How Gabb Wireless Is Revolutionizing Phones for Kids
While it seems like the entire world’s eyes are constantly glued to a screen, one tech start-up out of Palo Alto is predicting a monumental shift in the digital world. If you’re wondering what the next frontier of the digital age is, take a look at what Gabb Wireless is working on. It’s not what you would expect… but it might be just what we need.
After trying to find a suitable phone for his 12-year-old son, Stephen Dalby found himself dissatisfied with the options. In reviewing various phones, he realized that almost every option offered far too much accessibility for his 12-year-old. Dalby soon found himself at the precipice of a paradigm shift in the digital society with his creation of Gabb Wireless, a cellular network that encourages kids to not be on their phones! With Gabb, Dalby developed a phone that has the hardware of a smartphone but with a limited operating system with zero access to social media, addictive games or Internet browsing.
While initially the idea of a phone like this might sound a bit rigid to a 12-year-old, Gabb Wireless’ intent is quite the contrary.
“This may sound surprising, but the reason why kids like our phone is because they don’t spend a lot of time on it,” says Stephen Dalby, Founder and CEO of Gabb. “Kids are happier when they are out playing with friends, developing talents, and connecting with humans, NOT sitting alone in a locked room swiping a screen.”
With fewer distractions, kids genuinely love how the Gabb phone helps them feel more present, less bombarded and ultimately free and enabled to live a fuller lifestyle. Considering the fact that our culture has become utterly fixated on the constant consumption of content incited by apps like TikTok, Instagram and Twitter, Gabb has discovered a grossly undervalued advantage that parents can provide their kids and that is the ability to facilitate and enable their children to live immensely enriched lives. Why does a child need the World Wide Web in the palm of their hand? The cons far outweigh the pros.
“I like Gabb because I’m not even tempted to waste time on my phone,” Kelana Humphrey says, a nationally ranked 12-year-old motocross racer who is also one of Gabb’s brand ambassadors.
So how does Gabb point us towards the future? BJ Fogg, a Stanford PHD scholar who specializes in behavioral sciences was recently asked by a company for his 2020 prediction. His answer? Though much of the world has become addicted to devices, Fogg suggests a pivot in the complete opposite direction is coming.
And with an unprecedented idea like Gabb Wireless, Stephen Dalby will be one of the first to introduce this simple, yet groundbreaking notion. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the average teenager spent seven hours a day on a device. Eight year olds clocked in at 4.4 hours a day. With this obsession for overconsumption, kids are bombarded with the overstimulation of content. Not only does this take away from opportunities to augment their lives with music, athletics, studies and social interaction, but it further incites social anxiety, depression and attention deficit disorders.
Though technology companies have spent years convincing culture that a phone with every imaginable function will augment productivity, today, the narrative is changing. Less really is more; and as we begin this migration into a “post-digital” world, Gabb Wireless is at the forefront of the revolution, starting with our children.
To stay current with Gabb Wireless’ innovations, visit https://gabbwireless.com/
