Parenting in the age of social media is NO JOKE. As I’ve stated numerous times in articles, we are facing a world that requires parental vigilance on a level that no other parents have faced. Our own parents could not have prepared us for this; dare I say it? Compared to us, they had it easy.
Dangerous apps that market to kids are EVERYWHERE, and the latest culprit, the Recolor app, is particularly treacherous.
Why? Because it looks like good, clean fun. Sadly, it’s anything BUT.
Photos: iTunes, Recolor.com
I had no idea what the Recolor app is (and I consider myself pretty vigilant!) until a concerned parent emailed me about it (THANK YOU, Angela from Connecticut!) urging me to check it out for myself. So, I did, and I found out that Angela was NOT wrong to be sounding the alarm. In fact, she was doing you and me a big favor. Let me explain.
The Recolor app is a popular coloring app that has been around for years and has a 4-star-plus rating (out of 5) on both iTunes and the Google app store. When it started, it was marketed as a mobile adult coloring book, but NOW it is rated for ages 9+. So parents may see the ratings on the apps stores and think, “Wow, nice coloring book app for kids! Has really high ratings!” and download it for their kids without hesitation.
THIS, parents, is precisely why you need to read APP REVIEWS! There are now MANY hero parents as well as non-parent users leaving vigilant reviews since Recolor has made changes that allow comments and messaging. Basically, the Recolor app has gone from a coloring app to a platform for anonymous communication with strangers and of course, a nice side of SOCIAL MEDIA BULLYING. Also, there are tons and tons of user-uploaded sexually suggestive photos that users can see. So your 9-year-old could see some pretty racy stuff on Recolor. Or, better yet, be SENT some racy stuff from a complete stranger.
Need more proof? Allow me to copy and paste some reviews for your reading pleasure:
