Apple, kids, and iPhone addiction: Parental controls in iOS are long overdue
If there’s anyone who loves our iPhones more than we do, it’s our kids. Whether it’s an iPod touch, iPad mini, or a hand-me-down iPhone 5s, a whole generation of children are growing up with Apple’s mobile devices, giving them a whole new set of risks and dangers to navigate.
But while Apple has done an admirable job keeping the App Store safe and apps engaging for kids, it hasn’t done much to protect them from the effects of the device itself. Last to Apple titled, “Think Differently About Kids” in which they note a number of problems arising due to too much screen time. In younger eyes and brains, they write, several hours a day of smartphone use can trigger a variety of factors that may lead to suicide, depression, and sleep deprivation. And they argue that Apple hasn’t implemented any tools or apps that help parents keep their children off their phones and monitor what they do with them:
