An Arizona based startup, Cyber Dive, has launched a smartphone equipped with a paediatric mental health application designed to help protect the mental well being of children in their use of the Internet.

With 10 years being the average age for children in the United States to receive their first phone, there are growing concerns over young children being exposed to online bullying, peer pressure, social media, and adult-only content.

Cyber Dive has developed a smartphone that is equipped with the company’s ‘Mental Health Check’ technology. This has been developed with insight from the company’s clinical child psychologist.

The Aqua One device also provides parents with a web application to monitor their children’s internet and social media activities.

In a statement, Cyber Dive said that it believes that “limiting a child’s smartphone capabilities often leads to defiant behaviour as children are shielded from the reality of the online world rather than being taught how to navigate it responsibly.” The Aqua One is a “custom Android smartphone built in response to that belief. With full internet access, no screen time limitations and no app download restrictions, the Aqua One gives children the freedom to explore with their parents by their side.”

The functionality of the Aqua One together with its Mental Health Check feature, is designed to provide parents with the ability to take a more informed and proactive approach.

The company quotes a recent study by FAIR Health on Pediatric Mental Health which found that between 2019 and 2020 mental health claims of children ages 13-18 increased by 103%.

With the assistance of the company’s in-house clinical child psychologist, Jackie Henretig PsyD, Cyber Dive developed questions that assess a child’s overall safety, family communication, connectedness to others and general mental state. The Mental Health Check is designed to deliver questions based on the age of the child and the responses are presented on the parent’s web application. According to Cyber Dive, this feature correlates with the question of how technology is affecting children and their overall well-being.

The Aqua One comes as part of a package. There is no contract, and no upfront cost. The package includes the Aqua One smartphone device, access to Cyber Dive’s parental monitoring web application, unlimited nationwide cellular service with 5 GB of ultra-high-speed data, unlimited talk and text and unlimited free phone replacements for $69/month.

“On average, children in the United States receive their first phone at the age of 10 with instant access to the internet and social media. These platforms were not designed with the safety of children in mind and the current market of ‘Smartphones for kids’ offers outdated solutions for the virtually connected world we live in. The Aqua One changes that. We put parents back in the driver’s seat giving them the ability to see the content that their children are viewing, how this content is affecting their mental health and if any of these experiences or interactions require a parent’s extra attention.” – Cyber Dive Co-Founder & CTO Derek Jackson

Cyber Dive’s Human Trafficking Advisor and Clinical Psychologist, Angela Solomon, PsyD reports that it takes an average of 18 minutes after initial online contact for a predator to groom a child and request sexual content. By providing access to the entirety of a child’s device activity including both positive and potentially negative interactions and experiences, parents are able to intervene as soon as they see any instances that they believe to be inappropriate or potentially dangerous for their child.

“Cyber Dive is committed to driving forward in creating safe, seamless and sustainable solutions that will result in deeper relationships free from the barriers and congestion that encompass a child’s online ecosystem. The Aqua One gives parents a ladder and takes them to places they have never been able to go.” said Cyber Dive Co-Founder & CEO Jeff Gottfurcht

Cyber Dive has chosen NUU to be the exclusive hardware provider of the Aqua One. The company has also selected Plum as exclusive wireless service partner for Aqua One devices.