Parents' Guide to

Are.na

By Neilie Johnson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Minimalist content-curation meant for older kids, adults.

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad Free Social Networking
Are.na Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this app.

  • Are.na App - Screenshot #1
  • Are.na App - Screenshot #2
  • Are.na App - Screenshot #3

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What’s It About?

ARE.NA is a social media, content-creation, and content-curating app in the vein of Pinterest; users can curate and share collections (called channels) of imagery, text, and links to online information. Though there's no "like" functionality, users can comment on one another's channels and connect their channels to those created by other users. Users can designate their channels as Open (anyone can view or contribute), Closed (anyone can view but not post), and Private (only invited users can view and post). Also, users can create profiles with photos and descriptions that reveal private information; they can also follow one another, start private channels with individual users, create groups, and add and remove users from groups at will.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

While this app does reach its goal for users to "focus their thinking without likes, distractions, or ads," it also lacks some features that would make it more accessible and fun. While removing "likes" does take away the potentially problematic feedback loops in other social media, there's so little interaction within comments that it feels much less social. Are.na's minimal presentation doesn't do much for the fun factor either. Its lack of color and graphics make it less accessible to the mainstream public and more like a tool for graduate students wanting to catalog scholarly research. Its search and explore functions work well enough, but again, the frequent lack of identifying graphics make channels appear very stark and sterile. Still, for older kids, it's a good way to collect and share images, text, and links, not to mention its possible use as a study tool. Ultimately it's unsuitable for young kids, but serious-minded older kids could enjoy exploring and adding to its impressive collection of thought-provoking information.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about social media apps like Are.na. What are your rules around adding people as friends and posting?

  • Think about what you post online. By posting, are you contributing something positive or negative to the world?

  • Discuss sharing information. Can you think of situations where sharing information is useful?

App Details

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