also keep messages private.
Despite the increased controls, the lack of time limits may still rankle some parents. As of 2021, teens aged 13 to 18 spent nearly 9 hours each day staring at screens. This is up from about 6.6 hours in 2015.
Some parents and childhood development experts worry that kids are spending too much time behind screens. Studies have found that excessive screen time could lower math performance and literacy. Some research also links excessive screen time with obesity and other physical health problems. Of course, even if Discord sets time limits, teens might simply spend their time onscreen elsewhere.
