COLUMBUS, Ohio — When it comes to texts and social media activity, the Aqua One smartphone looks to create transparency between kids and their parents.
It’s a phone that allows parents to monitor their kid's activity 24/7 through a real-time website.
“It’s built specifically for kids and it allows parents to see every single action their child takes on social media regardless of what platform,” said Jeffrey Gottfurcht, CEO and founder of Cyber Dive.
The phone is for kids who are first-time phone users. Gottfurcht said it's about parents knowing what problems their kids could be facing by monitoring their phone activity.
“They are facing self-harm, bullying, body image issues, anxiety, sextortion and in the worst case suicide,” said Gottfurcht.
He said a lot of the time, social media creates a wall between parents and kids because parents don’t know what their kid is up to online. If parents monitor their kid's activity, it allows them to have more transparency.
“It allows parents to have conversations, difficult conversations sometimes, sometimes not. We wanted to open that line of communication,” he said.
On Tuesday, a federal judge temporarily halted enforcement of a pending Ohio law that would require children to get parental consent to use social media apps.
Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted said he was disappointed in the judge's decision to block it. He said sometimes social media can have a negative effect on kids' mental health.
Last year, 10TV spoke to Dr. Ariana Hoet, the clinical director of On Our Sleeves, a non-profit that focuses on children's mental health. She said when it comes to social media, parents need to create a space where kids can trust them.
“So we really want to pause, breathe and make it about the child. Listen, don’t bombard them with questions like, 'why are you watching?' Instead, tell me why you’re watching this, tell me a little bit about why you post x,y and z,” said Hoet.
She said parents should work with their kids to create trust and find a plan that works best for the family.
“Coming to that decision as a family. Am I going to give my child access, what are they going to access, and then find that balance that is healthy. How can we use it in a way that keeps them safe, both mentally and physically,” said Dr. Hoet.