Due to my hypocrisy and denial about my own addiction to the internet, last year I purchased a magical little box called ‘Circle.’ It is endorsed and or sold under the Disney name. I grabbed it on Amazon.
The marketing for the product is geared towards those with younger children who are venturing into the world of Minecraft, YouTube and the myriad other digital distractions the children of the 21st Century are faced with. However, it works just great for teenagers also.
I Have the Power
The power of Circle is in the app that you download and comes with a secure pin number to manage your accounts. With the app you can group all the devices in your house to a person. Then you can set up how you want them to be able to use those devices. It shows you how much time is spend on a device. You can also set viewing limits based on age – pre k, kid, teen adult. For me, it is a time thing more than a content thing.
Time and energy spent on the internet is the biggest issue. Concepts like school and homework seem to ghost through my son’s brains and is far too easily pushed aside by game time online with friends. The Circle app allows me to create a hard stop on when the internet is available to him. This I hope encourages giving up and going to sleep at a half-decent time.
Can’t Fight the Future
The internet is a genie long out of the bottle, so my efforts are focused on fostering common sense and balance between the digital and the ‘real’ world. For teens and tweens the internet IS the real world. It is where they hang out with their friends, meet new ones and deal with all the issues and angst that assail them. We have tried to foster an air of openness when it comes to what is available online. As long as the kids are not overtly hiding things from us, we tend to not be too nosey. This has been mostly successful so far. And I don’t think we are being TOO naive in thinking we are mostly aware of their doings online.
I think the biggest thing we can hope to impart on our kids is that they are in control and not the device, nor the message it is imparting. I admit to getting some relief from having the Circle help me control when those messages are being shared. I would love to hear from other parents of teens. How do you manage their digital lives?
Tracey says
I look forward to your review. I have been eying it. But getting push back from hubby on its potential to slow speeds ie ‘gaming’ down.
Kerry Sauriol says
Yes while I love having all the power!!! The boys have complained that it has affected their stuff.