The Senate Judiciary Committee recently convened for a hearing on Children’s Safety in the Digital Era to discuss the mounting risks that today’s children face online. Topics covered in the hearing included screen time addiction, online bullying, and the mental health toll these trends have on our country’s youth.
During the hearing, lawmakers grilled executives from major tech platforms about their role in protecting children, with calls for stricter regulations to curb the risks associated with social media and digital overuse.
A recent study from the American Psychological Association showed that teens today spend an average of five hours per day on social media. In a separate study by the Pew Research Center, nearly half of teens reported being online “almost constantly.” Some young people have even gone as far as to embrace the idea of being “chronically online” as a personality trait. The same study by the American Psychological Association revealed that 41% of teens with the highest social media usage report suffering from poor mental health, while 60% of that same group report low parental monitoring of their online activity.
These figures underscore a growing screen time epidemic among children navigating a vastly different digital landscape than the one we grew up in — one much higher in complexity and risk. Keeping children safe from online dangers–mentally and physically–calls for legislative action and innovative solutions from the private sector.
Solutions for Kids at Home and in School
While Washington continues to debate policy around child online safety, parents and educators actively seek practical tools to help them keep their kids’ online habits in check. Given the sheer volume of apps for kids to choose from on their smart devices, one of the parents’ most significant challenges in this effort is monitoring app usage effectively. It can be highly time-consuming to conduct in-depth research on every app a child downloads, let alone that new platforms are launched in the app store every day.
Parent Geenee, a parental control app, recognized this challenge of app management and designed a solution to help parents better manage which apps their kids have access to — and where they access them. With the ability to narrow down locations to the exact room in a house, with an optional Beacon, parents can enable specific apps in different areas. For example, they can allow educational apps in the study room or game apps only in the living room.
“With our groundbreaking ‘Safe Zones’ feature, we’re not just blocking apps,” said Sasi Naga, Chairman of Parent Geenee. “We’re creating a smarter, more adaptive approach to digital safety. Parents can now ensure their kids access the right apps at the right time, fostering healthier digital habits while maintaining control at school, home, or a friend’s house.
Like parents, teachers are grappling with the challenge of creating a balanced environment where children can access their smartphones during the school day without causing disruptions or distractions to their learning. Though cell phone use policies vary widely between schools and districts, one study found that 97% of 11-to-17-year-olds actively use their smartphones during the school day.
Acknowledging how this reality may impact long-term learning outcomes, Parent Geenee has developed a Schools Dashboard that allows educators and administrators to limit app access without confiscating phones.
Tools like Parent Geenee, Norton Family, Gabb Wireless, or Bark enable parents and teachers to create environments where children feel empowered to make more responsible and balanced decisions about their online behaviors.
Empowering the Next Generation of Smartphone Users
The Senate hearing signals a potential turning point in how the U.S. government will regulate child online safety. In the meantime, parental control technology and teaching responsible digital habits may offer the most effective stopgap until broader regulatory measures take shape.
Adults today may not have experienced what it was like to grow up with smartphone technology. However, we have an advantage when accessing the information, statistics, and resources needed to guide the next generation to prioritize and value mindful internet use over mindless scrolling.
Featured Image Credit: Photo by RDNE Stock project; Pexels
