Parents' Guide to

Tumblr

By Carla Thornton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Rich microblogging site includes abundant iffy content.

Tumblr Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

age 15+

Based on 38 parent reviews

age 13+

safe

pretty safe, all of these other people keep saying that a bunch of porn is everywhere, but that isnt true if you set up your account right
age 13+

It’s a bit less toxic now.

Tumblr used to be, in my opinion, the most toxic social network (even if it was always a relatively niche one compared to the major players such as Facebook and Instagram). However, ever since the ban on explicit content, Tumblr’s community has become a bit less toxic. Much of Tumblr’s toxic user base appears to have migrated to Twitter, which, in turn, has become even more toxic than before. Tumblr is also much better than other social media websites when it comes to privacy (there’s no need to share your name or photos of yourself). I only ever used this site when between the ages of 14 and 16 (I briefly came back this year and got bored), so, suffice to say, Tumblr isn’t for me anymore. However, it’s better than it used to be.

Privacy Rating Warning

  • Unclear whether personal information is sold or rented to third parties.
  • Personal information is shared for third-party marketing.
  • Personalised advertising is displayed.
  • Data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • User's information is used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Data profiles are created and used for personalised advertisements.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (38 ):
Kids say (98 ):

Though it's a potentially creative outlet where teens can connect with others, it also has a lot of mature content and almost no privacy options. Think of it as a superblog, a streaming scrapbook of text, photos, videos, and audio clips, offering information a wide variety of topics. For example, there are how-to blogs about eating disorders and also support-oriented blogs about preventing them.

The lack of a commenting feature, the oldest blog tool in the world, is rather annoying. But the look is sleek and the features Tumblr has are often inspired. Users can curate their followings according to their tastes. Reading on the phone or tablet is easy and appealing, and posting quick blogs-on-the-go is super easy, with a graphical interface for entering text, images, quotes, links, videos, or simply a "hello" greeting.

The snazzy microblogging platform has something for everyone -- except kids. Lowbrow humor abounds alongside more thoughtful content. Users should be aware that the option to chat with other users opens up possibilities for teens to have contact with anonymous adults. It's also important to note that, in the app, there's no way to prevent people from finding your posts by searching for your email address, so the site actually provides more flexibility within the settings. Overall, Tumblr promises good, naughty fun for the under-30 crowd and can be a solid venue for self-expression, but parents should think twice about letting minors join.

Website Details

  • Subjects: Language & Reading : writing
  • Skills: Creativity : making new creations, producing new content, Communication : conveying messages effectively, multiple forms of expression, Tech Skills : digital creation, social media
  • Genre: Blogging
  • Pricing structure: Free
  • Last updated: November 15, 2019

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