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Google releases smart watch for kids

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Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#721

Post by barbazoo »

ugh123 wrote: post #156

This is an interesting move by Google. The watch market for kids is huge and growing. Look at the major companies sales here. Also look at the amount of kid's smart watches available on Amazon and number of reviews (I know, i'm sure some of those are fake yada yada). The detractors here say "let the kids be free" and "no new tech for kids", but I wonder if those people have kids today? Parents WANT to give their kid'…

> Tracking products like this give them more peace of mind.

Good job big tech marketing departments!

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#722

Post by tqi »

dlivingston wrote: post #658
tqi wrote: post #322

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pop psychology has not exactly had a great track record, and I don't see why we should give credence to Haidt just because his "research" aligns with our priors...

A few things: He's a psychologist proper at NYU, not some random journalist. Psychology as a whole has suffered a reputational crisis. You should listen to his claims and evaluate them independently, since they directly address your request for evidence. Finally, the knocking of "pop science" books really grinds my gears. They are not inherently bad just because they are geared for a mass market. Technical subjects h…

> He's a psychologist proper at NYU, not some random journalist. > Psychology as a whole has suffered a reputational crisis.

Given the latter I don't see how the former makes his claims more credible?

> You should listen to his claims and evaluate them independently, since they directly address your request for evidence.

I am familiar with his work, and find the quality of his evidence indistinguishable for the myriad of other pop psych just-so-stories that this forum generally shits on.

> Finally, the knocking of "pop science" books really grinds my gears. They are not inherently bad just because they are geared for a mass market. Technical subjects have layers of depth, and there is value in a high-level overview of some field.

To be clear, I knocked "Pop psychology" not "pop science". Most pop science books are distillations of research for mass audiences. Most "Pop psychology" books are philosophy disguised as science.

EDIT: And to be clear, I have no reason to be particularly skeptical of Haidt. I just think that the incentives for a psychologist who is writing for a mass audience lead them to choose the most simple and attention grabbing narrative possible, and map any evidence they can find back to that narrative and disregard the rest.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#723

Post by taeric »

barbazoo wrote: post #720
taeric wrote: post #69

I feel somewhat in a twilight zone. I'm not a fan of this device, but I also don't understand the over the top paranoia around it. Why do we invent such absurdly terrifying discourse around kids? If you don't want this for your kids, just don't get it. If you are worried about folks knowing where your kids are and what they are up to, I have bad news for you about neighborhood gossip.

> If you are worried about folks knowing where your kids are and what they are up to, I have bad news for you about neighborhood gossip. Obvious strawman comparing Google knowing vital stats and location about your child at any time with neigbors knowing and talking to each other about a kid.

I mean, sure? Still feels over blown to me. And an area we should probably focus more on policy than just complaints?

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#724

Post by prepend »

themoonisachees wrote: post #665
prepend wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess you have to pick your poison, then.

No you don't. You could also simply not drink the poison.

If they were truly poison, yes. But it’s a figure of speech.

I prefer Apple because it’s not nearly as bad. And I like having a phone and laptop.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#725

Post by brewdad »

sillysaurusx wrote: post #211
citizenkeen wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The sooner my kid learns someone is always watching, the better.

Yes. But, having the freedom to watch something and decide for yourself is a different question. 16 is two years short of military age, and old enough to pay taxes on your income.

16 does seem late for a first phone and likely they will find the phone necessary by the time their child reaches high school (age 14). Still, I appreciate the goal of trying to protect their child from the always connected lifestyle until they have some mental tools and life experience to understand and manage it.

My kid is college age now and a couple years ahead of the first iPad generation. There is a huge difference in how those kids handle the internet even though they are nearly the same age.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#726

Post by mrinterweb »

pquki4 wrote: post #202
mrinterweb wrote: post #152

$230 is a bit high up-front cost for a kids watch. Compare this to something like TickTalk and it seems that TickTalk has more features. https://www.myticktalk.com/ . The design of the Google kids watch does look nicer though. TickTalk is pretty bulky and the UI is not great.

Spending $300 already on a watch is already expensive (in addition to a $500-$100 phone), and it is a relatively small market, especially for watch OS watches. $230 on a kid's watch -- potentially more than one if you have more than one kid -- is definitely for parents who have money to spare.

As a parent, my main value from watches like this are:

* GPS, I can see where my kid is at (not always super accurate)

* I can contact my child and my child can contact me (contacts are whitelisted)

* School time lock helps avoid distraction (locks most watch functions when at school)

* Knowing I can locate and contact my child helps me allow more personal freedom to my child. Within reason.

I hear you that spending that kind of cash is not for everyone. For me, those features make it worth it.

I am planning a prototype for an alternative to smart watches that will use LoRa Meshtastic as a platform. The main upside of this would lower upfront costs, and no recurring cellular provider bill. I think it would be cool to have a system where trusted contacts and kids friends could message each other. My goal is to build a management system parents could use to quickly set up a LoRa node for their child.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#727

Post by andrewla »

scrumper wrote: post #697
andrewla wrote: post #31

We've been happily using the Verizon Gizmo watch for a while now. It's a deliberately crippled smart watch. No games, no apps (it has a step counter and a stopwatch, but that's about it) -- some calling functionality, some messaging functionality, tons of oversight (limited contacts, all contacts must be approved by a guardian), and location tracking. It's kind of bad at all of these, but our primary thought is to ha…

Tried a Gizmo when my daughter hit 5th grade; a big increase in independence comes around then (at least in our town which is still quite old fashioned with many, many kids walking, shopping, socializing, and playing outside unsupervised all over town in the nicer months). The thing was an absolute turd. I think over 9 months I managed to get one message to go through to her, maybe two or three calls worked. She was…

Agreed on the turd aspect. It's really amazingly poorly done, everything from the bad charger to the incoherent interface to the badly designed and operating app.

But what's nice is that it is a limited capability device. I'd love to hear more about the controls and restrictions associated with an Apple Watch. Apple's documentation is pretty shitty so I don't have a good feel for how it operates; just that the features exist.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#728

Post by sersi »

dbish wrote: post #661
sersi wrote: post #638

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What did you do that your parents didn't want you to do? Some concrete examples? I'm asking because I'm having a hard time coming up with examples of things that both my parents wouldn't have wanted me to do and would be obvious if they tracked me in real time.

Not that hard to come up with. Going to a friend’s house instead of going to any variety of scheduled things you usually do (sports, theater, whatever). Similarly, the classic sleepover at approved friend’s place but actually sneaking out to do something else that isn’t at their house. I can think of many more. Maybe you were a by the book kid lol

Ok, yeah as teen if I skipped any schedule things to go to a friend house, my parents wouldn't have batted an eye. Outside of school obligations, the rest was my own choice.

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#729

Post by NullPrefix »

Peanuts99 wrote: post #548
NullPrefix wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So? Obesity is a way worse toll on the human body than a scarred face, but we don't issue fines for people who enter McD's Other people have their own bodies and they do not belong to you

One of the primary aims of seatbelts are to stop you becoming a projectile and protect other occupants of your car and people outside it. It's not just a personal choice.

I drive alone

Re: Google releases smart watch for kids

#730

Post by scotty79 »

pard68 wrote: post #643
scotty79 wrote: post #502

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Times change. Two hundred years ago growing up as a parent might have meant accepting one of your kids dying. Things don't stay the same.

I'm not sure I follow your meaning, kids still die. I have lost a child and a tracker that ruins their confidence and privacy wouldn't have done anything. Not that much changes.

I'm sorry for your loss. What I meant was that it used to be so common that it was something majority of parents (or large enough fraction) expeirienced so those that didn't experience it might have been seen as not experiencing full range of parenthood. One might say that modern medicine that vastly reduced child mortality somehow keeps most of modern parents from "growing up" in that sense that they never experience full range of parenthood from 200 years ago.
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