Back-to-School: Do You Need a Dumbphone for Your Kids

Back-to-School: Do You Need a Dumbphone for Your Kids

Every year, it’s the same old story as the back-to-school season approaches. The transition to middle school generally prompts parents to wonder: should they equip their dear child with a smartphone? While their harmful effects are known and increasingly pointed out, their ubiquity makes them almost indispensable… At least, to a certain extent.

Today, dumbphones are making a big comeback, with some users deciding to take the plunge and trade their new-generation smartphone for a good old phone straight out of the 2000s. But these obviously have their limitations. For children, Gabb offers smartphones that prevent access to social networks, but not to other features. A Business Insider journalist decided to try it out.

Forgetting social networks, but not the rest

Dumbphones, why not? But they are still very radical. While smartphones have their share of drawbacks, they prove to be very practical in many aspects. With its mobile phones intended for younger users, Gabb seems to have found the balance.

With an interface similar to classic smartphones and a good quality camera, Gabb phones allow users to enjoy the best of phones without access to social networks and the internet. Thus, users cannot scroll for hours on TikTok or Instagram, but can follow their lessons on Duolingo, order a burger on UberEats, get home with Google Maps, and listen to an audiobook on Audible. Provided that parents have downloaded these applications in advance from their own smartphone.

As Julia Pugachevky, a journalist at Business Insider, explains, Gabb phones are not too limiting, just enough to avoid falling into the mindless scrolling that is often criticized. There’s even an app strongly resembling Spotify with censored versions of songs. In short, everything is designed for younger users.

Increased surveillance?

But the problem is how much parents can “monitor” their offspring. On paper, Gabb had very good ideas to enhance the safety of children and teenagers. To start, parents can access their children’s location. They can even receive a notification when they leave designated “safe zones” thanks to the MyGabb app. There is also an option for secure video calls as these phones can detect any type of nudity and suspend the ongoing call.

With the GabbMessenger app, parents are notified when their child receives a message from an unknown number or inappropriate content or language. The problem is that even the slightest swear word is relayed to parents. This pushes the surveillance aspect a bit too far for the Business Insider journalist. Especially since parents don’t have the option to customize this filter and turn it off. And that’s a shame.

While a mobile phone banning access to social networks can help children adopt good practices, it doesn’t do everything. It’s important to raise awareness among younger users and communicate with them. But for a first phone, it allows enjoying the best features of smartphones… Without suffering all the negative consequences, and being exposed to cyberbullying, violent pornographic content, or other unfiltered content.

Links

• Want a phone? Dumb and kid-friendly phones may address parents’ safety concerns – CBC Kids News
• Phones for Kids & Teens – Gabb
• Sell your kid’s smartphone online – iGotOffer

The Ultimate Guide to Safe Smartphones for Kids + Teens (Apple, Bark, Gabb, Pinwheel, Troomi) [Video]

Video uploaded by Parent ProTech on November 21, 2023.