Categories: News

Teaching children to resist adverts and apps

&NewLine;<p>Since the advent of digital marketing&comma; online ads and in-app purchases have been causing headaches for parents&period; Children are able to make in-app purchases and opt-in to marketing campaigns without their parents&&num;8217&semi; knowledge or permission&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;" alignright size-full wp-image-1390" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;schoolnewsnz&period;fastrackdev&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2015&sol;03&sol;SND14-wk1-Apps&lowbar;resistance&lowbar;300x225&period;jpg" alt&equals;"SND14-wk1-Apps resistance 300x225" style&equals;"margin&colon; 5px&semi; float&colon; right&semi;" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"225" &sol;>Start-up company AdzJab aims to &&num;8220&semi;immunize&&num;8221&semi; children against ads and in-app purchases by teaching them to think before they click or tap&period; This platform is likely to be a welcome relief to parents&comma; who are apprehensive about their kids playing on laptops&comma; tablets&comma; smartphones&comma; or other computing devices&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p> <&excl;--more--> <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Even educational apps and games include these in-app purchases and advertisements&comma; which makes it easy for a child to unknowingly accumulate a large bill at their parents&&num;8217&semi; expense&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Many apps target children to spur business&period; In 2009&comma; almost half of the top-selling apps targeted young children&comma; and 80 per cent of top-selling educational apps in the iTunes store target children&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Recognising a need for a service that trains children to avoid upsells&comma; in-app purchases&comma; and opt-ins&comma; AdzJab was founded to teach youth how to think before they click or tap on an opt-in or in-app purchases&period; The platform will also evolve to a service that can be embedded into any app aimed at young children ages three to seven years old&period; Then&comma; AdzJab will release the code so that any developer will be able to use the code in their own apps&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Using a game-like format&comma; AdzJab uses fake social media profiles and other environments to teach children not to engage ads&period; First&comma; the child can upload a picture of his or her favourite toy&period; Using cutting-edge psychological methods devised by the project&&num;8217&semi;s psychology expert&comma; AdzJab conditions children to avoid certain elements&period; Thereby&comma; certain behaviours can be learned&period; In this case&comma; children learn how to avoid in-app purchases and advertising on a psychological level that creates a permanent effect&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Not only does this platform assist parents now&comma; but AdzJab will help children learn how to how to deal with various marketing and selling strategies for the rest of their lives&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>More information about AdzJab&comma; including videos of the program&&num;8217&semi;s prototypes&comma; is available at <strong><a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;adzjab&period;com" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank">www&period;adzjab&period;com<&sol;a>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;

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