By Gavin Boyle
Many older technologies are making a comeback as Americans look to become less reliant on their phones, including landlines which give kids to have access to a phone without receiving a smart device.
“People are realizing now that [mindlessly giving kids smartphones] is a disaster,” a Rhode Island mom told Good Housekeeping. “It’s a catastrophe. That’s exactly the wrong thing to do.”
Related: No, Your Kid Doesn’t Actually Need a Phone
Parents across the country are starting to feel similarly, especially after the U.S. Surgeon General called for a Surgeon General’s warning to be placed on social media for the undeniable potential for harm it has for young users. In response, many school districts and states have begun to explore how to limit kids’ access to phones during the school day, while parents have started delaying when their kids get devices.
For many families, dumb phones and smart watches have been the answer to staying connected throughout the day without opening up the door to social media. Landlines have now become a part of this movement, with company Tin Can largely leading the way.
“We started by building a phone just for our own kids, and it’s been amazing to see that snowball into something much bigger that clearly resonates with families everywhere,” Tin Can co-founder and CEO Chet Kittleson told Geek Wire.
“Parents everywhere are grappling with how to give their kids independence without handing them the internet too soon,” he added, explaining why his company has been so successful. “That cultural shift – away from screens and toward more analogue forms of connection – has been a huge tailwind for us.”
Landlines help keep kids connected with each other without opening the door to social media or free reign of the internet. At the same time, it also gives parents peace of mind in leaving their kids home alone, while also being able to communicate with them if needed – and vice versa.
It seems likely that retro tech will be increasingly relied upon by parents in the future as training wheels of sorts to prepare kids for more powerful technology without opening the door to many of the negatives associated with these devices. More and more studies are now coming out that are showing the harms that come with exposing kids to smartphones and, especially, social media – helping parents understand just what is at stake when they give their kids a device too early.
It is encouraging to see how parents are getting creative to solve the problem of connectivity while protecting their kids from the dangers of social media and unfettered access to the internet.
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