Safe smartphone is created to ‘prevent tech addiction’ among children

A new smartphone has been created to ‘prevent tech addiction’. Now, many of you will no doubt ask why? And then argue that we don’t need to prevent tech addiction. But the monqi smartphone is aimed at kids, and there are some undeniable merits to the youth of today becoming slightly more detached from their phones.

With over half of under 14s reportedly checking their phone first thing in the morning and last thing at night, the monqi smartphone is being targeted at 7-12 year olds, in order to change that figure.

Parents are able to schedule how much time their children are allowed to use the phone and create digital boundaries to stop children looking where they shouldn’t be. The monqi phone and app also ensures that all contacts and app downloads are pre-approved by the parents, making it one of the safest devices on the market too.

This may be reassuring to some parents as a recent study found that by the age of 14 the average child will have sent more than 35,000 texts, 30,000 WhatsApp messages and racked up more than three solid weeks of video chat. Over half of under-14s said their phone is the first thing they check in the morning and last thing at night.

Frederik Albrechtsen, founder of monqi commented: “As a father of two young children I wanted to get them started with tech in the best possible way, so I searched for a solution that would keep them safe and manage their usage, but I was unable to find something that ticked all the boxes. So, I created monqi, the first comprehensive solution that promotes healthy phone habits from the start.”

Other parent friendly features include; approval of all contacts and downloads, geo-fencing so that you always know where your child is, the ability to limit app use, calls, texts and data use.

CEO of Internet Matters Carolyn Bunting said: "While figures around children’s internet usage may seem shocking to parents, we need to recognise they become digital natives at a very young age; learning, communicating and growing up online. Parents need to have early conversations with their children about the importance of screen time limits and staying safe online, essentially they need to stay in tune with their children’s digital lives."