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Google releases smart watch for kids

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Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#341

Post by jagged-chisel »

khazhoux wrote: post #316
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #106

Ugh, 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…

> This constant tracking of kids is unnecessary and dangerous. Generations of kids survived without their parents needing to know their location at all times. This topic is always so alarmist. I have kids and a spouse. We all have Find My and Location Sharing on our phones. I don't FrEaK oUt that my kids are going to die if I'm not tracking their every movement. But it's nice to glance at Find My app and see if the k…

I think the important part is whether the children are affected by the tracking. Is it a big deal if they don’t have service and you can’t Find them for a couple hours?

Mine are grown now, but I’ve always told them: I’m not worried about where you are, I want to know where to go when something happens and you need a rescue. I want them to have the peace of mind that, if needed, the safety net is within reach. When I was a teen, my parents were in reach if I was in reach of a [wired] phone, but I didn’t always know how to tell them where I was at that moment.

Providing a safety net while allowing freedom boosts self confidence.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#342

Post by surajrmal »

hulitu wrote: post #182

> Google releases smart watch for kids No. The smartwatch is for Google, to track your kids.

This product was conceived by parents who want an alternative to giving their kids a phone. It's good to be suspicious, but what you're saying sounds more like FUD. Parents are the ones who want to do the tracking.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#343

Post by Swizec »

XorNot wrote: post #269
loughnane wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same. 15/10/8 kids here. These are bad. A sibling comment said “everyone is free to do what they want”. I agree with that, but that doesn’t make everything good. In general I’m struck at how many people’s sense or “right” leans so hard on what’s available for sale.

Why is that surprising? If something isn't possible, then it's not possible and we adapt. If something is possible, then then it's possible and we should consider it. "Can I somehow put a tracking device on my young child?" is a question I've thought about for decades since before I had a young child, and now that I do I've been looking for something that will work for him when he's still little. Obviously as he grow…

> if he's old enough to know to text me if he'll be out late

Kids certainly reach a stage where not texting you they’ll be out late is an important part of development. Teenage rebellion and all that. I loved telling my mom not to wait for me and staying out way past when she said she expects me to be back.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#344

Post by gehwartzen »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #106

Ugh, 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 grew up pretty unsupervised to run round town since I was around 7 or 8 growing up and definitely want the same for my son. He's 8 now and I got him an apple watch as I don't want him to have a large screen to distract him from the world but still be able to call/text his friends or get in touch w us in an emergency. I do not ever monitor his location (and told him as much) unless he reaches out to me and allows me to for help.

As with all things it's a tool and will depend on how the parents use it. If I break his trust by spying on him, well, thats on me and of course a rather difficult one to rebuild. I also told him if he ever wants to turn off location services we can do that but he's okey with it for now.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#345

Post by tdeck »

XorNot wrote: post #276
tdeck wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hope this question doesn't offend, but have you taught your son what to do when he gets lost? Explicitly teaching and practicing strategies like this can help a lot. I was always taught to 1) stay where you are, not try to walk around and 2) approach someone who works at the store and tell them you're lost, your name, and your parents name. I also memorized my address and home phone number. Obviously that doesn't w…

This logic moves right into victim blaming territory real quick though. "Have you taught your child what to do if they get lost?" doesn't fix the fact that you don't know what they'll do till it happens, and then it might be too late. I'd much rather have a backup system in case they don't do the right thing in case they panic. I'll also point out that your advice here is statistically unsound: there's the baked in "…

My point was that if OP's son is still terrified of getting lost, it might help him to have concrete plans in advance that come from an authority figure, including a plan that doesn't rely on having a specific device, charge, and signal each time. The specifics of whom to approach are up to the parent and child - I'm just giving one example.

Also, I think "victim blaming" isn't an apt term in this case. Getting lost is almost never caused by someone being victimized, it's caused by lack of attention and then lack of a way to resolve the situation on your own.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#346

Post by khazhoux »

jagged-chisel wrote: post #341
khazhoux wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This constant tracking of kids is unnecessary and dangerous. Generations of kids survived without their parents needing to know their location at all times. This topic is always so alarmist. I have kids and a spouse. We all have Find My and Location Sharing on our phones. I don't FrEaK oUt that my kids are going to die if I'm not tracking their every movement. But it's nice to glance at Find My app and see if the k…

I think the important part is whether the children are affected by the tracking. Is it a big deal if they don’t have service and you can’t Find them for a couple hours? Mine are grown now, but I’ve always told them: I’m not worried about where you are, I want to know where to go when something happens and you need a rescue. I want them to have the peace of mind that, if needed, the safety net is within reach. When I…

> I think the important part is whether the children are affected by the tracking

I have no reason to think they're impacted by me knowing where they are. They're confident, run around for hours, and are growing up just fine. So what if their parents can look up their location... big deal.

Pushing the alarmist argument, though: should I just take away their cell phones, to give them the same experience I had growing up? I didn't ever have even a dime for a phone booth.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#347

Post by hehdhdjehehegwv »

locococo wrote: post #253
hehdhdjehehegwv wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I am happy for you, I am sure the sane logic could be applied to get rid of car and home insurance

And the same logic of monitoring junior 24x7 will have you putting diapers on an 18 year old.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#348

Post by kccqzy »

polairscience wrote: post #9
nextos wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also for adults, it's a much less intrusive technology.

I'm not sure I agree with less intrusive. Having a tracker attached to your body that can notify you of anything it wants is very intrusive. It is, however, seemingly less addictive in some capacities. No doom scrolling, etc.

Just turn off notifications for the vast majority of apps. I don't even auto-install third-party apps on the watch. I use my watch as mainly a fitness tracker and I allow notifications from fewer than 5 apps.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#349

Post by godelski »

wonderwonder wrote: post #279
Dylan16807 wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's shaming constant tracking, not anyone that might buy this. And that probably should be shamed.

why? What's the harm with knowing where your minor kids or opted in spouse are? Honest question.

Your kids don't learn independence and how to be self sufficient. After all, the goal is to make your kids into self-sufficient adults who can survive and navigate a complex world without your help. Being over protective (which is a natural instinct) can lead to children being overly dependent and not learning to be (to put in the most HN way possible) generalist agents.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40519118

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#350

Post by danpalmer »

dzonga wrote: post #160
mustang-med wrote: post #121

My partner is on one of the teams responsible for red tape and cost-cutting at Alphabet. After having frequent conversations about past failed projects, I'm surprised this project got the green light. Personally, I don't see this product taking off. As a parent, I think it looks quite lame, and I don't think anyone at Google knows how to break into product areas for kids. I've seen quite a few headlines concerned abo…

this is the risk, no matter how useful products are. Google just cuts products at a whim. and sends products to the graveyard. even the one's that wouldn't cost 1 engineer - looking at you - Google Podcasts.

I'm biased here, but "at a whim" seems like a bit of a stretch. I've never been particularly surprised by product cuts – they're always the products that have no real traction or look clearly unprofitable. Now maybe this one won't get the traction, but Android and Pixel certainly do, and Google has committed to very long support timelines on Pixel, something I see as a win, and that I'd hold them to account on.
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