Spark’s weighing in on the topic of kids on social media.
The telco is launching the country’s first mobile plan for kids, aiming to help parents ease them into the digital world.
The plan will allow parents to control usage and data, and limit users to low-data apps such as bus apps and find my phone.
Spark Corporate Relations and Sustainability Director Leela Ashford told Mike Hosking parents are trying to balance the benefits of giving their kids a phone, such as connectivity, but aren’t wanting to open the internet floodgates all at once.
She says the plan is suited to low levels of data use, and isn’t designed to let kids off the tether to do whatever they want.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Spark as in the telco weighing into the use of
social media. They're launching the Countries Where Mobile Plan for kids.
It will let parents control usage and data limit users
to low data apps like bus apps and find my
Phone now sparks. Leela Ashford is with us on this, Leela,
very good morning to you.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Thank you, Good morning mine.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
How technically advanced is this?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
So it's the first to launch in New Zealand. When
we do launch it, it's new capability that we'd be
providing for our customers, and really it's based off quite
a bit of research we've done with parents and our
customers who are parents who are telling us that they're
trying to balance the benefits of giving their kids a
phone that come with the connectivity and being able to
keep in touch with them, but they're not willing to
(00:41):
open the floodgates to everything that comes with the Internet
all at once.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Who's it aimed at? Age wise? When you talk about
parents giving kids phones, would we talking about age wise?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Well, from our research, we see that parents tend to
make that choice generally somewhere between eight and fourteen. In
terms of who can access this plan, we leave that
up to parents it's seventeen and below, but it really
does vary by family.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Okay, it says new parental control features allowing parents to
manage the plan by sending how much data is allocated
to the child? Can you do that already?
Speaker 2 (01:12):
No? So generally when you buy a plan, it comes
with a certain data limit and so your child can
you know, cube?
Speaker 1 (01:18):
But can I put my kid on my phone? I mean,
I know it? Can I do? We have kids on
my phone? So can I just do that and solve
the problem.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
So what this plan does is it comes with a
gigabyte loaded, but then the parent decides when the child
gets the next gigabyte. So it's actually dishing out data
in smaller proportions based on when the parent thinks that
is appropriate. And to give you context, one gigabyte you're
only really going to be able to do endless scrolling
or watching reels on social media for one to two hours,
(01:48):
depending on the quality. So this isn't letting kids off
the tether to do whatever they want. It really is
something that's more suited to low levels of data use.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Great debate of our time, isn't it? Leela wushud it?
Leela Ashford's spark corporate relations sustainable. I mean, when you
set up an iPhone, it literally asks you, are you
sitting this up for yourself? Yes? Or for your kid?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (02:10):
But what if you lie?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Well?
Speaker 1 (02:13):
And then that's the problem, isn't it. Because Jason comes
and Jason the bosh, I mean did you hear him before?
I mean just lost it, He lost his head. He's nuts.
So my comment this morning, just before seven thirty, he
comes and goes, I couldn't disagree with you more. I
couldn't off he went. And this is the interesting thing
about this whole phone thing. What I'm arguing is that
(02:34):
we all agree. Do we want to do something about
protecting our kids with social media? Of course we do,
do some of us as parents do it already. Yes,
you would like to hope I got a bowl. Apparently
I had a bowl. Well, I don't have kids anymore,
thank god, but I had a bowl when we did
have kids, and we laid down some pretty rough rules.
And as I told you on the program yesterday, we
got pretty hated for a period of time, but we
(02:55):
did the parenting. So for people who don't want to
do that, we're relying on the government.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Now.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
Apparently so God, oh bless them. But all I'm arguing
is technically, forget the emotion, forget whether we should forget.
Jason was going to stop them at the border. Those
were as parting words at the end of sport. Just
stop them at the border, just turn turn them off.
I hate them. This was meta and all the Googles,
I hate them, turn it off, stop them at the border.
I didn't have time to explain that the net doesn't
(03:21):
work at the border, but be that as it may.
So forget all of that and just go back to
the technical Can you technically stop sixteen year olds getting
to social media? Can you do it? And the answer
is no? And I know the answer is no because
there are plenty of people looking at it, and guess what,
not one of them has come up with the answer yet.
And until you do come up with the answer, the
next part is is it worth pursuing it in an
(03:43):
emotional way if you know ultimately the answer is no,
and therefore the problem is not solved. Jason will come
back and during the news at eight and just carry
that on. So God, I can't wait till we get
out of the news and Sport and we can get
back to some interviews. For more from the Mike Asking Breakfast,
listen live to news Talks at B from six am weekdays,
(04:04):
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
Spark as in the telco weighing into the use of
social media. They're launching the Countries Where Mobile Plan for kids.
It will let parents control usage and data limit users
to low data apps like bus apps and find my
Phone now sparks. Leela Ashford is with us on this, Leela,
very good morning to you.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Thank you, Good morning mine.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
How technically advanced is this?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
So it's the first to launch in New Zealand. When
we do launch it, it's new capability that we'd be
providing for our customers, and really it's based off quite
a bit of research we've done with parents and our
customers who are parents who are telling us that they're
trying to balance the benefits of giving their kids a
phone that come with the connectivity and being able to
keep in touch with them, but they're not willing to
(00:41):
open the floodgates to everything that comes with the Internet
all at once.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Who's it aimed at? Age wise? When you talk about
parents giving kids phones, would we talking about age wise?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Well, from our research, we see that parents tend to
make that choice generally somewhere between eight and fourteen. In
terms of who can access this plan, we leave that
up to parents it's seventeen and below, but it really
does vary by family.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Okay, it says new parental control features allowing parents to
manage the plan by sending how much data is allocated
to the child? Can you do that already?
Speaker 2 (01:12):
No? So generally when you buy a plan, it comes
with a certain data limit and so your child can
you know, cube?
Speaker 1 (01:18):
But can I put my kid on my phone? I mean,
I know it? Can I do? We have kids on
my phone? So can I just do that and solve
the problem.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
So what this plan does is it comes with a
gigabyte loaded, but then the parent decides when the child
gets the next gigabyte. So it's actually dishing out data
in smaller proportions based on when the parent thinks that
is appropriate. And to give you context, one gigabyte you're
only really going to be able to do endless scrolling
or watching reels on social media for one to two hours,
(01:48):
depending on the quality. So this isn't letting kids off
the tether to do whatever they want. It really is
something that's more suited to low levels of data use.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Great debate of our time, isn't it? Leela wushud it?
Leela Ashford's spark corporate relations sustainable. I mean, when you
set up an iPhone, it literally asks you, are you
sitting this up for yourself? Yes? Or for your kid?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (02:10):
But what if you lie?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Well?
Speaker 1 (02:13):
And then that's the problem, isn't it. Because Jason comes
and Jason the bosh, I mean did you hear him before?
I mean just lost it, He lost his head. He's nuts.
So my comment this morning, just before seven thirty, he
comes and goes, I couldn't disagree with you more. I
couldn't off he went. And this is the interesting thing
about this whole phone thing. What I'm arguing is that
(02:34):
we all agree. Do we want to do something about
protecting our kids with social media? Of course we do,
do some of us as parents do it already. Yes,
you would like to hope I got a bowl. Apparently
I had a bowl. Well, I don't have kids anymore,
thank god, but I had a bowl when we did
have kids, and we laid down some pretty rough rules.
And as I told you on the program yesterday, we
got pretty hated for a period of time, but we
(02:55):
did the parenting. So for people who don't want to
do that, we're relying on the government.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Now.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
Apparently so God, oh bless them. But all I'm arguing
is technically, forget the emotion, forget whether we should forget.
Jason was going to stop them at the border. Those
were as parting words at the end of sport. Just
stop them at the border, just turn turn them off.
I hate them. This was meta and all the Googles,
I hate them, turn it off, stop them at the border.
I didn't have time to explain that the net doesn't
(03:21):
work at the border, but be that as it may.
So forget all of that and just go back to
the technical Can you technically stop sixteen year olds getting
to social media? Can you do it? And the answer
is no? And I know the answer is no because
there are plenty of people looking at it, and guess what,
not one of them has come up with the answer yet.
And until you do come up with the answer, the
next part is is it worth pursuing it in an
(03:43):
emotional way if you know ultimately the answer is no,
and therefore the problem is not solved. Jason will come
back and during the news at eight and just carry
that on. So God, I can't wait till we get
out of the news and Sport and we can get
back to some interviews. For more from the Mike Asking Breakfast,
listen live to news Talks at B from six am weekdays,
(04:04):
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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