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- [00:01]
A
This episode of Scrolling to Death is sponsored by Bark Technologies. Bark offers parents advanced content monitoring for all of your child's devices. Bark is literally helping to save lives and has alerted parents to millions of life threatening situations like self harm and severe bullying. More on Bark in the episode notes. Thank you for doing this on Friday afternoon because that's hard to like get energy up on Friday afternoon.
- [00:34]
B
It is. But I, you know, when I know I'm going to talk to you, it's like I could be sleep deprived and
- [00:40]
A
I'm like, I'm going to talk to Nikki. I know. And you know, I've been following in your footsteps a little bit, talking more at schools and in front of kids and that has been really fascinating. I wanted to start off by asking you about that because after I spoke I was just so shocked at how many middle school and high school age kids came up to me with comments or questions. And so I thought we could just share a few of those comments. I think parents will be really interested to know what their kids are coming up and asking us and kind of like that may inspire some conversations for you to have with your kids because these are things like normal kids are thinking about. Right. So just like baseline stuff. Like one kid came up to me and said, what is a predator? And so you talk about online predators and like I talk about in these presentations and she didn't even understand what that meant. So I think she was middle school.
- [01:35]
B
Oh wow.
- [01:36]
A
I know. And, and my, my, I was a little taken aback but I said, you know someone, and I'm sure this is not the exact definition, but predator is someone who, who wants to hurt you.
- [01:45]
B
I tend to use the term tricky person.
- [01:49]
A
Okay.
- [01:50]
B
I'm talking about a predator because most children, whether it's early childhood or middle school, kind of understand the concept of like good guy, bad guy or person who like wants to trick you. Right. And it helps to pave the way for the follow up points around the fact that because they are trying to trick you, you know, it's okay that you don't catch onto it right away and they will be actually acting really nice and it's not easy to always tell because they're trying to trick you. So tricky person, even like bad guy,
- [02:27]
A
like is probably good too.
- [02:28]
B
Yeah, bad guy. Yeah. That's what resonates with kids and actually with parents A lot of times if you use the word predator, they're like, what are we, Is this natural geographic? Like we're not talking about predator versus prey. You're right. Yeah. But if you use the word stranger, they'll stop and they'll pay attention. So. Yeah, interesting, right?
- [02:48]
A
Yeah. Even like adult stranger was specifically what we're talking about. Not that there can't be minors that are preying on kids too, but in a lot of these instances that we talk about, it's like an adult man or woman preying on children.
- [03:04]
B
So.
- [03:05]
A
Okay, that's a great adjustment. Thank you. Someone asked, like, and actually he came up with his mom and he asked, so is. Is gaming, like, as bad as social media? And I said, well, there are a lot of similarities in that you can communicate with strangers, it is built to be addictive to you, and there can be really inappropriate content on there. So I was able to pull some, like, really some similarities. And the mom looked at me and goes, thank you. Because I think the son was probably trying to be like. But gaming isn't like social media. Like, what she was talking about, all the bad stuff, that's social media.
- [03:45]
B
So I love to use science whenever I can. Science and data to explain things. And I just try to lean into what we've seen, you know, and make it real for the children. Like, hey, I'm really glad you asked this. You know, I know children your age just like you, who have been talking to who they thought was a friend online and it actually wasn't. And they started to say mean things or weird things or uncomfortable things. Know, some kids even get asked to go meet up in real life from people they've met online and they have bad intentions. You know, I talk about what happens in the chats and how sometimes kids think they're being funny, but they don't realize that it hurts the person on the other end. I talk about how some games are educational and uplifting and fun and encourage team building, but other games are incentivizing us more towards addiction. Right. With gambling tendencies or just exposure to violent or sexual content, that doesn't help our minds and our bodies and our hearts. And then I end with just a. Online games are fun. You know, like, I play Brick Breaker, Block Blast, whatever it's called, you know, when I need a minute. But if we're not careful, they'll keep us sitting still for too long. And if your body is blessed to be able to move, you've gotta move. So that's. That's where I go with that.
- [05:11]
A
Yeah, totally. Is there anything that stands out to you? Like if when a kid came up to you afterward, anything that they, like, said or asked that you were like, oh, my, gosh yeah. Okay.
- [05:21]
B
Yeah. I presented to a group of just beautiful, sweet, precocious, innocent fifth graders. Okay. And this little boy walked up to me and was like, hey, there's this person that's been messaging me on I think Roblox. And I'm afraid to tell my parents. I'm afraid, you know, they, they'll, they'll take it away from me. And I was just like, oof, it must be really bad for this child to come up and tell me.
- [05:51]
A
Yeah.
- [05:51]
B
And I, you know, I looked around the room and I was like, where is the guidance counselor? You know, like, yeah, I think this child really needs to talk in a very safe place about what they've experienced online. And I just, you know, and I didn't freak out and I was just like, thank you so much for coming up and just share that with me. That was really brave. And by you surfacing this, you know, you might even just help to protect a bunch of other kids. So I mean, that's just one story that will never leave me. There's been unfortunately countless stories of kids, whether it's elementary, middle, high, high school. There was one 10th grade bright young woman recently who told me that unfortunately there was a high school party, parents were home, but alcohol was involved and people started recording this girl who had had too much to drink performing an act that shouldn't have been happening or recorded and it just went everywhere. And she got kicked out of school. And I'm like, well, what happened to the boy? You know, just, just story after story after story.
- [07:03]
A
Yeah. And I hear from kids too. And I talked to Amy Neville at the Alexander Neville Foundation. She does like one or two school presentations every week for like years and years. So, so many. She's talked to hundreds of thousands of kids.
- [07:16]
B
Yeah.
- [07:16]
A
And she says she hears over and over that kids wish their parents knew what it was really like, but they are afraid to tell them because they're afraid their parents are gonna take the device away. Like what do we advise the parents? Because if my kid's getting groomed on a device, like they're not having access to that device anymore. But also I know like then if I take it away, they're never going to tell me again. So like what do we do?
- [07:39]
B
Yeah, and it depends on the age and the stage. Right. If your 14 year old is experiencing this and that piece of tech or outlet is their only really form of social communication to their friends as well, that's a lot harder to navigate than a five year old, you know, on Roblox, So unfortunately, it's a case by case basis. I wish I could just give you like a powerful sound bite of like, if this, then do this. It's not, it's not that easy.
- [08:03]
A
Right.
- [08:05]
B
I would say, you know, you work with your child. Much like, I don't know if they were riding a bike that the wheel was bent and they kept falling over, you'd be like, I get it. This bike used to be a lot of fun and, and. But now it's not safe for you. So let's, let's try to replace it. Right. Maybe you don't replace a social media platform with a problematic one, but you try to find something fun and engaging and uplifting for them to replace that time with. You know, acknowledge that it's hard. Most children, I mean, like, let's say when, when I wanted more ice cream and my mom was like, yeah, no, I knew she wasn't wrong. I didn't end up wanting it, but I was like, you know, you're not wrong.
- [08:46]
A
Mm.
- [08:47]
B
So we, we can't be afraid to be the parent. Um, our children need to know we're a safe place. There are things that they are just not going to tell us. Cause there's things we don't even probably tell our parents to this day. Sorry about that.
- [09:00]
A
Yeah.
- [09:01]
B
Um, but what I really want to reiterate is just that if you can work with your kid to make it safer, like, hey, I realize you want to play this game, but in order to turn that safer, we've got to turn chat off. Yeah. And if that dynamic of you being able to talk to the friends that you actually know in real life is important, we will use speakerphone on our bark phone. You can talk to them that way. Like, there's always, there's a lot of times there's workarounds.
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A
Okay.
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B
Right. Safely. That's the key though. Safely.
- [09:32]
A
Yeah. So instead of jumping to the. I'm going to take it away. Like collaborating with a child and they might have ideas even on how you could make it safer, whatever platform they're on.
- [09:43]
B
Right. Or like, hey, I realize that you like this game, but if you're playing it in your bedroom behind closed doors, it's keeping you awake at night. We've gotta find a different place and space to do that. So let's do it in the living room during daylight hours.
- [09:59]
A
And then if they're still abusing it, then it's like, okay, but at least you've taken some steps and they've proven either they can do it responsibly or not?
- [10:08]
B
Yes. Give them the opportunity to succeed and show responsibility. And then if they don't, you know, it's not punitive, but it's just like, hey, this wasn't a success, so let's pause and then try again. Maybe when you are ready to succeed.
- [10:23]
A
Yeah, totally. Okay. A bunch of girls asked me this, and I'm gonna see what you would respond with. They said, you know, if Instagram is so bad, like, why does my mom love it so much? I know.
- [10:37]
B
Like, did you.
- [10:38]
A
Is that on purpose?
- [10:39]
B
Is that directed at me?
- [10:40]
A
No, no, I just. I mean, I. They were asking me and I'm like, the same. So I was like, I mean, I don't love it, but, like, why does she, you know, why do I use
- [10:48]
B
it so much if sugar is so bad, if alcohol is so bad, what? You know, like, we can apply addictive pleasure inducing activities and substances to this example. Right. So that's. That's actually probably the easiest thing that you've lobbed at me today. Like, yeah, it feels good. Might not be good for me. I own it. And if you're an adult and you are actively using Instagram in front of your children while talking about the evils of social media, might be time for an about face and be like, hey, you know what? I check this app too much. I'm going to set a time limit for myself.
- [11:30]
A
Yeah.
- [11:31]
B
Because while I have worked to curate my feed to only be people I know and want to authentically connect with and things that are uplifting and educational, sometimes I just get sucked in. Life's too short. I need to experience life in real life so we can all do better. Yeah.
- [11:47]
A
And I told her, I think I told her, like, you know, it is. It is addictive to everyone. And so adults have a hard time putting it down too. But I also made the point. And what I think we've seen in a lot of test accounts and just real life accounts is like, a kid's feed is way more harmful than an adult's feed. So adults aren't seeing eating disorder videos and suicide videos like kids are.
- [12:10]
B
Thank you. That is an excellent point that I left out. Right. Is your feed is different than not only your adult friend's feed from a content standpoint, but a child's feed, unfortunately, through the tests that we have both done.
- [12:23]
A
Yeah.
- [12:23]
B
Is continually problematic and unacceptable and unethical.
- [12:29]
A
Doesn't mean I want you using it even when you're an adult. Like, I think the ideal world is. Do you feel like the ideal world Is like, no social media, do you think? Like, yeah, right. Like, at, like, even when you're an adult, Like, I just felt so much better when I wasn't on Instagram for a few years.
- [12:46]
B
I haven't had the luxury to not be on Instagram for a few years because my career for the past, you know, 15 years has largely been being on social media. But I'd be lying if I said I can't wait for the day where I didn't have to do that. Yeah. I love the fleeting moments where I forget my phone and at first I'm like. And then I'm like, yes. You know, I can't wait to be able to live that way. But, you know, on the flip side, social media is how I found you. And it's how I'm able to educate and connect with people. And it has its positives, but in its current state, especially with regards to children, it is not ideal. And so less is more, delay is the way. Yeah. It can be used beneficially, but not in the current state that it is.
- [13:47]
A
Okay. And yeah, I think to, like, sum up this little section of the chat, I feel like when I was being asked questions by these kids, I felt like I wish they could ask. Like, it's almost like they couldn't ask their parent that or they don't think their parent knows enough about it to ask them or is not the expert on these things. And I just want parents to know that they. I mean, they may not be the expert in it, but we need to be having these conversations, both you bringing it up and them able to bring it up to you on a daily basis around technology.
- [14:18]
B
Yeah. I mean, just like you talk about world events or the environment or healthy lifestyles or what's going on in your neighborhood, you gotta talk about tech too. Just, it's ingrained in everything that we do. Yeah. You know, you teach your child to say please and thank you. You also need to teach your child how to take a break and realize when the tech is in control of you versus you being in control of the tech.
- [14:42]
A
Yeah. We talked about gaming a little bit, and I want to ask you about. Are you aware that Minecraft has like, an education program that they sell to schools?
- [14:49]
B
I don't think I knew that, and that doesn't surprise me. And let's talk about that. Yeah.
- [14:55]
A
Okay. So I've had a lot of parents reach out with concern that their kids are using Minecraft at school. And I'm like, okay, we'll have them prove to you that it's educational. And of course, Minecraft has all these studies that are pretty old and funded, likely by them. I couldn't find the funder when I looked at them, but yeah, just generally. What do you think about using gaming like that in school? And then I can tell you kind of what I advised parents on.
- [15:27]
B
Did you play? Oh, my gosh, what's it called? With the wagon and the dysentery?
- [15:32]
A
Oh, Oregon Trail.
- [15:34]
B
Yes. So you know what I really looked forward to? Computer class, 30 minutes once a week where I got to play Oregon Trail. It was fun. No, I don't know what it taught me.
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A
Right. What did it teach me?
- [15:48]
B
Right, right.
- [15:49]
A
Sure, sure.
- [15:50]
B
If the children are building digitally and creating worlds and they're having a limited amount of screen time and it is locked down so they can't navigate to YouTube or other more problematic URLs, I'd say it's. It's. It's fun, it's an enhancement. But we shouldn't promote Minecraft in lieu of recess or reading books or. You know what I mean? Like, it's all about balance.
- [16:19]
A
Yeah.
- [16:20]
B
So it depends on how safe is it, how limited is it. If the kids can play it or, you know, not play it and use a VPN to go do other things that are not good, then no, we shouldn't be doing that.
- [16:33]
A
And even if they're staying within Minecraft, I'm just not sold that they're not able to get access to strangers. I mean, when it comes to these games, kids are getting online and you can communicate. I mean, Minecraft is not just one game. It's like millions of spaces that you can enter. And so that would be a hard sell for me to. To know that they're not gonna be able to chat with strangers or predators.
- [16:55]
B
Oh, yeah, no, that's the catching people of this is there should not be chat. Open chat.
- [17:01]
A
Yeah. And I don't think that it, like, comes like that. I would be worried about the kids hacking it to be able to figure that out. But the concern that really came up for me and that I was able to confirm with an attorney, is that Minecraft, it's about data privacy. So Minecraft collects user's personal information. And the attorney told me that under federal and state law and Minecraft terms of service, parents have to give consent for a minor to use Minecraft. And so when it. So that's the. The kicker here is if you're a parent and you don't want them using it at school for whatever reason, you can Decline to give parental consent.
- [17:39]
B
Good. Every parent know that. Every parent needs to know their parental rights. And is that. Is that only in California? Is that nationwide?
- [17:46]
A
She said due to federal and state law. And Minecraft's terms of service too, requires parental consent. So schools are not allowed to consent on behalf of parents for kids to be on Minecraft. Wow. Or potentially any edtech app. And that's something that that attorney is pursuing legal action against.
- [18:08]
B
Good. Yeah. So good. Because. Yeah. It's not. That's not okay. It's not okay. Just like it's not okay for the school to take pictures of our children and post them to public social media without our consent.
- [18:20]
A
Yeah. But they do. Almost every school, even schools that are like low tech and concerned about this stuff, they still do that. How do we make that not. I mean, they're not even private.
- [18:32]
B
Oh, I mean, that. Yeah, that's a whole nother episode.
- [18:37]
A
Yeah.
- [18:38]
B
I mean, I know that whenever they ask me, you know, can we use your child's image and likeness in our marketing materials? I'm like, H E L L to
- [18:46]
A
the no, I know. Yeah. And so I guess parents can start to opt out more. But I mean, it was just like I would think I was the only one or one of two of the whole school that signed that form. And so then my kid's the only one being pulled out of the photo that they're taking. So it's just sucks. And it should be the school prioritizing their safety. Right. Online and in person. Interesting pausing here to remind you, if you don't know already, that there is a safer device option for your kids. Safer than an iPhone, by far. And that is the Bark Phone. If you don't want your kids signing up for social media or accessing inappropriate sites, an iPhone is not going to do it. The Bark Phone starter plan comes with talk and text only. And then if, and only if you're ready to start integrating some social media access, There are advanced plans available that offer social media, but not without your approval. Plus, it has advanced content monitoring built in, which will send you alerts of potential dangers. So when it comes to a basic phone that won't distract or addict your child from healthier activities, the Bark Phone is where it's at. But if your child already has an iPhone or an Android and you don't want to switch it up, at least layer on the Bark Parental Controls app as a baseline. You can set rules around screen times. You can block certain websites and apps. You get alerts of harmful content coming their Way and a ton more. And if you're interested in a watch for your child, please check out the new bark watch. You mentioned a bike analogy, and I just have to ask you if. Cause it's like, what's that? Grind my gears. What was that? Was that on, like, Family Guy or something? Do you remember that?
- [20:19]
B
I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm very intrigued.
- [20:23]
A
So, speaking of bikes, do kids in your area ride E bikes? Are there E bikes everywhere?
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B
Yes.
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A
Okay. So I have been fascinated by this phenomenon of parents giving their kids electric bikes, like, in third, fourth, fifth grade, and they're around driving unsafely, not wearing their helmets correctly, using their phone while they're on their bikes. They're going so fast, and there's accidents. I saw one the other day. You know, E bikes are the new smartphones. Like, E bikes are the new iPhones. It's almost like. And then I'm talking to more parents, and it's like, if your kid has a regular bike, they're not cool. And I'm thinking a regular bike is healthier and safer. They go slower. They actually get exercise. Like, that's the kid's safe phone. And then E bikes are the iPhone. Every time I see a kid on an E bike that's young and, like, not using it safely, I'm like, come on, parent. Don't you know that they're not safe on that?
- [21:24]
B
I mean, Nikki, there is so much wrong in the world, like, when it comes to technology and kids.
- [21:35]
A
Yeah, I know.
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B
I think at the heart of it, it's just, how can we get more people to wake up and have more common sense and have more confidence when they feel that tug of, like, this isn't right to, like, do something about it and not feel like, well, what can I do? I can't do anything, you know? Yeah, you saw. You saw that there was wrong. You saw the podcast. Thank God you did.
- [21:59]
A
You know, you know what the safer choice is. But I think parents are so. Regarding phones or bikes or whatever, they're just so afraid for their kids to be left out and, like, the not cool one. And why does that feeling win? Why does that win over safety?
- [22:16]
B
I don't think enough parents, myself included, had adequate education around resilience. It wasn't until this point in my life, when my son is 16, that I realized prioritizing him not being left out of certain social norms was actually worse for him. And in fact, I should have prioritized him being left out of X, Y, and z. Because he would have been left out of the bullying, the sexual content, the mental health rabbit holes, et cetera. But hindsight's 20 20. And so that's why, back to what we first started talking about, why you and I are going to schools and posting on Instagram and putting our content on YouTube. Because we are like, we're the canaries in the coal mine. We are sounding the alarm. Not enough people realize just how bad this is. Yeah.
- [23:07]
A
And the not my kid syndrome thing, which I saw you did a vlog about. Like, I think the initial thing is with bikes. Like, my kid's gonna drive it safely. Like, I trust my kid. Or with phones. Like, my kid's not gonna fall victim to that because they're gonna know if it's a predator trying to get information from them. And, like, what do you say to parents that's just. Like, that can't happen to my kid.
- [23:28]
B
I mean, not to get violent, but, like, I wanna shake them, you know, Like. Like, wake up. Wake up, Dana.
- [23:39]
A
Pinch them.
- [23:40]
B
Yeah, like. Like, wake up. I don't know how else to say. Like, if it wasn't a concern, we wouldn't be wasting our time. We have better things to do than just talk about things that aren't important.
- [23:56]
A
Right.
- [23:56]
B
This is critical. Childhood is fleeting, and our children are not having appropriate, healthy childhoods anymore. And your childhood shapes your entire life. Like, I. What is more important than protecting childhood? Yeah.
- [24:16]
A
Nothing.
- [24:17]
B
Yeah. And. And so anyway, that's. What was it? That was a tangent. But, like, basically, if only, like, 1% of children were harmed by something. Let's say it was a serial, it'd be recalled. But, like, per Bark's latest annual report that we just released, the percentages of children that are impacted by these very real harms are in the, you know, 8 to 70 percentile in some cases. A lot of kits that are not okay. Like, pay attention to the data.
- [24:47]
A
Yeah, it's huge. Okay, so I want to talk about watches for a minute because, you know, I've been saying, like, I love the fact that we have access to a kid safe watch for our kids. And they. We can use that product to, like, delay giving the smartphone with access to all the other things so much longer. Someone sent me today an update from their school. So a lot of schools are banning, like, all kinds, all the devices.
- [25:12]
B
Right.
- [25:13]
A
And one. And their update from their school today was a reminder that electronics brought from home are prohibited during school hours, which a lot of schools are doing. Please remind students that these devices may be worn, but if they are misused. They are to be kept in the backpacks, and watches are included. I just found that really interesting because I think, like, being able to communicate with your child through a watch or a phone, like, after school hours is one thing, but the schools, this school in particular was like, allows them to wear it but not to use it. And I thought that was, like, really a confusing. Like, how are you expecting a kid to not use something that they have on their body? Why don't schools just ban things? Straight up.
- [25:58]
B
They have too much pushback from parents who are like, don't tell me how to communicate and when to communicate with my child.
- [26:07]
A
But they're saying you can't communicate with them, but they can wear it. So confused by.
- [26:12]
B
Yeah, no, it's confusing. The whole thing is confusing. How are there schools that still let kids have smartphones out in the classroom while the teacher's teaching? I know.
- [26:21]
A
Still.
- [26:22]
B
Yeah. Still. I know. So that's where we are, but we know where we need to be.
- [26:27]
A
So when it comes to watches. Let's back up, though. You posted a blog. So Bark posted a blog about watches, like, when to give your kid a smartwatch. And there's some, like, really interesting things that you advise parents think about. So can we talk about those really quickly? Cause I think that's an interesting marker.
- [26:42]
B
Absolutely.
- [26:43]
A
Yeah.
- [26:44]
B
I mean, they take care of their other belongings. You know, it's an expensive piece of tech. It's a responsibility. They're starting to spend more time outside the house. Yeah. If your child has more independence and you need for them to be able to communicate with you or caregiver or 91 1, it's a great idea. They understand basic digital safety. You know, like, you don't talk to strangers. You don't give out personal information. We don't say mean things to people that we know online. You know, those conversations are critical. Yeah. They can handle simple chores and routines. Like if they can feed the dog, empty the dishwasher, brush their teeth without constant reminders, you know, they can remember to also charge their watch, not lose their watch and turn the watch off or in do not disturb mode, you know, during school hours.
- [27:36]
A
Yeah. Does the watches. You can have your own number on them.
- [27:40]
B
Yes. So with the Bark watch, there is a phone number associated with the watch.
- [27:45]
A
Okay, cool. I mean, I'm not looking forward to my child having a device, but when it comes time, the park watch will be the one. Will be the one.
- [27:53]
B
Totally. Yeah. I mean, like, it's no secret. Like, you know, I work for A company that sells safer smartphones and smartwatches for kids. Right. But I would say everybody at our company agrees that children don't need connected tech before they're ready. Right. It's, we're here when it is time. We're not saying every kid needs this now like that's the case. It's if and when it is time for your child to be able to connect with trusted caregivers safely and you, the parent have full control over who and when and what, that's when you can introduce safer tech. Like so. And you know, one thing that's really important to us too is helping to educate parents who send their children to school that don't have, you know, smartphone free or tech free policies on. Here's how you can proactively make sure the tech you buy your child isn't a disruption during the school day. Yeah, because a lot of parents are like, I mean I'd love to be able to, you know, turn my kid's phone off while they're at school. I just don't know how. And it's like, okay, cool, let's educate you.
- [29:06]
A
So the watches, you can like put em on. Is it school mode that you can put em on?
- [29:10]
B
Yes, yeah, we have school mode. Like you know, your kid don't need to be calling you and texting you during school. Right. That's what the front office is for. But at 3:15 or whatever, if you're running late and they need to know who's picking them up, that's when it can be unlocked and activated. And everybody's cool with that.
- [29:28]
A
Yeah, I'm sure the schools really appreciate that school mode do.
- [29:32]
B
Right? I mean I, I don't see a downside to it. What's the downside?
- [29:37]
A
Nothing. You can still turn it off if like there's, you really need to get ahold of your child. But you can also call the front desk.
- [29:43]
B
Totally.
- [29:44]
A
And how's it going so far? So it's been a few months that the bark phone's been out?
- [29:49]
B
A few, yes, it's been amazing. I mean it really has. You know, obviously it's a new product and so we're getting a bunch of feedback and we're working on that. Feedb our users have great ideas. Right. You know we really, we wanted to get this watch out as fast as possible. So we didn't wait until it was perfect, we waited until it was really good. So there are some things that we'd like to add on built in, build in. And the cool thing about it is that like our engineering team can code an update, roll it out, and then you don't have to buy a whole new watch. It'll work on the existing watch you bought. You know, we're optimizing battery life. We are. There are all kinds of things. You know, there's always improvements to be made with location accuracy, which we've done. Like, there's. It's really, it's. I'm, I'm. I remain in awe of our engineering team. Yeah, they're so great. And yeah, the watch rollout has been amazing and it's only going to get better.
- [30:49]
A
Cool. Okay. And one thing before we close out. So I was in Nashville and a girl came up to me and to share that she has the Bark phone and she loves it. And I was like, how old are you? And I don't know how old people are based on like, I don't know if you're 12 or 17. She was 17. And I was like, that is so cool that you're 17. And she like. And to have a, and have a safer phone still. And like, I think she intends to use it like as an adult as well. Like keep using it because she loves it so much.
- [31:19]
B
That's awesome. We need more children and teens sharing those experiences because that's one of the biggest, I'd say things that we're fighting as a, as a company and as parents is the whole like iPhone. Right.
- [31:35]
A
That everybody has it. Right. It's like if you don't have it, you're not cool. No, a Bark phone is beautiful and has all the things you need.
- [31:43]
B
Yeah. It's like, I mean, I have one right here. Like it's, you know, that's why I
- [31:48]
A
held it up during my presentation. Just to be like, look what this looks like. It literally looks the same.
- [31:52]
B
Super sleek. It's like, you know, a LeapFrog Junior tablet. It's. No, we are beyond that.
- [32:00]
A
Plug the deal you guys have going on right now because you have a free bark phone situation.
- [32:05]
B
As of right now, this could change at any time. But as of right now, you get a free Bark phone with any plan. There is no contract required. So like, like it's kind of a no brainer. Also, we just cut the, the price of our watch. It is now 129.
- [32:24]
A
Okay.
- [32:24]
B
129. So major price cut and might as
- [32:29]
A
well take advantage of it. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So I'll include all those links to Bark's products in the episode notes and I'm glad we were able to touch base, and we're going to do so again next month. So, Titania, thank you for everything. As always, I love ch you.
- [32:45]
B
Thank you, Nikki. You're the best.
- [32:47]
A
You are the best.