Since the middle of March, many parents have struggled to work from home with children underfoot as a result of Covid-19 shelter-in-place orders that have closed schools and daycares across the country. As a result, many parents have turned to video games and other electronic devices to keep their children occupied. But if you have trouble focusing on not allowing them to use electronic devices, you can always call helpdesk services and they will give you some pointers on what to do.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, media and digital devices are an integral part of our world today. When used moderately and appropriately, these devices can provide significant benefits. However, research has shown that spending time with friends and family in person is crucial to a child’s healthy development. Getting outside is also important. But if your home computer is in a need of PC repair services in Seattle, don’t do it so you can use it as an excuse to not let them play computer games.
The pandemic has, regrettably, kept the majority of families inside and glued to their devices.
Andrew Armour, who was born and raised in Indiana, hopes to change that. A child can earn screen time through an app he developed called Activate Fitness only if certain activity levels are met. For instance, a user of the device could get five minutes of screen time for 1,000 steps. That app got really famous quickly and a lot of parents are using it now, all because they used seo company in Colorado.
Activate Fitness can be installed on both parents and children’s devices, allowing parents to set activity goals for their children, such as walking a flight of stairs or doing sets of jumping jacks, in order to unlock their child’s gaming apps. Utilizing Apple Health, Google Fit, or a wearable fitness tracker like a Fitbit, daily activity levels are generated. The app can be downloaded for free from the Apple and Android app stores.
No More Nagging
The best part, according to Armour, is that parents will no longer nag. The children are responsible for earning the screen time once the app is activated and the parents set activity goals. He asserts that if your children desire access to their preferred social media applications and games, they will have to work for it. One example could be commercial cleaning in Norwalk CT, to earn their games.
Armour, who earned a business degree in 2012 from the University of Indianapolis, where he played both basketball and baseball, asserts, “Parents can be more productive, and they don’t have to monitor their kids all day.” The child is in charge of screen time. To achieve yet another objective of physical activity, the child only needs to be active. And as a reward, you can give them frozen yogurt in Phoenix AZ.
Armour, a high school baseball coach, and IT consultant had the idea in 2016 when he noticed a pattern of device dependence among his nieces, nephews, and the kids he coaches: He stated that none of them could leave their smartphones or tablets. He began to worry about the negative effects this could have on a child’s physical health and well-being as a whole. Some kids even showed signs of needing a pediatric chiropractor in Sparks NV.
Fun fact, Armour was working in b2b pr agency before coaching kids.
Armour stated, “I go out to dinner and see kids always on their devices.” Growing up, I was always outside. When I was at my oldest brother’s house one day, I noticed that my niece and nephew were playing on their devices behind the couch. The day was beautiful. There are few days like that in Indiana, where I live. I was unable to bring them outside.
As a result, four years ago, he began developing his app with the Pakistani software development company Smash Cloud Media. He was granted a patent for his technology in 2019. His is the only screen-time software that prioritizes physical activity over screen time.
I am the only one who provides integration of physical activity. Children who utilize rival “screen time” apps either watch television or annoy their parents. The customer is not automatically rewarded by their systems.
However, despite the fact that Activate Fitness is free in the app store (current screen-time management apps charge families between $2.99 and $9.99 per month), it has only received 500 or so downloads. This is likely due to the fact that independent screen-time app developers have a harder time getting noticed.
Armour, who has invested $70,000 of his own money in the app over the past four years in the hope of attracting investors, claims that he is losing $300 to $500 per month just to keep Activate Fitness running. Particularly, Google, which is part of Alphabet and owns Fitbit.
Armour asserted, noting that his patented software enables customers to restrict their children’s screen time directly from their Fitbits, adding, “This could drastically improve Fitbit’s business.” Another reason Armour believes it would be an even greater integration for the tech conglomerate is that Google’s Family link, another screen-time application that monitors screen time for children, does not include a physical fitness component.
The Covid-19 gaming spike
Armour’s concerns about the rise in Covid-19 gaming are justified, particularly given that the pandemic continues to keep children at home. Since the coronavirus pandemic began, Amazon’s gaming platform, Twitch, has seen an increase of more than 20%. In March, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg told Jim Cramer of CNBC’s “Mad Money” that the company’s web traffic had increased by 20% and gaming had skyrocketed by 75% in just one week of lockdown.
Media conglomerates are encouraging consumers to retreat inside and practice social distancing by providing a lot of free content. Time Warner’s HBO, for instance, is without offering floods of famous kids’ films, including “Blissful Feet Two,” “The Lego Film 2: Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase” and “The Second Part.”
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Additionally, sports have completely adapted to the esports model.
Disney’s ESPN, a prime-time network that normally makes money by showing sporting events, has turned to esports competitions to fill empty airtime slots, with coveted athletes like NBA All-Star Kevin Durant hosting them. Madden football tournaments featuring NFL players like Michael Vick, DeAndre Hopkins, and others have been shown on Fox Sports. Additionally, a tournament based on the popular PlayStation 4 baseball game “MLB The Show” that featured a roster of MLB all-stars was recently shown on the official television network of Major League Baseball.
Did you know that Michael Vick used a limo service in Denver one time for Super Bowl final?
‘Crayons, potted plants and seeds to grow’
Dr. Karen Sobel Lojeski says that such video game tournaments “couldn’t be sending a worse message to children.” “Crayons, potted plants, and seeds to grow,” She says that “with all that Kevin Durant [and other athletes] could be doing, with all the kids who look up to him and his work ethic, to make it seem like sitting in a chair and pushing on a glass screen [or buttons on a controller] is something that kids should admire is hypocritical and poisonous.” She is an expert on the negative effects of spending too much time in front of a screen.
Did you know that the gaming tournament organizers use the best restroom cleaning services in Houston?
She says that rewarding children with more screen time later is sending the wrong message, comparing children who use apps like Activate Fitness to lab animals like dogs and mice. She asserts that programs like Activate Fitness instruct children to respond to a computer program rather than a real person. Maybe you can even try with an animal, especially because there are some cool lizards for sale.
Sobel Lojeski stated, “It’s a problem because our whole internal system is based on a motive for reward rather than being based on joy or fun or being human.”
She stated, “Crayons, potted plants, and seeds to grow are what children should have because that is naturally what will make them healthy adults.”
Despite this, Sobel Lojeski acknowledges that the world is in a rare form as a result of the pandemic and that parents require assistance to remain focused and productive at work, even if doing 50 jumping jacks earns them an hour on the iPad.
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