TikTok, together with the Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia (Content Forum) and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), introduced the #ThinkTwice Parental Advisory in conjunction with World Children’s Day. The initiative is designed to provide parents and guardians with practical guidance to support safer and more informed digital experiences for teens.
TikTok #ThinkTwice Parental Advisory
The advisory is part of TikTok’s ongoing #ThinkTwice digital literacy program and outlines a collaborative approach to online safety involving parents, platforms, industry stakeholders, and policymakers. It also emphasizes the importance of maintaining children’s internationally recognized rights to access information, express their views, protect their privacy, and exercise freedom of thought while navigating digital spaces.
The #ThinkTwice Parental Advisory outlines three areas for building healthy digital habits: the first encourages parents to supervise their teens’ online activities by understanding their digital routines and using tools such as Family Pairing on TikTok, which enables linking of parent and teen accounts for greater visibility. Through this feature, parents receive notifications when teens upload public content and can monitor usage patterns through the Screen Time Dashboard. Safety measures such as private accounts for users under 16 and account restrictions for those under 13 form part of TikTok’s safety framework, and parents are encouraged to review account information and settings regularly.
The advisory also guides parents to customize settings based on their teens’ digital journey. Through Family Pairing, parents may set daily screen time limits, schedule breaks, mute notifications, and determine whether accounts are private or public. They may also manage messaging permissions and view content preferences selected through TikTok’s Manage Topics feature, which allows teens to adjust how often certain categories appear in their For You Feed.
The final focus of the advisory highlights the importance of open conversations about digital literacy – parents are encouraged to discuss online experiences with their teens, understand risks, and guide them in using tools such as blocking and reporting. Insights gathered from Family Pairing can support discussions on sensitive topics and help teens build safer online practices; TikTok’s #ThinkTwice knowledge hub also provides additional resources covering topics such as scam awareness and mental health information to strengthen digital understanding among families.
Pokdepinion: Always use social media in moderation.
