This would be a good idea if we didn't already know Google's real agenda here.
Google releases smart watch for kids
241–250 of 809 posts
Re: Google releases smart watch for kids
#242Ugh, I threw up a little in my mouth just from the headline. This constant tracking of kids is unnecessary and dangerous. Generations of kids survived without their parents needing to know their location at all times. And yes, I totally admit, some kids (very few actually depending on the locale) didn't survive. But we've traded this false sense of "safety" for kids that are so risk averse it is seriously negatively…
The South Park episode Not Suitable for Children touches on this a lot too. Companies are foaming at the mouths to get advertising in front of kids and tracking them to understand what their habits are is really gross.
I remember the 80s when Saturday morning cartoons were a long series of toy commercials interspersed with shorter toy commercials. I got to be the target demographic. It was the best!
Re: Google releases smart watch for kids
#243Ugh, I threw up a little in my mouth just from the headline. This constant tracking of kids is unnecessary and dangerous. Generations of kids survived without their parents needing to know their location at all times. And yes, I totally admit, some kids (very few actually depending on the locale) didn't survive. But we've traded this false sense of "safety" for kids that are so risk averse it is seriously negatively…
Its weird the types of sacrifices we expect kids to make with regards to survival. Like when a school shooting happens we wouldnt event consider banning assault rifles. Those kids dont survive. But if having a tracker on your kid marginally increases their chance for survival in the rarest of circumstances it’s totally out of the question to not have it.
It's weird to think as a society that we can build a walled garden around human nature. Mentally unwell people who attack schools will use other weapons if you somehow take all the "assault" rifles away and we've seen this in other countries who have tried it. When a school shooting happens we don't talk about psychiatric medication or prescribing practices for them.
The #3 cause of death is "accidental self inflicted injury." I'm not sure tracking children is the answer. You're just shifting the burden for risky behavior from the child to the parent through a radio with _zero_ redundancy. There's probably more useful ways to achieve this outcome.
Re: Google releases smart watch for kids
#244When I was a kid I wanted a slick James Bond style smartwatch that had lasers, tools, and other badass capabilities, not this baby-ified fitness tracker.
The James Bond watch was a tool for James Bond to use. This watch is a tool for parents and Google to use. They are not so easily comparible beyond both having the appearance of a watch and being called "spy tools"
Re: Google releases smart watch for kids
#245Earlier quoted context omitted.
I can only guess you (and most of the other naysayers in this thread) don't have young children. My wife and I have been looking for something exactly like this for our 6yo. I lost him on a ski slope once over a year ago and I think he's still traumatized. He recently was afraid of going on a class trip because he was afraid of getting lost. This isn't for teenagers. It's for kids that are still attached to mama/papa…
I get this, I have an uncanny memory of my youth and have clear memories of the fear that ran through me when I realized I didn't know where Mom was. However, I think this belief that humans evolved to be so sensitive to childhood trauma is incredibly over sensationalized. I'm no worse off in life despite getting lost a few times. Your kid will be fine.
Parents have a lot to contend with as it is. Making live easier by preventing the temporary loss of a child and the anxiety for both parties is a benefit.
If anything this gives kids more freedom, anyone not understand this should have a set of kids first.
Re: Google releases smart watch for kids
#246Earlier quoted context omitted.
I can only guess you (and most of the other naysayers in this thread) don't have young children. My wife and I have been looking for something exactly like this for our 6yo. I lost him on a ski slope once over a year ago and I think he's still traumatized. He recently was afraid of going on a class trip because he was afraid of getting lost. This isn't for teenagers. It's for kids that are still attached to mama/papa…
I get this, I have an uncanny memory of my youth and have clear memories of the fear that ran through me when I realized I didn't know where Mom was. However, I think this belief that humans evolved to be so sensitive to childhood trauma is incredibly over sensationalized. I'm no worse off in life despite getting lost a few times. Your kid will be fine.
Thanks. Yeah, I agree - I'm not worried for him, he's going to be fine. But I think he would be willing to roam more freely if he had the security blanket of being able to reach out to mama & papa if he needs it. I'm sure he'll grow out of that like every other kid.
Re: Google releases smart watch for kids
#247What's the benefit of this over a cheap LTE Apple Watch? I'm not an AW fanboy (Pebble/Garmin for me), but I had always anticipated getting my kid an LTE AW when the time came. It doesn't look like the pricing is much different, and for families with iPhones it would presumably be simpler to stay in the Apple ecosystem. Is there something I'm missing, or is this just for Android families? Regardless, I'm happy to see…
You can (in fact, I think you have to) get the data plan straight from Google. Lots of carriers, particularly cheaper MVNOs, don't support LTE watches and even less support the standalone Apple Watch setup. So in that sense, it is convenient.
Huh wow, I can see that. [1] I didn’t realize that not all carriers that support Apple Watch support the family setup feature. I hope that changes soon! I was counting on that for our kids, but we’re not going to triple our monthly bill to enable this one feature!
Re: Google releases smart watch for kids
#248Ugh, I threw up a little in my mouth just from the headline. This constant tracking of kids is unnecessary and dangerous. Generations of kids survived without their parents needing to know their location at all times. And yes, I totally admit, some kids (very few actually depending on the locale) didn't survive. But we've traded this false sense of "safety" for kids that are so risk averse it is seriously negatively…
I can only guess you (and most of the other naysayers in this thread) don't have young children. My wife and I have been looking for something exactly like this for our 6yo. I lost him on a ski slope once over a year ago and I think he's still traumatized. He recently was afraid of going on a class trip because he was afraid of getting lost. This isn't for teenagers. It's for kids that are still attached to mama/papa…
I have young children and manage just fine without broadcasting their location to a Megacorp with a long history of violating children’s privacy laws.
Re: Google releases smart watch for kids
#249Ugh, I threw up a little in my mouth just from the headline. This constant tracking of kids is unnecessary and dangerous. Generations of kids survived without their parents needing to know their location at all times. And yes, I totally admit, some kids (very few actually depending on the locale) didn't survive. But we've traded this false sense of "safety" for kids that are so risk averse it is seriously negatively…
I can only guess you (and most of the other naysayers in this thread) don't have young children. My wife and I have been looking for something exactly like this for our 6yo. I lost him on a ski slope once over a year ago and I think he's still traumatized. He recently was afraid of going on a class trip because he was afraid of getting lost. This isn't for teenagers. It's for kids that are still attached to mama/papa…
This is a bit of projection. I have a child younger than yours and I feel exactly like OP.
I’m really sorry about your son’s experience. Getting lost can be terrifying for a kid.
But being lost happens (eg I was lost in hunting woods at 8yo), and many commenters have shared their experiences. Being scared and eventually overcoming the fear is a quintessential growing experience.
Obviously there are countless caveats because each kid is different, and depends on the level of danger etc
Re: Google releases smart watch for kids
#250With this, kids will be prepared for wearing hand or ankle monitors [0] in the future.
0 - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_monitoring_in_the...