Named useful for Russians with children functions in a smart speaker

The most useful function of a smart speaker is filtering content not intended for children (95% of respondents said so). At the same time, only 35% use this function on a regular basis. This is stated in the results of a survey conducted by the All-Russian Center for Public Opinion Research (VTsIOM) in cooperation with the Alliance for the Protection of Children in the Digital Environment, as reported by Izvestia on January 28.

At the same time, 20% use the function from time to time, 18% - almost never use it, 21% - never turn on this mode. Another 6% found it difficult to answer.

"Child mode" in smart speakers is a special feature that allows you to limit access to unwanted content and ensure the safety of children.

"Although parents predominantly emphasize the importance of "child mode" functions, in practice they are used much less often. Parents consider filtering content not intended for children to be the most important (95%), while it is most often actually used (55%). Thanks to the adaptation of answers to children's request the column understands children better, nine out of ten parents (92%) noted that this is an important function for them", - says the survey results.

At the same time, 77% of parents noted the importance of including special scenarios: learning to wake up, falling asleep, etc. About half of those surveyed also cited the ability to turn off voice activation (53%), having a report on interaction with the speaker - duration of use (52%) and limiting the time the speaker is used for children (51%) as important.

"Children interact with the smart speaker predominantly without adult assistance (61%). The range of uses of the smart speaker by children is wide, but the most common is playing music or radio, with eight in 10 children (82%) using this feature. The top 5 also include communicating with a voice assistant (59%), playing fairy tales and audiobooks (58%), handling information requests (36%) and playing entertainment programs (32%). That is, we are mainly talking about functions of an entertainment nature," the experts noted.

Earlier, on October 13, 2024, psychologist, profiler Lidia Kutuzova told Izvestia that the consequences of excessive use of gadgets - smartphones, laptops, tablets - can be serious for children and adolescents. Among them, the specialist named delayed speech development, concentration problems, decreased social skills, dependence on gadgets, sleep problems, anxiety and decreased creativity. Kutuzova advised setting clear time limits for working with electronic devices, creating "device-free zones," such as a bedroom or dining room table, as well as using special applications to monitor time spent online and practicing digital detoxes.