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Google releases smart watch for kids

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Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#601

Post by mythhabit »

gen220 wrote: post #394
sho_hn wrote: post #356

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I got lost in Valletta on Malta during a family trip when I was probably around 7 or 8, and it's one of my proudest and most formative memories from that period of childhood, even if it was scary as hell. Valletta occupies a tongue of land thrust into the ocean. I got lost in the middle of the city, and had to come up with a plan for how to get back to my parents. I realized I'd probably be able to find it from the p…

A friend of mine with interesting parents had an experience like this, except it was planned by her father! He told her they were going somewhere together, then dropped her off at a random metro station and told her if she couldn’t make it home in an hour she should call home with a pay phone, and here’s a quarter. She brought it up in a pretty resentful way (understandably, because it’s basically abandonment?), but…

That is fine to do, if you prepare the child. I mean, start by taking all the steps with them, gamify it, and at some point I'm sure most children would be proud to do it.

But just doing it with minimal preparation... That's bad parenting. I doubt that experience alone is the reason for being fiercely independent - that usually (and unfortunately) comes from the person being unable to rely on their care takes for their needs as children.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#602

Post by ClassyJacket »

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…

Don't worry, it may have been greenlit but it'll be cancelled and shut down next year

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#603

Post by ajsnigrutin »

throwaway2037 wrote: post #359
pohuing wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I simply called using the landline back in the day, but I grew up in a small village in Germany where roaming the fields unsupervised was the norm.

Thank you to share. My experience (different countries) was similar to yours. Do you know anyone who grew up in a big city in the same era? I do. They didn't experience the same type of freedoms. Their parents were much more concerned about crime/kidnapping/"the boogey man".

I grew up in a socialist apartment block neighborhood with more apartment blocks around and more even further.

You came home from school, watched tv, did whatever, then around three, parents would start coming home, so we (the kids) went out, you knew approximately when dinner would be ready to go home and eat, and that was it. The playgrounds, benches, basketball courts, etc., where full of kids and noone really cared. Sometimes when someone was needed at home, a mom would yell his name through the window, and someone heard it and told someone else, and than that third person knew where that kid was and told him that his mom is looking for him, and the kid went home (usually to eat, or if some relative came to visit).

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#604

Post by jagged-chisel »

kelnos wrote: post #543
khazhoux wrote: post #416

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We’ve talked about it. They don’t care.

I either a) find that very hard to believe, or b) am horrified at the environment children are growing up in these days that the prospect of 24/7 parental location tracking is something they'd agree to without question. I do wonder how they will feel after the first time you ask them, "Hey, why were you at place X, I thought you told me you would be at place Y?" (even if there's an innocent, reasonable explanation).…

This particular thread has missed an important part of the equation: what are the consequences of NOT taking the trackable phone along, or turning off the tracking? If you’ve proven to them it is of little consequence, and they can trust that, then they’re less likely to develop issues.

However, if the consequences are dire, you encourage them to feel oppressed.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#605

Post by jagged-chisel »

kelnos wrote: post #541
handity wrote: post #513

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it difficult to imagine ubiquitous surveillance not shaping behavior and thought. I was born in the mid 90s and remember some of my friends getting flip phones in the early 2000s. One friend was given a phone that would report its location to their parents, presumably through some web-portal. I vaguely remember the conversation where my friend told me about this phone and the location tracking, and I remember…

> I find it difficult to imagine ubiquitous surveillance not shaping behavior and thought. I wish more people in these threads would think about this and understand this point. In an imaginary world where tracking tech isn't available, and it's feasible and affordable to do so, I worry that some of these parents would hire someone to follow their child around all day. Any parent who thinks that's absurd should agree…

Definitely a valid argument.

I think it comes down to trust in whether your watcher provides dire consequences. The likelihood that parents are honest with their children that there is little consequence to avoiding the tracking is greater than the same being said of a (perceived) larger, distant group/organization/agency.

We must all remain vigilant against the latter. But trust in the former is where we must start.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#606

Post by sigwinch28 »

A smartwatch for kids could be so good if it was designed in a way to be educational, but most importantly, which respects a child’s privacy utmost, even from their parents in terms of tracking.

For example, a maps app, to always get the kid home if they’re lost. Medication reminders. Fitness tracking. Emergency SOS. A calendar to remind them about family birthdays and upcoming holidays. School timetables. Medical ID. Payment cards or passes for travel (in Western Europe a lot of schoolchildren commute by themselves, especially on public transport) and spending their allowance. Let the kid choose to notify their family of their location as and when they want to. Empower them to use tech to their advantage but put their privacy first.

Children are going to end up as adults in this world regardless of whether we teach them, so we should be teaching them the benefits and warning them of the many bad actors. We should be teaching our children the skills they need to navigate the modern world. This includes technology and abusive/controlling relationships.

I believe a good responsible smartwatch for kids can exist. Alas, this is Google and helicopter parents exist, so this product is not it.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#607

Post by iiio8 »

mklepaczewski wrote: post #561
iiio8 wrote: post #463

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The proof obligation is the other way around. You need to show that constant surveillance actually makes a difference, on a population level. Otherwise your claim is the empty one.

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Injury-death-rates-for-c... Unfortunately, I only had time to do a quick search, but it shows that mortality has dropped significantly in the last 20 years. I imagine it was only higher 40-60 years ago. This doesn't prove that more surveillance brings mortality down, but it shows that the "we survived just fine" argument is shaky at best. I think parental supervision correlates wit…

[flagged]

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#608

Post by hagbard_c »

philomath_mn wrote: post #15
wmf wrote: post #3

Smartwatches may be an overlooked answer to the kid phone conundrum. Watches have the communication and location tracking that parents demand without the distraction of phones.

100%. My kid is not getting a smartphone until he's ~16 but we're looking at a restricted smart watch right now (a flip phone would also be acceptable but a watch is physically attached which is ideal for 7 year old).

> a watch is physically attached which is ideal for 7 year old

Better hope that watch is water- and shockproof because a healthy 7yo will find many ways to test those features.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#609

Post by Double_a_92 »

BenFranklin100 wrote: post #404
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…

Good lord. As I recall, a big part of growing up was spending time and doing things my parents didn’t want me to do. The idea of them tracking me is super creepy, as is tracking one’s spouse for that matter.

I guess it only works if your parents are mature enough to not actually judge everything you do.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#610

Post by Double_a_92 »

vasco wrote: post #480
prpl wrote: post #436

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s also possible to be more liberal than your parents were with respect to expecting teenage experimentation but still want to know why your kid/spouse isn’t home within an hour of when you expected them and they aren’t responding to texts. Parents are still adults with lives and have better things to do than sit around watching a dot on a map. “huh, I guess they went to get some boba, we’ll just go get dinner with…

If the premise is that they have a phone, why not just ask them where they are when you need to know?

Because that's an extra annoyance on both sides.
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