2023-09-18 00:07:40
It is such an effective resource and is so handy that many parents do not hesitate to use it to distract their child while they are feeding, to stop a tantrum from happening, or simply so that they do not require the attention they need or They want to lend to another recipient. But mobile phones are far from being the best resource to entertain children, even if we are careful to avoid inappropriate content. Doctors and educators are clear about its relationship with attention deficit problems and difficulties in learning or impulse control. Risks that did not exist with something as ‘demodé’ as theatrical radio and that today, the startup Ditto, wants to return to our homes through an ‘app’ that offers audios specially designed for children up to nine years old. From sounds of nature for the little ones to adaptations of classical mythology for the older ones, all supervised by neuroeducation experts who ensure that the content is appropriate for their age.
“We are not saying that we have to give up screens, but we do have to be very aware of the consequences of their abuse when we talk about children,” explains Lluís Rodríguez Pi, who for ten years was director of Antena and Cadena SER Programs. and, as such, responsible for the launch of the station’s space dedicated to podcasts as well as the adaptations of literary or film classics broadcast at Christmas. «Actually, the idea arose in 2016 in a master’s degree that he was doing. It coincided with the launch of Pokémon GO, which was immediately questioned by doctors who warned that it was an almost psychedelic video game and created great visual stress for the little ones. I thought it was a shame that the benefits that radio, like reading, has in the development of imagination and creativity were cornered by a technology that, as it was being used, might not be good for children. “, Explain.
Dramatized stories
The work of writers, actors and sound technicians is supervised by neuroeducators
Neuroeducation Chair
Work obligations caused him to park the project until 2021, the year in which, together with his current partners – the educator Fiona Moul and the Telecommunications engineer Alfonso J. González – he decided to present the idea to David Bueno, director of the Neuroeducation chair at the University of Barcelona. «One of the first things he explained to us is that intelligence is not related to the number of neurons we have, but to the connections that are established between them. These connections are created when the brain is forced to work, to make an effort,” Rodríguez recalls.
So if, as happens in the content that we usually access from our mobile phones, the brain already obtains all the information it requires to understand a situation, it will not need to work. Audio, on the other hand, only offers us sound information. The rest of the context that the story needs must be imagined, so the brain has to make an effort to fill in the gaps and in doing so strengthens the creation of neural connections.
«Although at first it may seem strange to them that you use your mobile phone to play only audio, if the story is well told it immediately comes to life in their imagination and the child ‘gets it’ and will want to hear it again. On the platform there is an average of 18 repetitions per user of each audio,” says Rodríguez proudly, because that is Ditto’s merit; in getting the little ones to “get into” safe and enriching content.
«Unlike other audios that you can find on the internet, ours are specially written, performed and soundtracked by professionals that I know from my time on the radio. In addition, there are authors, such as the psychologist Begoña Ibarrola, who has given us her catalog, so there is content that, in addition to entertaining, helps to face situations such as the arrival of a little brother or the loss of a loved one. And all phases of the process are supervised by experts in neuroeducation, so they are adjusted, both in duration and content, to the different age groups that we cover,” Rodríguez clarifies.
Monthly payment
The ‘app’ is now available for a subscription payment of five euros per month, although “how expensive marketing is” is forcing the company to change its commercial strategy. «We are going to try to reach the domestic consumer by making them know us through our agreements with schools or companies, which could count on us to create their own children’s ‘podcasts’ or could offer the service to their workers or clients, for example, as another entertainment option on a train or plane trip,” explains its founder.
For this takeoff, Ditto has opened a financing round of 150,000 euros that it will present on October 17 and 18 at B-Venture, the startup event organized by EL CORREO, which this year celebrates its eighth edition with the sponsorship of the Department of Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment of the Basque Government, the development agency SPRI, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia and the Bilbao City Council, as well as with the collaboration of BStartup of Banco Sabadell, BBVA Spark, BBK, Laboral Kutxa, CaixaBank and the University of Deusto.
Increase catalog and grow with listeners
At the moment, Ditto only offers content for children between zero and nine years old, although its intention is to increase the age of its target audience to twelve. In addition, it is already preparing material with neuroeducation experts designed to also reach children who have special educational needs, such as those who suffer from Down syndrome, autism or hyperactivity. On the other hand, among the immediate objectives of the ‘startup’ is also the creation of teaching sheets that accompany the audios and the translation into English and Basque of the available content.
#Awakening #neuronillas #mail