PopJam

First, my child was getting obsessively addicted to this app. She was on it all day and her phone said her average notifications were 152 a day. This is a toxic thing to start a child out on so young. Also, if you're trying to shield your child from bullying, constant inappropriate talk about "your mom being hot," and other similar stuff, a lot of LGBTQ+ and relationship talk...not just normal, everyday talk but inappropriate talk for young children, furry talk, and God knows what else, don't let your child have this app. PopJam advertises itself as a kid-friendly app where everything is closely monitored, and inappropriate words aren't allowed. They also say numbers are blocked, to prevent children from sharing their phone numbers and addresses. Wrong! All the kids do is space out the word or type out the number so it gets past the filter. For example: I want to k i l l her or three zero four. I got on my daughter's app and was shocked to see all the stuff the kids are talking about and saying. And also, if you're thinking about closely monitoring their account, they'll will just make tons of random accounts where you can't keep up with them because PopJam doesn't even require email addresses to make these accounts. So, they can make unlimited accounts to keep you from even knowing what accounts they're on. Also, they make *houses* where tons of people have the username and password and log onto the same account. So, you won't even know which person is your child typing in the comments on the account, because 50 people are on the same account. They're also cursing on there but with it spaced out or written so it gets past the blocks. So, in my opinion, this app should not be for children under 14 years old. If you're less worried, MAYBE 13.

What this app does well is promote creativity - that aspect is great. The moderation is also very good, but some nasties still slip through - such as the Blue Whale challenge. My biggest issue with this app is that it glorifies the worst aspects of social media - "like envy" and "follower anxiety". Users level up based on the number of followers they have, which encourages users to friend other users who they do not know. I've noticed my tween daughter has become obsessed with likes and followers. I've had conversations with her about this, and while those conversations are instructive, I'm not happy about having to do so in the context of an app which is targeted to the tween market. On that basis, I don't recommend it.