SOCIAL media can be fun and useful but it’s dangerous too.
The problems created by the internet have moved to phones too and this is why Google created Family Link, an app to help parents guide their kids’ exploration of the digital world.
With the app, parents set up a Google account for their children, view their online activity and control their screen time.
Ernst Wittmann, global account director for Middle East and Africa and South African country manager at Alcatel, said: “The good news now is that there are a number of Android apps parents can use to control their children’s screen time.
“But the apps are useless unless parents lay down the law.
“You are no longer in the dark if your child claims to be doing homework because you can’t check if he or she is spending five hours a day playing games and texting instead of reading or doing maths.”
With the app Whitman said parents can guide their children to make better choices and spend far more productive time on their devices engaging with high-quality education content such as Mathletics.
Mathletics is a captivating online math learning system that provides pupils with all the tools they need to understand maths.
“If you’re concerned that your child will become a Minecraft addict, you can approve or block apps your child wants to download from the Google Play Store.
“While you can ban specific apps from your kids’ devices as well as manage various in-app purchases.”
Family Link allows parents to set time limits and a bedtime for supervised devices, so that they can be sure children are not watching things like YouTube videos when they should be in bed sleeping.
Parents can also lock their children’s phones’ internet access if they don’t want them to be online.
The app also helps parents to locate their children’s Android devices.
Another handy feature parents do want is the ability to block pornographic websites.
