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You can let your little child play with various apps on a smartphone, believing that these apps are educational.
Pediatric researchers and authors of a major study from the University of Michigan's Faculty of Medicine, released Tuesday, are quite opposed. Too many applications for preschoolers, they say, manipulate youth to watch advertisements or make in-app purchases, resulting in potentially dangerous behavior.
Armed with this study, a coalition of consumer rights and public safety advocates sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, asking the government agency to investigate the market for apps for preschoolers and children. put an end to their dubious practices. This campaign is led by Campaign for a Child Without Advertising and the Center for Digital Democracy, to which more than a dozen other consumer and public health organizations have joined. (The letter was written with the assistance of the Communications and Technology Law Clinic of the Institute for Public Representation of the Georgetown University Law Center.)
Michigan researchers analyzed the content of 135 free, paid and popular apps, the majority of which have been downloaded more than ten million times, and sometimes more than 50 million times. The assertion is that 95% of these apps included at least one type of advertising, some of which are embedded in games or activities.
Defenders cite several examples. In Disney's "Olaf Adventures," a bright cake invites kids to pat it and, if they do, a pop-up window asks them to "protect Anna's cake" by paying $ 3.99.
In another example application, "Kids Puzzle Jigsaw", produced by Space Publishing, was taking almost as long as the gameplay, "reports the study.
Jenny Radesky, pediatrician and developmental behavior specialist and author of the report, said the following: "Young children using mobile devices an average of an hour a day, it is important to understand how this type of commercial exposure can Impact on the health and well-being of children.Our results show that the market for early childhood applications is a Wild West, with many applications seeming more focused on money-making than the current one. This has important implications for the regulation of advertising, the ethics of children's apps design, as well as the way parents decide which apps for kids are worth downloading. "
The study also noted that young children "do not have meta knowledge of advertising and are unable to think critically about their reactions." Therefore, children under 6 years of age may be particularly likely to collect tokens or other gaming objects. Even less understanding of online advertising than television ads.
In addition, in 35% of apps reviewed as part of the study, including 54% of free apps, ad videos suddenly interrupted playback or appeared at the end of a game level and before the beginning of another. Some apps also contained buttons with what researchers have called deceptive symbols, a $ sign, or a teddy bear, for example. If a child clicked on these buttons, he would see videos for other toys or foods.
The lawyers cited other examples: In "My Talking Tom" of Outfit7, a gift is supposed to fall from the ceiling to the background. A child who, according to the researchers, "reasonably assumes that the gift is part of a game will be invited to" watch videos and win ".
In Bubado's "Builder Game", thought bubbles appeared regularly next to the characters to indicate what the player had to do next.These were often games that could only be unlocked when making a purchase embedded or watching an advertisement video. "
Another advocate-targeted application is EDUBUZZKIDS 'Sight Words', which apparently prompts kids to click on ads by guiding them to a banner with cartoon hands.
Lawyers add that it is unfair to have a character in a game that requires a young child to make an integrated purchase. For example, in Bubadu's "Kids Doctor," a character crying if you click away from the built-in shopping store.
The letter sent to the FTC insists that it is misleading for parents to market as "free" apps those that require additional purchases to be able to play. And that it is also misleading to market games constantly interrupted by advertisements such as "educational".
It will be necessary to look at how the FTC – and the publishers of these applications themselves, respond to complaints.
Email: [email protected]; Follow USA TODAY, Tech Tech columnist on Twitter @edbaig
Parents, have you encountered such misleading practices in the apps your kids use? Please share your experiences.
Copyright 2017 USATODAY.com
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