Social media training wheels for tweens with Everloop Goobit

Any time I talk to a parent with tweens, the conversation eventually turns to the kinds of technology they are using, which then eventually turns into a Q&A session of me asking about cell phone usage, social media usage, cyber bullying (gasp!) and anything else that I fear for when my kids hit that age. 
Luckily, I'm usually reassured by parents of pre-teens who seem to have a good grasp on what their kids are doing. Which is how I often learn about kid-friendly resources like the Everloop Goobit app that allows them to test the social media waters before being thrown into the real thing.
As you might guess, Everloop Goobit comes from Everloop, a social network for kids under the age of 13. The app works like Facebook in many ways, with similar concepts of friending, a news timeline, "loops" (groups of people with similar interests) and "goobs" which lets kids send funny pranks, animated messages and more. 
Your tweens can add pictures, send private messages and similar to Facebook, "like" comments and posts. Kids can keep up on the timeline by seeing what other members are posting, but obviously, the more fun it is for kids if all their friends are using the app as well.


The app is clearly geared towards tweens, considering the obvious kid aesthetic and whoopee cushion humor. But while parents of young kids like me (and maybe you?) question whether kids as young as 8, 9, or 10 have regular access to mobile devices to even use the app--yes, they really do, through iPod Touch, hand-me-down iPhones and friends' mobile devices. 
Logging into the app is exclusively through your child's own log-in, so you have to be prepared to let them be a little more autonomous (gasp again!). However you can have a parental account which offers notifications through the parent dashboard, allowing you to approve your child before they are active on the site, and monitor all their activity online. 


Do keep in mind that the app is meant for direct use by your kids, so there's no parental option on the app itself. It's COPPA-compliant, which basically means that it takes the measures it needs to ensure the safety and privacy of your underage child. 
While I'm still holding my breath for the day my kids start asking about social networks, at least I know that we can take it in small steps together. Deep breaths. -Jeana
Everloop Goobit is available for free from iTunes. Also, don't miss our post on how to make your iPod touch safe for kids.