Technology, Letting Kids Be Kids in a Digital Age
When you think of kids’ tablets, you picture those bulky tablets. The ones with thick, colourful cases, the kind of cases that look indestructible. When an adult thinks of using one of the tablets, you picture slow load speeds, limited apps, kids’ steaming services. You picture being annoyed by the limited functionality and design.
There’s a reason that adults don’t use technology designed for kids, so why do so many children have access to technology that is designed for adults?
CHILDWISE in the UK reported that last year in 2020, 47% of children aged between seven and ten now own a mobile phone. The study also found that four out of five children aged between seven and sixteen have access to the internet in their bedroom, with 57% saying they keep their mobile phone besides their bed — and 47% saying they’d feel “uncomfortable” without a phone signal.
And like the world of adult technology, Apple dominants. Any internet search about buying your child’s first mobile phone will return a top ten list. Most of these include the currently popular iPhones with kids — the iPhone SE and the iPhone 8. Now, we’re not saying Apple is bad.
We love Apple. Who doesn’t?
What we’re saying is that technology has advanced so much that it seems strange to give adult-designed hardware to children. We’re living in an age where technology is unavoidable, and where tech adoption is reaching a younger and younger audience every single year.
Where CHILDWISE reports 47% of children seven to ten now having a phone of their own, this is up from 37% in 2019. Whether you have a child at home or not, we’ve all heard the stories about five year olds who can use their parents iPhones better than their parents.
We’re at a stage where technology is so ingrained into our way of life that there really is no turning back, and no turning back the clock on young-age adoption of mobile phones, tablets, and other tech.
Your child will want a mobile, that is unavoidable. Whether because they’re adapting your behaviour from seeing you scrolling through Instagram, or because you’ve let them watch a movie on your phone to keep them entertainedwhen you need to, children know what mobile phones are before they even know what a computer is these days.
But you wouldn’t use a tablet designed for a five year old, so why have we started giving five year olds phones designed for someone four times their age?
Technology designed for adults was always going to be the first step. We needed technology, we advanced technology, we use technology. For the last half a decade, tech designed for children has been getting more popular.
And with more popularity, it’s been better and more varied than ever before.
Those tablets with the bulky cases.
Kids e-readers that unlock a library of books in their backpack.
Smart speakers that connect to smart nightlights, ones that even read bedtime stories.
As technology advances, so does the variety of not just kid-friendly tech, but kid-driven tech. Like our Moochies smartwatches themselves that offer no browser or social media access, while giving children the feeling of a smartphone without the dangers. Effectively, letting kids be kids a little longer in a world that’s pushing them to digital adulthood.
With more kid-driven products on the market, technology can actually lead the way at keeping kids safe online, and help them focus on the things that are important; tech with added security to protect kids online from the dangers of social media, strangers, and age-inappropriate material. Tech designed to encourage childhood development including fitness, social skills, spatial awareness, education and more. More, tech designed for children can encourage an interest in tech and tech development more than ever before, giving kids digital skills from a young age.
It could also be used to teach children the skills to staying safe online, both from outside sources and themselves, teaching them about social media and screen addiction.
Moochies, as an example, provides nearly all the features you’d want in a smartphone, but with both the hardware and software designed for children and childhood.
No social media or browser access. No communication from strangers. Class mode with no distraction access at school. We’ve designed our product to be safe for kids, as a stepping stone into the world of smartphones and instant internet access, while letting kids still be kids.
To sum this up:
There’s a reason that adults don’t use technology designed for kids, so why do so many children have access totechnology that is designed for adults?
Find out more about Moochies: www.moochies.com
