In a time when parental controls have gotten more and more important for teenagers to navigate the huge, typically unfiltered content material on-line, Gabb, a kid-safe tech firm, just lately launched a premium music subscription, Gabb Music Plus, giving children a protected place to discover music. However past music streaming, Gabb is positioning itself as a protected house for teenagers to regularly transition into the world of know-how and discover content material in immediately’s digital age.
How Gabb is constructing a protected tech ecosystem for teenagers
Gabb, based in 2018, has been making internet-free telephones for teenagers ages 5 and 13. The corporate says it has taken a management position in offering analysis and training and growing options that empower dad and mom with the instruments to maintain their kids protected. It creates gadgets and apps that think about the age issue and the ‘coolness’ side of the devices it creates.
“Whereas nonetheless defending (children) 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 Cellphone 3 Professional haven’t any web connectivity, however they do present the important apps wanted for every stage of growth from grade faculty by highschool. For example, Gabb’s teen-friendly cellphone is suitable with third-party apps like Kahoot, Duolingo, Gabb Maps, and so on., which folks can allow in the event that they really feel their teenagers are prepared.
These telephones additionally come outfitted with kid-safe messaging by Gabb Messenger, which always screens texts and notifies dad and mom if their children are uncovered to inappropriate content material, opening up needed conversations in households. Mother and father may also request that the corporate add sure apps that they really feel are needed at school or in public settings.
“In contrast to different tech options, Gabb has children as our first thought, not as an afterthought,” Jeppson added.
Gabb has children as our first thought, not as an afterthought.
After delving into music, Gabb highlights how dad and mom wished a platform that phases protected music choices with no specific content material that their children could by accident encounter, so the corporate created a Gabb Music Plus subscription.
“Gabb Music would not simply bleep out lyrics; as a substitute, each specific tune and innuendo has been filtered out completely utilizing industry-leading instruments and proprietary know-how,” mentioned Gabb CEO Nate Randle.
The result’s a curated music library that the entire household can take heed to. Youngsters can seek for songs and artists, create their very own playlists, and obtain them on the go, very like 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, making certain children keep related with their households. These wearables even have an inbuilt GPS monitoring system and an SOS button that gives an added layer of safety when children are away from residence.
The necessity for protected havens
Should you handed a toddler a smartphone immediately, you’d be shocked 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 after they’re purported to be studying life abilities.
Mother and father are always debating the correct age to offer their kids a cellphone as a result of elevated psychological dangers. A world examine of almost 28,000 younger adults confirmed a powerful correlation between the age kids obtain their first smartphone and their psychological well being. It states, “the later the age at which these younger adults first obtained a cellphone or pill that they may carry with them in childhood, the higher their psychological well-being.”
In immediately’s vastly related 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 skill to narrate to others in a constructive approach. Whereas most social media apps have age restrictions, bypassing these partitions and getting by is equally simple.
One other examine highlights how 8 to 10-year-olds spend virtually eight hours a day with numerous media, and older kids 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 in, offering important instruments for parental management and age-appropriate performance. Gabb says it tries to create an surroundings for teenagers to soundly change to different gadgets when they’re adults whereas striving to stay related in immediately’s AI-powered world.
That mentioned, Gabb is not the one firm making kids-safe tech. Just lately, Google introduced the brand new Fitbit Ace LTE, a kids-only smartwatch that goals to advertise a extra wholesome and lively way of life. The wearable is just not all about step-tracking— it additionally comes with “video games” and different methods to get children into the behavior of staying lively. The Ace LTE additionally affords calling, messaging, and site sharing.
“We imagine the brand new look of different opponents is a validation of the rising curiosity in our mission to empower dad and mom and youngsters 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 dad and mom to Tech in Steps (aligning merchandise with developmental phases) and the kid-first strategy to serving to children and teenagers safely connect with household and pals.”
