Well, the answer to that question is yes. To a certain extent, using the smart watch for kids is entirely safe. Parents don't have to worry about anything, including responsible, monitored wear and a compact smart watch for kids. However, we understand the concern; parents only want what is best for their kids. So let's look at some parents' concerns about smartwatches and tackle them!
Besides other wearable gadgets, a smartwatch is usually associated with health enthusiasts due to its interesting features. So it only makes sense as to the worriedness it triggered. These health issues are generally spotlighted around the emitted device signal like Bluetooth, WiFi, 4G, and whatnot.
New York Time article stated in 2015 that "Smartwatches can cause cancer" was published. It creates controversy as it claims that radiations emitted by smartwatches and smartphones are dangerous to humans. This health concern might be a deal-breaker in purchasing one from a parent's perspective.
The electromagnetic spectrum includes radiation released by wireless gadgets like smartwatches. Examples include visible light, infrared radiation, UV, and x-rays. Photons of various energy levels can be thought of as electromagnetic radiation. This is the recognized mechanism through which radiation raises the risk of cancer. Smartwatches, Smartphones, and other wireless gadgets generate this radiation.
However, this article has been proven misleading. Smartwatches, Smartphones, and other wireless gadgets generate radiation, but it is still insufficiently potent to damage DNA. This is further confirmed by FDA's articles"While some researchers have reported biological changes associated with RF energy, these studies have failed to be replicated. Most studies have failed to show an association between exposure to radiofrequency from a cell phone and health problems."
Many parents' concerns about health care are based on the claim that WiFi or phone signals are dangerous. Still, as the FDA's statement implies, the information underlying such sayings has not been validated. On the contrary, instead of causing health problems, the smart watch for kids help parents monitor their kid's health conditions. Many built-in GPS tracker smartwatch for kids are equipped with features like measuring your distances in running, biking, hiking, and other outdoor activities, sleep monitoring, heartbeat sensor, diet and planning, pedometers, vibration massage, sleeping schedule, calorie intake, calculator. So encouraging your kids to do outdoor activities is a tangible way to keep your kids safe, health-wise.
Other features many smartwatches have are: Track your day-to-day activity (steps, flights of stairs, increased-heart-rate work, sleep), Alert you to phone calls, notifications, and alarms from your smartphone, which brings us to another concern parents have.
Have they ever heard of a story of a hacker stalking someone from their gadget? Parents are crucial to their sons' and daughters' security, especially when not around. These privacy and security-related concerns around smartwatches are there, and for good reasons. For example, the Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) examined consumer rights in four children's smartwatches and found that three of the four watches examined lacked security and privacy features.
"Two of the devices have flaws that could allow a potential attacker to take control of the apps, thus gaining access to children's real-time and historical location and personal details and even enabling them to contact the children directly, all without the parents' knowledge. One of the watches also functions as a listening device, allowing the parent or a stranger with some technical knowledge to an audio monitor the child's surroundings."
The research was conducted by Kaspersky on how simple it is for a spy to spy on smartwatch users. They started using android devices, created a simple program to handle and transmit accelerometer data, and then examined what they learned. The information may be utilized to determine whether the wearer is walking or sitting. Furthermore, deducing whether the individual is out for a stroll or changing subway trains is feasible based on the tiny differences in accelerometer patterns. It is also simple to see when someone is typing on a computer. But figuring out what they're typing is a lot more complicated. Everyone has their typing style, whether it's the ten-finger approach, a one- or two-digit keyboard stab, or anything in the middle. As a result, a neural network trained to detect how a particular person types might deduce what that person types. And, if this neural network has been trained to detect your specific typing style, the accelerometer data from your wrist-worn smartwatch may be used to recognize a password based on your hand motions.
And that is where the problem comes for each aspiring spy: Regularly downloading accelerometer measurements requires significant Internet bandwidth and quickly drains the smartwatch battery. These warning indicators are easy to see and alert the wearer that something is awry.
In other words, this spy of yours can make your smartwatch detect what you're typing. However, it isn't easy, and accurate recovery requires repeated text insertion. Some could retrieve a computer password or even an ATM PIN with high accuracy. Yet, such information isn't beneficial to hackers. They would still need access to your computer or credit card to utilize it. Determining a card number and CVC code is even more difficult. Attackers require predictable behavior followed by data submitted several times to steal data-entry information from a smartwatch. The latter element is another reason to avoid using the same password for several accounts.
The result is determined that you shouldn't be too concerned. So as long as you or your kids do not have any nemesis or have done a terrible thing to someone, you are good to go! Sure, someone can hack into your kid's GPS tracker, but for them to do that, it requires extensive work, advanced skills, and actual strong motivation to do that. Not to mention the process of that is also time-consuming. As taken from the Kaspersky website, "Should you worry about being spied on by someone using this technique? Only if that someone has a strong motivation to spy on you. The average cybercrook is after easy pickings and won't have much to gain."
On the other hand, a smartwatch is a valuable tracking tool if your computer password or route to the workplace is of worth to someone. In this scenario, our recommendation is:
Think about it more deeply: installing a smartwatch on your kid's wrist has more practical benefits than harm. Today, Tracker or Bluetooth phone call features facilitate most kids' GPS watches. These features allow you always to know where your kids are located and, at the same time, let your kids contact you if something happens.
Although recent statements have been concerned about these vulnerabilities, they do not now amount to a substantial privacy violation. However, this is an area where greater attention should be devoted.
In conclusion, giving your kids access to a smartwatch is safe. It is logical to ask if the smart watch for kids can harm your kids, especially when health and security concerns are common today. It also can be easily misleading, though. While smart watch for kids can cause risks for your kids, the same can be said for any modern device. As long as you as a parent can monitor your kids and teach them to be responsible in using it, there is no need to worry then! It is also essential to provide a suitable smart watch for your kids. Therefore, go out there and give your kids their dream smartwatch.
SOURCE:
https://www.iwosmartwatch.com/is-it-bad-to-wear-a-smartwatch-all-the-time/
https://smartwatchlabs.com/are-smartwatches-safe-to-wear/
https://www.iwonlex.net/do-i-need-4g-on-my-childs-smartwatch/
https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/smart-watch-research/22536/
https://fil.forbrukerradet.no/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/watchout-rapport-october-2017.pdf
