It is no secret that Google has been trying to figure out a way that it can offer its services to the younger generation. Adults are catered for by the various Google Services in the Google Ecosystem and teens are kind of catered for with YouTube and so on. But Google has little means of attracting the under 12’s generation. If the kids are not searching for Justin Bieber on Search or Taylor Swift on YouTube then what Google services are they using? So, yes it is no secret about Google’s intention. In fact, they have been rather obvious about this in the past and today was no different. Pavni Diwanji (Vice President of Engineering) is in charge of this little endeavor and today during an interview with US Today made their intention perfectly clear. According to Diwanji “We expect this to be controversial, but the simple truth is kids already have the technology in schools and at home,” Further adding “”So the better approach is to simply see to it that the tech is used in a better way”
From the interview it was not obviously clear how Google plan to implement the changes, although it was alluded to that already child part-friendly Google services like Search, Chrome and YouTube will be top of the list to be adapted. In terms of when these services will begin to roll-out, again Diwanji was a little tight-lipped with no clear time-frame in place. That said, it did seem clear that it was a priority in Google’s mind.
This is a rather controversial topic in the tech world and has both benefits and negatives. Some will question Google’s motive behind this move. As their services are notorious for providing ad based revenue for them and their clients. As such, some will see this as a way to monetise the youngest age group. That said, the flip side of the argument is that children do need to be protected and it is good to see the big companies like Google making this a priority. However, in spite of the need for children to be protected when surfing online. Diwanji admitted that the more recent push for such services was partly due to the employees reaching ‘that age’ where they now have kids and want to find new ways to protect their own children. If interested, you can read the full interview with Diwanji by clicking here. In the meantime though, leave a comment and let us know your opinion on this highly controversial topic.