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Introduction
Discord is a free voice and text chat application designed for gamers. It was originally developed as a customizable chat service. Discord was created with the intention of bringing together the different gaming communities around the world, so gamers could build friendships and see their shared interest.
The main difference between Discord and other similar services is that it is a media-streaming service that offers both text chats and VoIP calls.
What is Discord?
Discord is a place where people can feel comfortable and belong. We help our users build genuine relationships with the people they care about. From servers dedicated to gaming, anime, politics, and coding – we have become an integral part of communities across the world. The Discord team shares certain values that connect us at every level – creativity, reliability, authenticity, and personality.
What Makes Discord Unique Among Other Social Media Platforms?
One of Discord’s most distinguishing features is the absence of advertisements. Discord also claims that it does not sell or share user data with other parties for the purpose of advertising. There is no news stream, unlike many other social networking networks.
As a result, Discord becomes a more personalized platform. Users, in reality, pick the community(ies) they want to start or join, and they’re in charge of creating and enforcing their own community norms.
The Vocabulary of Discord
For the uninformed, discord may be confusing. There’s a dictionary and many beginner’s instructions, including an official Discord guide, an unofficial PCWorld tutorial, and a guidebook written by M.I.T. students on how to use Discord to communicate with peers on projects.
You can hear the following terms
Servers: Servers are locations where people may congregate and interact. Communities and friend groups can create servers that are either public (meaning anybody can join) or invite-only. A new server can be created by any user for free.
Channels: Users can connect with one another using text and audio channels on servers. These are generally more focused and dedicated to a single topic.
DMs: “Direct message” is abbreviated as “DMs.” These are private communications delivered directly from one person to another (through text, voice, or video).
GDMs: GDMs is an abbreviation for “group direct message.” While direct messages are only between two individuals, users can invite up to ten persons to a private chat. Users must be asked to join a chat before they may participate.
Is it possible for Children to Use Discord?
Discord has a strict policy against users who are under the age of 13. Most people will abide by this rule and agree to the Terms of Service. However, we do understand that there are unfortunately some users who have not been truthful about their birth dates and use Discord anyway.
This is an issue in itself because it implies that underage children may end up having access to materials they should not yet be exposed to. Moving forward, Discord has said they will monitor all accounts more closely as they begin implementing new ways of verifying people’s ages – such as requiring them to submit official identity documents confirming their age upon registering so as to ensure there are no false claims during the process.
On Discord, can strangers interact with children?
When joining a server, your children will have the ability to accept any friend requests sent to them by others in that specific game server. While you can disable this feature if they are under 13, it’s recommended as a parent to allow this feature if you would rather be alerted when new friends of your child wish to play alongside them in the game. This way you can talk to them about safety and make sure they play safely with anyone else online.
Users should only accept friend invites from individuals they know, according to Discord. There’s also the option to screen communications for explicit material and remove any that are found. If your children come across someone behaving badly, Discord allows you to ban that individual, preventing them from sending direct messages to your children and hiding their messages on any shared servers. Finally, you may build an invite-only server and only invite people you or your children personally know.
Is Discord a safe place to hang out?
Most social media platforms have a “chat” feature, and some networks have chat features that will include voice-over-IP (VOIP) features. Discord works in silos so parents and kids can separately create the kind of community they want to share with the best people for their needs. If a parent wants to talk over the Internet or video chat in private by themselves, they can make plans to meet up with friends without randomly inviting strangers into their discussions. Discord communities aren’t connected with other social media accounts like Facebook or Instagram unless you link them manually.
What Else Can Parents Do to Keep an Eye on Their Children on Discord?
Parents should have continuous, open communication with each of their children regarding their usage of social media and online gaming platforms, just as they should with any other platform. Showing interest in your children by checking in on a regular basis and asking them to discuss what they’re doing on Discord in a non-judgmental manner is a fantastic approach to learn how the platform works and how they’re using it, as well as identify any possible concerns.