Parents' Guide to

Symbaloo

By Erin Brereton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Centralize fave sites on personalized pages, watch content.

Website http://www.symbaloo.com
Symbaloo Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

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age 12+

Based on 1 parent review

Susan C.
Susan C. Adult
May 14, 2018
age 12+

Only what you put in

While this site has the potential to be good, it really depends on who is entering the links. It can either be useful or a waste of time if the links are not educationally sound.

This title has:

Too much consumerism
See all 1 parent review

What’s It About?

SYMBALOO is a website that allows users to compile links to their favorite websites, shown as a series of square image tiles, on personal or public pages called "webmixes." You can add up to 49 news, social-media, shopping-related, music, and other types of tiles by choosing from predetermined lists (a news page lists some stories from Yahoo, and kids can view popular pet and other viral videos in the Fun Stuff section) or entering your own online picks. You can customize the way your webmix looks by changing tile colors, names, and icons. Click on a square you've added for a news site, such as CNN.com, and you'll see some recent headlines; other items link directly to the websites they represent.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Essentially, Symbaloo is a more picturesque version of a URL bookmark list. As a way to compile information from the Web, its tile-based layout works just fine. But for kid users, it may not be the best place to aggregate content. On one hand, looking at various websites can provide kids with reading practice, and, if they share links with friends, they also could potentially get communication experience. But Symbaloo doesn't offer much instruction or guidance in those areas; the site's educational value likely will depend on the links kids select.

Kids can use Symbaloo to compile bookmarked sites in one, browser-accessible location, instead of having to transfer bookmarks to several devices. This convenience factor might be a big selling point for young users; however, parents may not be so thrilled about how easily kids can access inappropriate images. Search publicly posted webmixes with a keyword such as "sex," and you'll be able to find pages that link to sites with nude photos. Some pages also support drug legalization, smoking, and drinking.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about making pages you create online public. What potential issues could arise if strangers could see your page, even if it's only a list of links to other sites?

  • Kids can use Symbaloo to track news and events. Ask your child to identify a few news sources. How can you tell if a website is a legitimate source of information?

  • Users can follow each other on the site. Why would your child not want to follow a stranger on the site -- even if your child thinks that person can't (or won't) try to make contact?

Website Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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