This article was published in the Summit 2021 issue
by Stephen Dalby, Founder and CEO, Gabb Wireless
The youth-technology dilemma is a growing concern for parents. With screen addiction recording at an all-time high in teens and pre-teens, the current parenting generation grapples over how to protect their kids from the threat to their innocence that is adult technology. How can parents look past the pressures to give their children a smartphone before they are ready? Why must technology come equipped with such flimsy, easy-to-bypass parental controls? How can parents stay connected to their kids without compromising their safety from inappropriate content, cyberbullies, and online predators? Enter Gabb Wireless, the leading company specializing in safe tech for kids. Who would have thought that the solution to these problems would make camp in the heart of Utah Valley?
While other major tech companies have made their homes in various Silicon Valleys throughout the country, Gabb astutely observed the entrepreneurial opportunity in pitching its tent in Lehi, Utah: the next up-and-coming, innovative tech hub of America.
Established in 2018, Gabb is fulfilling a specific need in the tech industry. Other tech companies provide the same devices for kids as they do for adults. As a result, when a child receives a standard smart device, the likelihood of screen addiction and exposure to inappropriate content increases. Statistics show that teens are 2x more likely to be diagnosed with depression if they spend 7+ hrs/day on devices. Likewise, more recent studies conclude that teens spend an average of 7hrs 22 minutes on screens each day outside of school work.
Gabb Wireless believes in a child’s right to be safe from the potential dangers that come with tech use (cyberbullying, inappropriate content, addictive games/apps, online predators, etc.). Now more than ever, it is evident that too much technology too soon is dangerous for kids. By providing smart tech with no Internet, no social media, and no addictive games, Gabb is increasingly fulfilling its mission to protect kids and keep them connected to their families and friends.
Unique to its major brand competitors, Gabb is proving to be more than just another one-size-fits-all company. Gabb creates safe tech products specifically catered to the needs of kids and families.
Gabb is fully engaged in helping kids use the right amount of tech at the right time, including easing into the responsibilities that tech demands. The purpose behind Gabb’s “tech-in-steps” initiative is to provide devices that teach kids how to grow with the appropriate amount of technology- a collection of kid-safe devices, one suited for every level of tech readiness.
The Gabb Watch is the perfect first step in wearable smart tech for kids. It functions as a stand-alone phone with a unique phone number, rendering reliable parent-kid connection through unlimited calling and messaging capabilities. The phone aspect of the Gabb Watch comes with additional safety features, namely a custom contact list. Parents can select up to 10 friends and family to include in their child’s list of contacts. All contacts can communicate via calls and texts with the child’s Gabb Watch, while other unrecognized numbers are blocked. This ensures no spam notifications reaching your child and no inappropriate communication between your child and a stranger.
The Gabb Watch also functions as a GPS active tracking device, providing location services that parents can track around the clock. With this GPS feature, parents can use their kid’s watch to set up predetermined “safe zones”: geographic locations that the parents have designated as safe. Examples might include school, a grandparent’s home, or a best friend’s house. The Gabb Watch alerts the parent whenever a child leaves or enters a designated safe zone.
In case of emergencies, the Gabb Watch also comes equipped with an SOS/emergency contact button. Conveniently placed on the side of the watch, a child simply holds the button down for 6 seconds to send an SOS call to their emergency contact.
The current final step in this line of safe-tech for kids is the Gabb Z2 Phone: the safe smartphone for kids. Like all Gabb products that have followed, the Gabb Z2 comes safe for kids out-of-the-box- without internet, social media, app store, or addictive games. A focused smartphone made with kids in mind, the Z2 is equipped with 14 essential features, including kid-favorites like unlimited talk and text (with optional photo and group texting), “Find my Phone” GPS capability, front and rear camera, Bluetooth connection, and music app.
With the proper devices teaching them healthy habits, kids can enjoy the freedom of life beyond the screen while staying connected to the people closest to them.
Gabb’s kid-safe tech helps children navigate the digital world as they mature. No need to treat tech as something to shun or hide from your kids. Gabb provides tech that families can embrace in the way that’s right for them.
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