We are aware that not all technology is created equal when it comes to children and screens. Children engaging with carefully selected educational information for 20 minutes at a time with a parent is very different from them plugging in and tuning out on a tablet with no parental controls for hours on end.
There’s also a lot of in-between.
Parents are being urged to take action by educators and professionals worldwide to save childhoods from being lost to TikTok time wasters and YouTube rabbit holes.
Even children acknowledge that they feel better without electronics and express a desire for adults to take more proactive measures to support their learning and development without an unhealthy dependence on technology.
“As a teenager, I find it difficult to limit the amount of time I spend on my phone. After my previous column on the benefits and drawbacks of screens, particularly in the summer, a reader wrote, “I find myself scrolling on social media when I could be outside in the weather I wished would come all school year long.”
Additionally, I spoke with parents who shared that they constantly battle to establish limits around technology, including ground rules and non-negotiables. It still needs constant, steady, and unrelenting management.
“The tech is ridiculous and needs to be reined in with regulation,” penned yet another parent.
A family friend, 17, who asked that I not use her name, expressed her regret that “phones were never introduced to my generation because of how much it affected my childhood and mental health” as a high school student.
What does all of this mean for us now? What should a loving parent do?
Consider “training wheel” devices
You don’t have to give your child a brand-new iPhone or the newest Samsung Galaxy phone and hope for the best just because they desire a smartphone. Benefit from devices designed to develop with children.
Here, a number of phones—including models from Bark, Gabb, and Troomi—fit the bill. Right now, the Pinwheel product is the one I suggest to my friends and family the most. There are five Android phone models available with parental controls preinstalled.
Access to social media and a web browser are absent. On the other hand, you have access to your child’s call log and text messages. You can select 1,200 apps to allow or restrict from the parent portal. It’s also simple to set time limits for each app and to stop using them all at sleep.
One of the finest benefits is that, depending on the model you select, you can use it with your current service provider (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc.). This is ideal if you want to add it to an existing family plan. The phones are paid for in advance, with prices starting at $99. The monthly subscription fee is $15.
Another smart choice is to get a simple flip phone, as some well-known parents, including Jerry Seinfeld, have recently mentioned.
What’s a safe tablet for kids?
You can utilize parental controls on your previous iPad for tablets. Amazon offers affordable, user-friendly, and secure tablets for children, and AT&T has introduced the amiGO Jr. Tab, a new kids-focused gadget that I have been examining since its launch earlier this year.
According to a recent AT&T survey, 62% of parents said they felt bad about giving their child a gadget, with the main concerns being behavioral problems and exposing their child to unwanted or unsuitable websites.
The amiGo Jr. Tab is meant to be beneficial. It has games and apps pre-installed to encourage kids to be imaginative and discover new things rather than merely nodding off. Additionally, it provides robust filters to block any mature or adult content. With an integrated app that lets parents set playtime limits, it also makes screen time management a little bit easier.
The amiGo Jr. Tab costs $166 up front, or you can pay $166 over time in installments. You’ll need to pay $55 a month for a new account or add it to your current AT&T plan for $20 a month.
If you’ve already decided to go that path, a tablet designed just for children is fantastic, but as expert cautions become more prevalent, a plethora of other solutions for parents are steadily emerging.
Use tech to help manage devices
I’ve only recently begun experimenting with Aura’s $10/month child safety and parental control features. It goes along with a host of other parental control apps, including Bark, Qustodio, Net Nanny, Canopy, and Family Time. By assisting parents in keeping an eye on their children’s activities and social media interactions, the intention is to make children’s online environments safer.
I’m not sure how Aura compares to the others just yet, but the most important thing about any parental control system is that it should allow parents to utilize it to support their children’s development rather than merely “bust” them.
As per the findings of a recent UK study published in the Journal of Children and Media, it can be stated that “parental controls” are not a foolproof solution to ensure internet safety. According to the study’s findings, parents should “integrate them as part of positive parenting centered on open communication and respectful negotiation within the family” and let their children know when they’re using watchdog-like apps. According to the research, improper configuration can result in “higher levels of family conflict and distrust, or had negative impacts on children’s privacy and autonomy.”
What’s ahead: AI tools to help create better screen time for kids
The internet world is a mirror of humanity, reflecting both its brightest and darkest sides. Even for adults, it can be too much to handle, and school-age kids gain nothing at all from being exposed to the darker aspects of the internet.
While AI reflects society as well, it’s a useful tool that we can put to good use. It can recognize almost anything, including whether a webpage or search word is safe, serving as a kind of safety net for children when they browse the internet.
Tim Estes, CEO of Angel AI, sends an email saying, “We’re not in the business of taking the internet away from kids; as any parent can attest, kids want what they can’t have.” “Kids who don’t explore the internet early in life run the risk of missing out on important learning opportunities and the chance to develop healthy online habits.” The internet may also be a very beneficial resource for youngsters.
With the app Angel AI, which should launch this autumn, children may browse the internet with the virtual guidance of an artificial intelligence designed to keep them safe. According to Estes, no search on the app is connected to any personally identifying information, and all activity and queries are encrypted and protected.
I tested the software early on my iPhone, and I found that it functions in a straightforward and natural way. I launch the app, give it permission to use my microphone, and then select “Ask.” A small, floaty AI companion appears and asks what I want to investigate. I ask, “Tell me about the largest dinosaurs ever found.”
After a brief moment of “thinking,” the AI displays an image and some text and reads it aloud in a tone that an adult might use to address a youngster. It reads, “Argentinosaurus is the largest dinosaur ever found,” before automatically swiping a fresh image onto the screen and repeating the previous sentence. “Argentinosaurus measured four school buses in length! Isn’t that fascinating?
You can ask new questions or go further into any topic after every search. Youngsters enthralled with videos have the option to search exclusively for videos or even simply pictures.
“What can I do to improve at Fortnight?” Not only am I acting like a child when I ask, but I also need some advice. The AI responds, “Here are a few videos I found,” and offers up three that, upon closer inspection, are completely kid-safe and educational. (We’ll see if they improve my score, but as of right now, the app appears to be functioning properly.)
Upon attempting to look for something less, well, kid-friendly, the AI’s safety features activate and direct me to a more secure path of thought. For instance, a youngster who asks about “a bunch of guns” receives a response advising them to speak with an adult. There are also some more thrilling but safer inquiry choices, such as “How do astronauts breathe in space?” and “What planets might support human life?”
According to Estes, “Angel recognizes sensitive subjects and age-inappropriate content that are best handled by an adult.” “You cannot use Angel to access the public, dangerous Internet. Regardless of where it came from, Angel must ensure that the stuff she views or produces passes through topical and content filtering to ensure appropriateness.
In the interim, my parent account has a fresh alert for me: It seems that my made-up child requested to see some weaponry from the AI. This is a fantastic feature that accomplishes its goal of starting a conversation between my “child” and me about a very significant subject.
