Smartphone Alternatives for Kids

No one can deny that our children are growing up with far more access to technology than we ever did. The digital age bombards our children constantly with hi-speed tech at every turn and it’s only getting faster.  While digital tools such as personal devices, cell phones, and robots running our home can prove useful in many ways, they also come with more than their fair share of risk for our children. According to Protect Young Eyes, an independent group that provides education and resources to help families create safer digital spaces, digital gaming, social media, and the ever growing world of virtual reality continue to open the doors for predators, porn and mental health problems to take hold of our kids.

While many parents don’t want to add more exposure or risk for their children, the very real need exists for parents to have a safe way to reach and communicate with their children when they are apart. But is a smartphone really the best thing to hand over to our 8-year-old? Is it any safer for our 17-year-old?

The Brain on Smartphones and Similar Devices

Smartphones and similar personal devices, with their ability to have the world at your fingertips via email, whatsapp, text, social media, and gaming, are facilitating a greater than ever before addiction to tech … and much of it was intentionally designed to be that way.

Social media apps like Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram, as well as online gaming apps, are built to provide a large influx of information and connectivity at very high speeds, all hours of the day and night. If you miss something, no problem, the device will automatically send you notifications for every direct message, update, post, and reaction from others on your posts.

For your brain, this type of stimulation triggers the release of dopamine, a natural chemical made in your brain that sends signals of pleasure to the rest of your body as a reward. The more you check back and expose yourself, the more dopamine is delivered to your brain, which in turn reinforces your brain’s desire to go back and get more.

Ex-Facebook execs called this cycle a “dopamine driven feedback loop” and it’s an intentional part of the way the app functions, imitating similar player-action-reward cycles that gamblers go through when they engage with casino slot machines.

And it isn’t just built into social media platforms or the way our email refreshes on the phone, but online games as well, which simulate digital social environments as well as total immersion playing experiences that trigger so many spikes of dopamine that children’s brains desire to spend more and more time playing.

In 2018, the National Institute of Health began a study of over 11,000 children’s brains to see what the effects of smartphones and devices were having them. While final results are still a long way from being in, initial MRI scans from the first batch of 4,500 children who spent multiple hours a day on smartphones, tablets, and other similar personal devices showed “significant differences in the brain” including:

• Premature thinning of the cortex
• Lower scores on language tests
• Lower scores on thinking tests

But My Kid Needs a Phone!

I get it. I was in a similar boat earlier last year when I needed a phone for my tween who was spending more time outside of the house without us. But a smartphone with access to #allthethings designed for addiction in the hands of a developing brain makes us take pause.

There are alternatives! Here are a few of them.

Smart Watches

Smart Watches are like smartphones but without all of the apps and functions. Many come available in waterproof models and allow for: 

• Two-way calling
• Text messages
• Simple picture taking
• Limited internet access
• GPS tracking

Caution: some smart watches still have access to online gaming and the internet so if you want to stay away from online access, do your research into brands and functions.

Internet Free Phones

• Gabb Phone - Labeled “the safe cell phone for kids”, Gabb looks, feels, and functions easily like a sleek smartphone but has zero internet access which means you don’t have to deal with browsing gone wrong, social media, creepy ads or downloads, or online gaming. What Gabb does have are all the necessities, including: 

• Unlimited called
• Unlimited texts
• GPS tracking
• Basic picture taking
• Pinwheel Phone - Pinwheel phones are smartphones that have levels of safety measures that can be applied and edited by you as your child matures and grows into varying levels of responsibility. Their phones include: 
• Communication and image sharing with approved contacts
• Bluetooth and wifi (that can be restricted)
• Non-addictive apps
• Custom modes and usage routines
• Gps tracking
• Relay - If you need calling capabilities for a younger child, Relay is a single-calling device that works like a super snazzy walkie-talkie that connects to an app on your cell phone. It includes: 
• Two-way calling
• GPS tracking
• GEO fencing (so you are notified when the device leaves the designated safe area)
• Non-Internet Cell Phones - Still have your old Nokia lying around? How about an old flip phone? You may be able to re-activate them on your family cell plan. Or you can go all-in for a newer model limited function phone from your local carrier. 

Trying to communicate with our kids can be hard enough without opening more doors for digital dangers and risks. There are plenty of options out there that allow us to stay in touch with our children in safer, and still practical ways.

Melissa Barreto is a homeschooling mother of five children and the Co-Founder of Wildflower Homeschool Collective, a homeschool organization based in Northern New Jersey.