Spacetalk a big step for social media safety

An Australian children’s watch has been launched that lets families communicate without the dangers of social media.

The Spacetalk kid's watch will sell in local retailers for $349.

An Australian children’s watch has been launched that lets families communicate without the dangers of social media.

MGM Wireless says its Spacetalk all-in-one children’s phone is the first of its kind to be wholly developed in Australia and one of the first worldwide.

A child can make or receive calls from a list of contacts that parents manage in a smartphone app, but they can’t use social media applications.

If a child needs help, a special SOS alert function can be customised to call parents and other guardians.

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Parents can see their child's location on their smartphone and can set alerts so whenever children leave designated safe spaces such as school or home, parents are notified.

A step counter tracks the wearer’s physical activity.

Safety feature

“A key safety feature of Spacetalk is that it doesn’t give children access to social media, apps, open internet, YouTube or other such services dangerous to young children,” the company said in a statement.

Spacetalk comes at a time Australian schools are beginning to ban children using smartphones and tablets during class times.

“In addition, during school hours, the device can operate in ‘school mode’ whereby all communication features are disabled to ensure children won’t be distracted.”

MGM Wireless says Spacetalk has been verified as “unhackable” and has security and privacy features built in. It says it has reached an agreement with The Good Guys to sell the watch in retail stores in Australia.

The watch will be available in Australian stores by the end of November. The watch also is being sold in New Zealand and the UK. It will retail locally for $349.

Spacetalk comes at a time Australian schools are beginning to ban children using smartphones and tablets during class times. Victoria has announced a ban in state schools from next year.

The WA Government too has announced a mobile phone ban in public schools from next year.

In September, federal education minister Dan Tehan said we were starting to see as causal link between social media and the impact it has on student wellbeing.

Schools too are wanting to roll back the influence that social media apps such as Facebook have on young students, in particular cyber bullying.