New independent research conducted by Talbot Mills reveals 4 out of 5 New Zealanders (81%) believe parents should decide when their teens can start using social media.

In addition to this, 9 out of 10 Kiwi parents are confident in talking to young people about social media, with many taking proactive steps to keep their kids safe online.

At the same time, only 1 in 3 Kiwi parents have social media rules in place, with the same number using family pairing features. Given this, more families could be taking proactive steps, or using safety tools, to keep young people safe online.

See the full results for the Talking to Teens: NZ Digital Safety Survey launched at NZ Parliament with youth and online safety experts, industry representatives, and Members of Parliament.

This research comes as TikTok expands features to help keep New Zealand teens safe online, help build balanced digital habits, and discover new educational content including:

  • Time Away feature: A new Family Pairing feature that gives parents the ability to set customisable screen time limits as well as block their teens from being on TikTok.
  • Wind down feature: A new in-app meditation feature designed to help teens wind down if they use TikTok after 10pm.
  • STEM feed: A dedicated, fact-checked feed, now available in NZ, making it easier to find enriching, educational content on TikTok.

For more about how to keep your teen safe online, download our NZ Guardian's Guide.