Musical.ly Parent App Guide
Note: The Musical.ly app was shut down in August 2018. All 100M Musical.ly users are being transferred to the Tik Tok App. However, we leave this app guide here to teach parents/educators what it does.
Parent & educator training video
What was the Musical.ly app?
Musical.ly is a popular app with teens and tweens that lets users make lip-syncing videos to their favorite songs.
Musical.ly is a popular app with teens and tweens that lets users make lip-syncing videos to their favorite songs.
- This app allowed students to select from millions of songs or use music from their own device
- Users created lip sync videos to your favorite songs
- The app allowed users to add video effects: filter, fast motion, slow motion, time lapse, reverse, and other "time machine" effects
- Users of Musical.ly were called “musers”
- Users got likes from other “musers” and could see how their music videos ranked on the leaderboard
- The "Duet" feature created a video that featured your own video integrated with another “muser's” submission
What does Musical.ly marketing say?
- Use hot music to make fascinating videos
- Discover trends from around the world
- Easily create fun and amazing videos to impress your friends
- Anyone can be an awesome singer
What is popular on Musical.ly?
What do parents say?
Warning....this app contains Adult Video Content!
"Warning....this app contains Adult Video Content! After watching a lot of other videos that were on there by others, the majority of them were inappropriate and had suggestive language and dancing."
"Caution! Very fun but not for Tweens! The BIG problem is that a lot of the available music and sound bites contain all the very adult language and innuendos you hear on the radio. So when left to her own devices, I found my 10 year old lip syncing to suggestive lyrics she didn't even understand. And dancing and gesturing the way a rock diva does- not the way I want her spending her free time."
Why should parents care?
There is mature language and sexual content on the app.
Even though this app is relatively new and hasn’t received a lot of media attention, it is very popular with teens. There is mature language and sexual content in the songs that are popular on the app, and there is no way to filter the content. Videos can contain mature situations.
What can parents do?
- Remind your teen to keep each video Light, Bright and Polite
- And, inappropriate online activity (even under a fake username) can harm their reputation
- Start an open and honest dialog with your teen
- Challenge your teens to find a way to highlight their knowledge and teach others
- Encourage your students to participate in positive challenges (eg: #TeacherGoals)
Watch our original Musical.ly Parent Guide from 2016 as a video:
Logged in and still not seeing content? This course may not be part of
your membership plan. Click here to join.
Become a member or log in to learn more on this topic
Join Our Next Live Parent Q&A Events
Become a Very Informed Parent (VIP) to get our social media suggestions in your email every Tuesday & Thursday.
Hello, I'm Josh, the founder of SmartSocial.com. Protect your family by taking my 1 minute quiz
This quiz will help you understand how safe your family is
Schools & Districts: Partner with us to protect your community online
Our remote presentations (and website) teach over a million students each year how to shine online. We teach students how their accounts can be used to create a portfolio of positive accomplishments that impress colleges and employers.
Join Our Smart Social Podcast
each week on iTunes
With over 240 episodes, Josh Ochs interviews psychologists, therapists, counselors, teachers, and parents while showing you how to navigate social media to someday shine online.
Listen on: