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What is Pandora?
Pandora is a website where users can listen to free music. One sets up a Pandora "station" by entering a favorite song or musical group. Pandora then selects music similar to that song or artist, which the user listens to free of charge. Pandora is completely legal. How, one may ask? Advertising. Also, there are some restrictions placed on users such as you cannot request a specific song to listen to, and only a specific number of songs in a row can be skipped over while listening.
As each song plays, a user has the option to buy the song from Amazon.com, Amazon MP3 or the iTunes store.
Concerns for Parents
- Pandora allows users to type in a song or artist and hear similar music. The tremendous diversity offered by Pandora includes music that may not be appropriate for kids and teens. However, precautions can be taken to prevent explicit content from being available to you or your children.
How Can I Keep My Child Safe?
- A useful feature Pandora has for protecting yourself or your children from unwanted media is the ability to disable explicit content. Under the "account" link there is an option labeled, "Allow explicit content?" Click "edit" and you will be given an option to select "YES. Allow explicit content." or "NO. Do not allow explicit content." You will then have the option to protect this setting with a PIN number to prevent unwanted changes. This allows for a simple parental control to help protect your child from listening to explicit content. Beware your children don't circumvent this solution and create their own account.
- Talk to your child about the music he or she is listening to. Be familiar with your children's favorite artists. Know more than names--listen to the songs they are listening to and be sure they are age-appropriate. Make sure your family has an understanding that no inappropriate music will be accessed, even though the opportunity may be there.
- You may find that Pandora opens a door to media you don't want in your home. If this is the case, you may choose to block Pandora.com on your computer through Filtering, Monitoring, & Parental Controls.
Where Can I Learn More?
Here is the link to Pandora. Check it out and explore the music your child has access to.
