From landlines to magazines, how families are finding alternatives to smartphones for kids
Many parents say they don't want to buy their child a smartphone, but they do want some of what a smartphone offers. Now a new industry has been created helping families in this scenario with alternatives to smartphones.
Nearly half of teenagers in the U.S. ages 13 to 17 say they are online almost constantly. So it may be no surprise that about four in 10 parents and teenagers say they regularly argue about phone use, according to Pew Research.
"We know the tech companies like Meta and Snapchat, TikTok, etc., they design their platforms to be as addictive as possible because they want to make sure that kids are on them all the time," says Kristen Beddard, co-lead of PA Unplugged.
Two of the biggest companies offering alternative, limited-feature phones are Bark and Pinwheel. Both have GPS tracking and content monitoring and filtering. Parents can control settings using an app or their computer.
"You can make the device as dumb or as smart as you want it," said Adam Brooks, program manager for Bark. "We want it to grow with the child."
Brooks says parents control what apps their child can get, screen time and much more. The phone can even turn off if a child tries to take or send inappropriate photos.
Gabe Ruiz with Pinwheel says instead of a web browser, Pinwheel has its own kid-friendly search engine.
"For example, if your child is trying to get an answer on a math question, it'll say, 'this is a great opportunity for you to be able to talk to your parents,'" Ruiz says.
Prices for these more kid-friendly phones range from $100 to $600.
The landline is making a comeback with a twist. The Tin Can phone uses Wi-Fi instead of a phone line. In Sewickley Township and Upper Saint Clair Township, "Tin Can communities" formed where more than 25 families have Tin Can landlines.
Julie Alexander's family has a Tin Can phone and says, "I think it's just giving kids the independence to call their own friends and to not constantly be asking me, 'Hey, can you text so and so's mom or ask if they can come over and play?' And it gives them the autonomy to be able to make those plans for themselves and learn phone etiquette, honestly."
When families are trying to delay the smartphone, many are thinking about deconstructing the phone. If someone just wants to listen to music, MP3 players are making a comeback. Or if they want to take pictures, they're using a real camera.
Tween Magazine is replacing Instagram for girls ages 8 to 13 featuring "Girls Who Rock," different careers, games, Mad Libs, recipes, and an advice column.
Mary Flenner, who has a tween girl herself, founded Tween Magazine and was looking for the kind of things she got from magazines when she was young. She says Tween Magazine is "a way to learn and get that information, but from a more reliable, safe, age-appropriate source than the magazines we grew up with or Instagram that really has so much unsafe and inappropriate content for girls."
Families are also trying screen-free tech toys like those from Giiker Toys. What does that mean?
"It means there's a technology within the toy that engages the student or the child and is able to level them up without having a screen with it," explains Carina Romanov, who represents Giiker Toys.
Many parents say they're going old school to get kids off smartphones and tablets.
Dad Grant Mervos from McKeesport says of smartphones and tablets, "I just don't allow them. One, because the way it affects a child's brain."
"Just to sit there and allow yourself to scroll and brain rot, I think that's a parent's job. They're not doing their due diligence."
You can see more alternative devices at PA Unplugged's website and Kidsburgh.org has many ideas and events for kids and families for hands-on, screen-free play.
