Dear mom and dad: When You Should Introduce me to a Smartphone

Dear Mom and Dad:

I would like to remind you that I’m already more than a half of decade old. I’m young, not incompetent. It always flatters me to hear you guys talk about when you should introduce me to a smartphone right in front of me while I’m trying to make some sense out of addition and subtraction. I’m not saying that I need my own smartphone; instead I’m saying that we can share one. I’m fully aware that you guys have a few concerns about us sharing a smartphone, but let me tell you about Kids Mode on Galaxy S5, and hopefully your worries will disappear!

Kids Mode is downloadable for free.

See? I’m not asking you to spend any extra money. Kids Mode is one of the newest features of the Galaxy S5 that makes it ‘child-proof’. It comes for free with options and features, so that the phone optimizes itself to fit my needs. First, you can find it as a widget then through it you can download/install it. By the way, it is about 56MB, just like an averaging gaming app. It comes with basic apps for drawing, photos/videos recording and viewing and recording voices.

Of Course, I will need your permission

Just because you decided to share your Galaxy S5, doesn’t mean I can use this mode whenever I want. Once you download the Kids Mode, during the setup process, it will ask you to register a four digit PIN; so all you have to is not tell me the PIN. It will also ask you for my basic profile such as my name and date of birth, which I hope you still remember.

I can only use it for less than 3 hours.

I’m not so happy about this part, but I’m not even going to try to negotiate with you. The Parental Control option on the Kids Mode lets you set daily time limits with a maximum of 3 hours. To be honest, I’m not even sure if I can concentrate on one thing for that long, but even if I end up begging for more playing time, none of us can help it. 3 hours per day max, that will be it for daily dosage of Kids Mode for me.

I will not look at your photos, videos or any kinds of content. I actually can’t.

I’m not even sure why you are concerned about me going through your files. What type of files are you carrying on your smartphone? It doesn’t matter. Besides the fact that I’m not interested, I can’t even access them. That doesn’t mean I will be bored with it from lack of contents. By using the Parental Control, my least favorite option of the Kids Mode, you can set up the kind of apps or videos/photos contents that are appropriate for me, so I can access those only. You can also have me ask you for your approval before using certain apps. Long story short, I won’t be exposed to any inappropriate contents, whatever you think those are.

By the way, don’t worry about the crocodile. Even though I am fully aware that you are not the kind of parents who judge animals by their looks, I want to assure you that it is safe. I actually consider it as my friend, since I can play around with him and make him do various things. (Don’t worry he likes it.)

I can learn things from Kids Mode, so it is educational!

Did I just make you an offer that you cannot refuse? I can learn things! Since you already think I’m a genius, the more I learn, the more of a genius I will be! If you go to the ‘Kids Store’ (no, we don’t have to leave the house – Kids Store is an online store that Kids Mode supports, you can add all kinds of fun educational apps and games. You can whitelist up to 30 apps from the initial setup process, but you can change the list at the Parental Control Section. Initially, whichever apps you whitelisted will appear as the wrapped up present icon. When I click on it, the actual icon will appear. Therefore, even though it is educational app, I can think of it as a gift. Don’t worry, I don’t really consider that as manipulation, and I won’t be hurt.

I’m sure I’ve covered most of your concerns. Kids Mode is easy to setup and manage. As you can see from the images, the overall design of the Kids Mode is pretty friendly for people like me.

Oh, wow, I almost forgot to mention the biggest benefit for YOU dear parents!  Kids Mode will keep me quiet and entertained, which are two things I figure you might enjoy once in a while.  So stop talking about when to introduce me to smartphones, I already know about it.

Thank you and love you.

Sincerely,

Your lovely child.

*This article was written by editor ASyk, who entered his adulthood more than a decade ago (= their not 5 years old). Therefore, please remind yourself that the following is an individual opinion of an editor and does not represent the official views of the company.

**Hayoung Jeong (UX Solution R&D, Samsung Electronics)  also contributed to this article.

***All functionality features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.