As a parent, I’m deeply concerned about the kind of content children are exposed to on devices designed “for kids,” like the Amazon Fire. Even when we set strict age filters, for example, selecting a 7-year-old filter, our children still encounter inappropriate media. Just the other day, my child opened an app with an ad proclaiming, “Drink Cosmic Gin. It will make sure you get out of your head.” Seriously? This is supposed to be child-friendly? Talk about early stage programming.
This isn’t an isolated issue. Every day, children’s devices serve up ads with everything from suggestive themes to outright adult content. AI-driven algorithms bombard kids with ads designed for adult audiences, and it’s overwhelming for both them and us as parents.
The companies responsible for safeguarding our children’s experience online need to do far better. They’re supposed to be protecting young minds, yet their systems allow harmful and inappropriate media to seep through. We trust these devices to keep kids safe, not to act as conduits for harmful media that only serves to pollute and sexualise children. We have to demand real action to protect kids online, because at this point, it feels like the system has completely failed us.
Oh, of course! Silly me it all our fault anyway. Why would I ever expect a ‘kid-friendly’ device, marketed specifically for children, to actually be safe for them? Clearly, the real solution is to just never let kids near screens in the first place. After all, it’s not like we’re buying these devices with the hope that they’ll provide age-appropriate learning and entertainment.
Nope! We’re clearly just lazy parents looking for a digital babysitter. Guess it’s on us for trusting the so-called ‘child safety’ settings and expecting companies to actually deliver on what they promise.
