• Is it age appropriate?

  About our ratings

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  Not age appropriate for kids under 10, age appropriate for kids over 13; suggested age 13.

• Is it any good?

  4.0

• Common Sense says

  Creative, supportive forum for teens to share their work.

Why We Rated This for Ages 13 and Up

The good stuff

• Educational value:

  Through example, this site teaches teens to recognize good examples of creative writing and artistic expression. The mission of The Young Authors Foundation (the group behind the site, magazine, and series of books) is to preserve young peoples’ sense of self-worth by listening to contributors and providing a forum in which teens can express themselves. Teens who visit the site benefit by recognizing that they are not alone in their situations, feelings and experiences.
• User-created content:

  Overall, the creative submissions that are accepted and posted to Teen Ink are very well done and have positive messages that users can glean as they peruse the site and its content. Those users who post comments about individual submissions are generally very complimentary and supportive. Even when they don’t necessary relate or agree with the subject matter, their comments are presented in a positive way.
• Messages:

  There are numerous positive messages to be found and lessons to be learned. Those who submit their work are living through experiences that are common to all teens, so there’s solidarity and camaraderie. Much of the work has strong, positive messages of responsibility, overcoming adversity, and successfully navigating the trials of the teen years. The site can help users -- whether they submit work or not -- build confidence in themselves and their creativity. Comments and critiques are mostly favorable, supportive and encouraging, making it a nurturing environment.

What to watch out for

• Violence:

  With the sheer quantity of original written content in the fiction and non-fiction sections, there are certain to be some instances of violence (concocted or real), but most are mild or alluded to. A drunken frat boy breaks down a door. A parent yells menacingly at a teenager. A sibling dies in an accident.
• Sex:

  All submissions are reviewed and screened by the editors, and the content is highly scrutinized for its appropriateness. As one would expect from teen writing and art, there are pieces devoted to relationships, flirting and sensuality, but the heavily monitored submissions are mild and appropriate for its audience.
• Language:

  Some of the written submissions contain occasional mild swearing, but because the work is screened for its appropriateness, all curse words are not spelled in their entirety. S- -t, damn, hell are common but used within the context of the fiction, non-fiction, or poetry.
• Consumerism:

  The site has several Google ads on each page, each promoting something “teen” related such as a “12-step program for troubled teens” or “parenting tips for teens.” There are also several small display ads touting other Teen Ink products including the print magazine and various online writing courses. Some brand names and products may appear within the individual submissions.
• Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

  There are occasional references to drinking, smoking, and drugs in the written submissions, but they are most often framed in a negative light (i.e. drunk college boy makes a fool of himself and quiet sober boy gets the girl).

How safe is it?

• Personal privacy:

  Kids use pen names or their first name and last initial, along with the name of their city and state. It's possible that they could disclose their identity, although the site's extensive privacy policy discourages it.
• Online interaction:

  All submissions are subject to critique from other Teen Ink visitors, so anyone submitting is able to see comments -- good or bad -- from other registered users. The vast majority of comments are positive, constructive, and supportive. Even the reviewers who have negative comments about the submissions manage to frame their criticism in kind, gentle ways.
• Parental controls:

  Not an issue.

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