Amazon Kindle Fire HD FreeTime Commercial — It’s Okay To Be A Lousy Parent
Is it just me, or am I not getting the right message from a recent TV advertisement for Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD tablet?
Amazon Kindle Fire HD with Kindle FreeTime commercial
Let’s take a closer look at the advertising and review a few areas that might be questionable.
Amazon Kindle Fire HD with FreeTime commercial
The TV commercial begins by showing a kid running up and grabbing what I assume to be his family’s Kindle Fire HD tablet. The boy grabs it and goes running off with the tablet. Keep in mind that the price for Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD starts at $199.
Apparently the cost of the electronic device means nothing to this family as the young boy is allowed to not only handle such a device, but also use it whenever and however he pleases. The next scene shows the daughter using a tablet while sitting sideways in a chair. It’s not indicated whether the two children have their own tablets, or if they have to share with others in the family.
Regardless, the message here is that apparently kids love tablet. Kids also love getting dirty, having messy fingers, and generally having little to no respect towards expensive gadgets. Does a child have a true understanding of money when their parents gladly purchase them expensive gifts? Is that same child going to know how to behave properly around such a device? Not if the parents teach them. Best of luck with that happening in today’s society.
Amazon Kindle Fire HD with FreeTime commercial
In the commercial we see the mother snatch the daughter’s tablet and access the FreeTime software. We see her adjust the numbers that determine just how long that user can do activities like reading a book, watching a movie, or using applications each day. Take a look at those numbers. Is this mother actually going to allow her kids to sit and stare at a tablet (also known as “reading”) for over five hours AND allow them to use apps for another five hours on that same day? Really?
When I was that small, my parents would have a complete fit if I was inside playing video games for anywhere near that much time. Back in those days it was 1) go to school, 2) do homework, 3) go to karate class (later this would be replaced with basketball practice, football practice, and then drill team and color guard with NJROTC), and 4) play outside with friends.
Playing video games was something reserved for Friday and Saturday nights, or on some weekday afternoons if it was raining. Then again, our gaming consoles had multiple controllers and it wasn’t just us sitting alone and playing games. My brother and I would constantly battle each other, and other times our friends would come over to play. It was known as being social.
In the age of smart phones and tablets it’s a different story. While social networking sites and online games pretend to bring people together, many kids using these devices do so while sitting by themselves. This TV commercial is more proof of it. Notice how when the son and daughter are both using the tablets, each of them is sitting alone and keeping quiet. They’re not studying or doing homework. Both of them are using the tablets for recreation, and neither of them is being social or getting fresh air outside.
That’s another example of today’s decline in society. Whenever you head out, look around and see how many people are glued to their damn smart phones and tablets, and practically ignoring their surroundings. It happens at football games, while walking around stores and shopping malls, and even in theme parks.
Amazon Kindle Fire HD with FreeTime commercial
Getting back to this advertisement, we see the son by himself playing video games when the FreeTime application suddenly pops up on his screen and stops the game. That’s it. No more video games on this tablet for today. Now get your ass outside and play with your sister.
The only issue here is that it’s SOFTWARE telling the kid to stop playing games. The SOFTWARE is preventing him from playing more games on that tablet for today. It’s SOFTWARE that’s replacing the critical job of PARENTING.
Amazon Kindle Fire HD with FreeTime commercial
The advertisement ends when the boy looks out the window and decides to join his sister and play outside. It’s a happy ending, or that’s what we’re meant to believe.
So what exactly is the message in this Amazon Kindle Fire HD with FreeTime television commercial?
Maybe I’m just too picky, but the message that I’m seeing is that the Kindle Fire HD comes with an application that gives lazy parents an excuse to be even lazier parents and not stay involved with what their kids do in their spare time.
How hard is it for a parent to take away a tablet (or any other toy) after a kid has played with it too much that day? Is responsibility just too much to handle these days?
This reminds me of Net Nanny and other similar anti-pornography software that began popping up in the mid to late 1990s as Internet access from home became mainstream. The software took over the role of the parents. If a child tried to access an allegedly pornographic website, then the software prevented that website from loading in the Internet browser. The software did that, not the parent. All the parent did was install the software and let that piece of software decide which websites their children were allowed to access. Of course, there were always ways around that kind of software . . .
No, my parents never used that software for my brother and I. We knew the rules and we were given the responsibility of following them. Breaking the rules meant having Internet access removed. It was as simple as that.
Like Net Nanny, the FreeTime software acts like a parent, allowing the parent to do things besides raising the children to be intelligent, respectful and contributing members of society. Now you can just sit back and relax while computer software monitors your child’s activities on a tablet, and that software will cut off their access once they reach the time limit that you’ve established.
Way to go, mom! Great job being involved with your kids!
I can’t decide which is more frightening: the fact that software like FreeTime is being advertised on television, or the fact that too many parents these days actually need software like that because they suck at the job of being a parent.