Parents are concerned about how their kids use technology, especially how to strike the right balance between online and offline activities. Understanding these concerns, Google has introduced a new setting called School Time for Android phones, which aims to help kids focus on their studies during school hours instead of getting distracted by social media reels.

helping students focus during school time

Google has always collaborated with parents to design products that meet the needs of families. A common concern is making sure kids are not distracted during school, but are still available in case of an emergency. In response, Google introduced School Time on the Fitbit Ace LTE smartwatch earlier this year. Now, they are expanding the feature to select Android phones, tablets and Samsung Galaxy Watches next year to create more productive learning environments.

The School Time feature allows parents to set their child’s device to a dedicated home screen with limited functionality during school hours. This helps reduce distractions in the classroom. Through the Family Link parental control app, parents can schedule and choose which apps can be accessed during School Time. They can also allow calls or texts from specific contacts. School Time can also be activated outside of school hours, allowing focus or screen break periods.

Additional settings for teens

As kids reach their teen years, their use of technology evolves, and so do their monitoring needs. Google recognizes this and continues to provide customized settings for different ages and developmental stages. New features are coming to YouTube that allow parents to link their accounts to their teen’s, giving them insight into their teen’s activity.

Family Link supervision is available for all ages, allowing parents to determine which apps, products, and experiences their teens can access. It also helps parents monitor their teens’ activity, set screen time limits, and share location. For all users under the age of 18, Google has default safety settings, such as safe search, content restrictions, and turning off autoplay on YouTube. Recently, they have introduced safeguards to limit recommendations of potentially problematic content, such as videos related to body image.

Google is committed to continually investing in research and development to meet the changing needs of parents and children. By collaborating with experts in child development, education, and technology, Google aims to create a future where technology enhances learning and exploration.
With these new tools, Google is helping parents create a balanced and focused digital experience for their children, ensuring that technology serves as an aid to education and not a distraction.