I went on a long haul trip to
Asia a few months ago. I don’t like having my 2-year old on a tablet, but
I figured I needed some kind of backup plan for when she melts down 12 hours
into the 15 hour flight. So I looked on review sites, looked through the
Google Play store, and tried find something acceptable.
I kind of saw this problem
coming last year when I realized public schools in my area were buying iPads
for “educational” purposes and loading them up with “free” apps. The
rationale was that it was cost effective because you had to buy the iPad, but
then you got access to lots of apps that could teach lots of different subjects
like math, science, art, whatever, and the apps didn’t cost anything up front.
(Almost) Nothing's free. I cringe whenever someone tells me you can get free apps, especially when this is told to a parent or educator or a child/young person. Someone's paying for it, which means someone is willing to front the money for you to not pay for it.
Do a search in Google Play for "educations games" and there's a huge list of "free apps." But as soon as you open up the details, what do you see? "Ad-supported family app." or "In-app purchases."
This is old news, but in Europe, Google was compelled to remove the word "free" from apps that contained in-app purchases. The lobbyists in North America must be too powerful for us to get the same kind of consumer protection here.
I actually think that ad-supported apps that are named "free" are worse. Kids are already constantly bombarded with advertising that creates unnecessary desires, which don't provide any real personal fulfillment even when these false desires are met. Then the kid grows up feeling "empty" because they thought that buying whatever it was that was advertised to them would actually make them happy. It won't, not for real anyway.
It's so insidious that companies first deceive the parents, by passing often useless apps off as "educational" and "free" apps. Then, the advertising makes little consumerist drones out of the kids.
Some of these apps are actually ridiculous too. Instead of charging a tablet, downloading a "free" app, exposing a kid to even more advertising just to...for instance, practice writing the alphabet using your finger on an artificial surface...how about a paper and pencil? Yeah, there might not be any special animations, sound effects, or background music, but so what? Are those critical to learning the alphabet?
The app exists to make money for the developers and the advertisers. Providing education is often secondary, like the two pieces of broccoli they give you at a steakhouse so that you feel slightly less guilty that you just consumed 3 days worth of fat and cholesterol in one meal.
If you actually find an app that suits your purposes, and you have to test it out first, look for a way to buy it outright. This tends to make the developer less money, because they want to keep advertising to you or they want you to keep paying a subscription (like an in-app purchase). But if you find one that lets you remove the ads (at least), then that'll help keep some of that filth away from your kid's impressionable young mind.
I won't buy any app that doesn't let me eliminate the ads. If it's actually a worthwhile app, it's worth buying. The developers deserve to get paid for their work. But I'm not giving them and their advertisers direct and ongoing access to brainwash my kid.
Licensed apps are the worst! Apps that are supposed to be "free" and "educational" as taught by your kid's favourite animated character. All that character is trying to do is to sell you and your kid a doll or a game or some other overpriced knickknack made by underpaid workers toiling away in a developing country. You will pay for this app in the way of future merchandise that is branded by that licensed character, that you or your kid will buy because advertising works.
I bought 3 apps for my kid to play with during my trip to Asia, and I tried a bunch of others that I deleted immediately. I wish I had never even installed those ones that didn't make the cut because now I feel like my tablet is somehow tainted. Anyway, all three apps allowed you to pay to eliminate the ads.
One app was a huge collection of some 400 puzzles. This won't work for everyone, but my daughter likes to focus and work on things like puzzles. Another app was a set of alphabet flashcards with a picture and word on the same screen (important), no fancy animations or sound effects. This was a few dollars, but had no ads. This was primarily a space saver, because I could have brought physical flash cards. The last app had some shapes and patterns and helped my kid practice her vocabulary.
Some apps have a purpose. Some apps can work for your kid, and maybe for a specific purpose (i.e. at the end of a long flight).
I'm not saying all apps are evil. But "free educational" apps may not be educational and they are definitely not free. Someone is going to pay, whether it's you now, you later, or your kids much later. Buy it, if it's worth it, and get rid of those ads. Don't let developers and advertisers get rich off of enslaving your kid to their (probably) useless merchandise.
(Almost) Nothing's free. I cringe whenever someone tells me you can get free apps, especially when this is told to a parent or educator or a child/young person. Someone's paying for it, which means someone is willing to front the money for you to not pay for it.
Do a search in Google Play for "educations games" and there's a huge list of "free apps." But as soon as you open up the details, what do you see? "Ad-supported family app." or "In-app purchases."
This is old news, but in Europe, Google was compelled to remove the word "free" from apps that contained in-app purchases. The lobbyists in North America must be too powerful for us to get the same kind of consumer protection here.
I actually think that ad-supported apps that are named "free" are worse. Kids are already constantly bombarded with advertising that creates unnecessary desires, which don't provide any real personal fulfillment even when these false desires are met. Then the kid grows up feeling "empty" because they thought that buying whatever it was that was advertised to them would actually make them happy. It won't, not for real anyway.
It's so insidious that companies first deceive the parents, by passing often useless apps off as "educational" and "free" apps. Then, the advertising makes little consumerist drones out of the kids.
Some of these apps are actually ridiculous too. Instead of charging a tablet, downloading a "free" app, exposing a kid to even more advertising just to...for instance, practice writing the alphabet using your finger on an artificial surface...how about a paper and pencil? Yeah, there might not be any special animations, sound effects, or background music, but so what? Are those critical to learning the alphabet?
The app exists to make money for the developers and the advertisers. Providing education is often secondary, like the two pieces of broccoli they give you at a steakhouse so that you feel slightly less guilty that you just consumed 3 days worth of fat and cholesterol in one meal.
If you actually find an app that suits your purposes, and you have to test it out first, look for a way to buy it outright. This tends to make the developer less money, because they want to keep advertising to you or they want you to keep paying a subscription (like an in-app purchase). But if you find one that lets you remove the ads (at least), then that'll help keep some of that filth away from your kid's impressionable young mind.
I won't buy any app that doesn't let me eliminate the ads. If it's actually a worthwhile app, it's worth buying. The developers deserve to get paid for their work. But I'm not giving them and their advertisers direct and ongoing access to brainwash my kid.
Licensed apps are the worst! Apps that are supposed to be "free" and "educational" as taught by your kid's favourite animated character. All that character is trying to do is to sell you and your kid a doll or a game or some other overpriced knickknack made by underpaid workers toiling away in a developing country. You will pay for this app in the way of future merchandise that is branded by that licensed character, that you or your kid will buy because advertising works.
I bought 3 apps for my kid to play with during my trip to Asia, and I tried a bunch of others that I deleted immediately. I wish I had never even installed those ones that didn't make the cut because now I feel like my tablet is somehow tainted. Anyway, all three apps allowed you to pay to eliminate the ads.
One app was a huge collection of some 400 puzzles. This won't work for everyone, but my daughter likes to focus and work on things like puzzles. Another app was a set of alphabet flashcards with a picture and word on the same screen (important), no fancy animations or sound effects. This was a few dollars, but had no ads. This was primarily a space saver, because I could have brought physical flash cards. The last app had some shapes and patterns and helped my kid practice her vocabulary.
Some apps have a purpose. Some apps can work for your kid, and maybe for a specific purpose (i.e. at the end of a long flight).
I'm not saying all apps are evil. But "free educational" apps may not be educational and they are definitely not free. Someone is going to pay, whether it's you now, you later, or your kids much later. Buy it, if it's worth it, and get rid of those ads. Don't let developers and advertisers get rich off of enslaving your kid to their (probably) useless merchandise.
