In a time when parental controls have gotten more and more important for youths to navigate the huge, typically unfiltered content material on-line, Gabb, a kid-safe tech firm, not too long ago launched a premium music subscription, Gabb Music Plus, giving youngsters a protected place to discover music. However past music streaming, Gabb is positioning itself as a protected house for youths to step by step transition into the world of expertise and discover content material in right now’s digital age.
How Gabb is constructing a protected tech ecosystem for youths
Gabb, based in 2018, has been making internet-free telephones for youths ages 5 and 13. The corporate says it has taken a management function in offering analysis and schooling and creating options that empower mother and father with the instruments to maintain their youngsters protected. It creates gadgets and apps that take into account the age issue and the ‘coolness’ side of the devices it creates.
“Whereas nonetheless defending (youngsters) from gaming addictions, risks of predators, bullies, publicity to specific language or inappropriate language and pictures,” Brandon Jeppson, Gabb’s director of selling, instructed me in an e mail.
Concerning smartphones, the model’s newest Gabb cellphone and Gabb Telephone 3 Professional don’t have any web connectivity, however they do present the important apps wanted for every stage of improvement from grade faculty via highschool. As an example, Gabb’s teen-friendly cellphone is suitable with third-party apps like Kahoot, Duolingo, Gabb Maps, and so forth., which oldsters can allow in the event that they really feel their teenagers are prepared.
These telephones additionally come geared up with kid-safe messaging via Gabb Messenger, which continuously displays texts and notifies mother and father if their youngsters are uncovered to inappropriate content material, opening up mandatory conversations in households. Mother and father may also request that the corporate add sure apps that they really feel are mandatory in class or in public settings.
“Not like different tech options, Gabb has youngsters as our first thought, not as an afterthought,” Jeppson added.
Gabb has youngsters as our first thought, not as an afterthought.
After delving into music, Gabb highlights how mother and father wished a platform that levels protected music choices with no specific content material that their youngsters could by chance encounter, so the corporate created a Gabb Music Plus subscription.
“Gabb Music would not simply bleep out lyrics; as a substitute, each specific track and innuendo has been filtered out solely utilizing industry-leading instruments and proprietary expertise,” mentioned Gabb CEO Nate Randle.
The result’s a curated music library that the entire household can hearken to. Children can seek for songs and artists, create their very own playlists, and obtain them on the go, very similar to on different music streaming apps like Spotify or YouTube Music.
Gabb’s watches provide advantages much like these of its telephones. The most recent Gabb Watch 3 permits calling and texting pre-approved contacts, guaranteeing youngsters keep linked with their households. These wearables even have an inbuilt GPS monitoring system and an SOS button that gives an added layer of safety when youngsters are away from dwelling.
The necessity for protected havens
Should you handed a toddler a smartphone right now, you’d be stunned how they’d most likely unlock your cellphone and begin launching apps that curiosity them—which may lead them right into a path of display addictions once they’re imagined to be studying life expertise.
Mother and father are continuously debating the correct age to provide their youngsters a cellphone as a result of elevated psychological dangers. A international research of almost 28,000 younger adults confirmed a powerful correlation between the age youngsters obtain their first smartphone and their psychological well being. It states, “the later the age at which these younger adults first acquired a cellphone or pill that they might carry with them in childhood, the higher their psychological well-being.”
In right now’s vastly linked world, with entry to smartphones and the web, teenagers are sure to come across inappropriate content material and be topic to bullying, which, in flip, impacts their self-worth and talent to narrate to others in a optimistic manner. Whereas most social media apps have age restrictions, bypassing these partitions and getting via is equally simple.
One other research highlights how 8 to 10-year-olds spend nearly eight hours a day with numerous media, and older youngsters and youngsters spend round 11 hours with media, leaving them prone to undesirable content material and even social media predators.
That is the place firms like Gabb are available, offering important instruments for parental management and age-appropriate performance. Gabb says it tries to create an atmosphere for youths to soundly swap to different gadgets when they’re adults whereas striving to stay related in right now’s AI-powered world.
That mentioned, Gabb is not the one firm making kids-safe tech. Not too long ago, Google introduced the brand new Fitbit Ace LTE, a kids-only smartwatch that goals to advertise a extra wholesome and energetic life-style. The wearable shouldn’t be all about step-tracking— it additionally comes with “video games” and different methods to get youngsters into the behavior of staying energetic. The Ace LTE additionally presents calling, messaging, and site sharing.
“We consider the brand new look of different opponents is a validation of the rising curiosity in our mission to empower mother and father and children to attach safely in a digital world,” Jeppson added.
Regardless of different entrants into the market, Gabb feels that it has had a considerable head begin on the competitors and has established a loyal, rising buyer base.
“We additionally proceed to see a powerful response from mother and father to Tech in Steps (aligning merchandise with developmental levels) and the kid-first strategy to serving to youngsters and youths safely connect with household and mates.”