TITLE: Reclaiming the Millennials one Minecraft addict at a time "Hey Zac, you've been on that for hours, why don't you go out and play..." Glazed stare and silence. It's a scene that plays out across homes all over the world every day - parents struggling to balance their kids’ screen time and play time. Any parent who's seen that glazed look, or felt like they’re talking to themselves will know how addictive games can be. That is, if they can even keep up with what their kids are playing. With ever smaller and more portable devices, and thousands of apps being released every single day, how can parents hope to keep on top of it? Kik, Snapchat, YikYak, Vine, ChatRoulette, Tinder, Poof - how many have you discussed with your child? Whatever your view, while technology has raced ahead, tools to help parents to raise "digital natives" have not. In fact, the problem is so bad, Internet Gaming Disorder is now included in the influential mental health handbook, the DSM. Aussie entrepreneur Steven Pack experienced it firsthand when his nephew Zac went from wanting to play cricket, wrestle and play with chemistry sets to Minecraft - just Minecraft, all day, every day, except for some YouTube time... of other kids playing Minecraft. The problem is not confined to Australia either. The US dept of health estimated that in 2006, 25% of kids exceed daily recommended screen time guidelines. Fast forward to 2014 and that figure is 80%, with estimates that kids exceed it by up to 2-3 times. It's not only a big problem, but a fast growing one. "It was OK at the start, but very soon any time not spent on Minecraft became stressful. Cricket, a swim at the beach, any other activity became a matter of how long it would keep him from Minecraft. When I saw him taking the laptop into bathroom, that was the last straw." he says. Image: Life pre-Minecraft! Soon after that, KoalaSafe was born. Steven teamed up with Uni mate Adam Mills, pitched for funding, and managed to raise $50,000 from Sydney accelerator Startmate to prototype their device. It's now in homes around the country, allowing parents to set time limits, block certain apps and categories of content, as well as give them insights into where their kids spend all their time - it will even tell you how they compare to other kids on the Koala network! "The difference with KoalaSafe is that all devices in the home are protected, without having to install special software. It's super simple for parents to use, with a simple iPhone interface to change anything, such as setting a bedtime, or just turning off the Internet for a period.” The duo is currently trying to fund mass production of the device through the Kickstarter campaign, before heading to Silicon Valley in April to pitch Venture Capital executives. You can support the project at http://koalasafe.com/kickstarter
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