Apple Resources for Families

Mom and child working together

Apple recently launched a page about how families can benefit from their services and hardware at https://www.apple.com/families/ . It's obviously a marketing angle, but a pretty reasonable and honest one. I really like having somewhere to direct parents who want to help keep their families safe and healthy in a world where helpful technology can threaten to take over our lives. It's also a great quick reference to tools like parenting controls. 

Better gaming option

An older addition Apple made to the App Store that I really admire is their "Pay Once to Play" section for games that charge a flat fee to play the games. The common thought is, "What's the harm, the game is free?" But we should start questioning this moving forward. Freemium games (the ones with lots of in-app purchases to buy consumable gems or something), use addiction science to co-opt our natural desire to set and accomplish goals for faster and more attainable rewards than real life can offer. That's not to say that pay once games can't be behaviorally addictive, but their business model isn't inherently reliant on it. Also, having your kids constantly wanting to buy more Smurfberries is a source of conflict you don't need in your home.