Third-party Software

The fifth step in the parent-based framework for mobile parental control is third-party mobile parental control software attainment and enablement.

It has been discussed that parents would have to follow the fifth step of the parent-based framework, whether or not they subscribed their child to a mobile service provider which offers mobile parental control services (as discussed in Chapter 5, Section 5.3.4).

The fifth step in the parent-based framework for mobile parental control states that the parent must perform several sub-steps that form part of the third-party software step. Parents must become acquainted with third-party mobile parental control software packages. Consequently parents must de-termine which third-party mobile parental control software features are most suitable based on their child’s stage of development. Once suitable features have been identified parents need to acquire a third-party mobile parental control software package that provides said features. Only then should par-ents enable the third-party mobile parental control software package. How-ever, parents first need to gain the requisite knowledge regarding available third-party mobile parental control software options.

5.3.5.1 Gain knowledge of third-party mobile parental control software

Third-party mobile parental control software plays a crucial step in the at-tainment of a comprehensive mobile parental control solution. The first sub-step in the third-party software step of the parent-based framework for mobile parental control requires parents to first become acquainted with available Third-party mobile parental control software packages, their instal-lation, and their management. Only once so acquainted would parents have

the necessary knowledge to determine which third-party mobile parental con-trol software features are going to best suit their child.

5.3.5.2 Determine suitable third-party mobile parental control software features

Sub-step two in the third-party software step of the parent-based framework for mobile parental control, states that the parent must determine which mo-bile parental control third-party software features would be most suitable for protecting their child from potentially harmful media content and/or indi-vidual. This process requires a parent to use the knowledge they gained in sub-step one in the third-party software step of the parent-based frame-work for mobile parental control in determining their child’s mobile parental control needs (as discussed in Chapter 5, Section 5.3.5.1).

Parents must determine their child’s stage of development as well as mo-bile usage habits and combine that with the knowledge of third-party momo-bile parental control software packages. This combination must be used to es-tablish which mobile parental control third-party software features would be most suitable to their child, their child’s device, and the mobile service provider their child is subscribed to. Once parents have established this, they need to acquire a third-party software package that provides established mo-bile parental control third-party software features.

5.3.5.3 Acquire third-party mobile parental control software Parents who have determined which third-party mobile parental control soft-ware features are most suitable for their child as stipulated in sub-step two of the third-party software step in the parent-based framework for mobile parental control (as discussed in Chapter 5, Section 5.3.5.1), must now ac-quire a third-party mobile parental control software package. Sub-step three of the third-party software step in the parent-based framework for mobile parental control states that a parent must acquire a third-party mo-bile parental control software package based on predetermined features. The feature set contained in third-party mobile parental control software packages is not the only deciding factor when a parent acquires a third-party mobile parental control software package. Parents must consider the difference in

feature sets when deciding on a third-party mobile parental control software package.

One factor parents must take into account when acquiring a third-party mobile parental control software package is the difference in feature set from package to package. It is known that some third-party mobile parental control software packages do contain features that other third-party mobile parental control software packages may not (as discussed in Chapter 4, Sec-tion 4.2.4.1). Parents must do a thorough comparison of feature sets based on the knowledge they have gain in sub set one in the third-party software step of the parent-based framework for mobile parental control (as discussed in Chapter 5, Section 5.3.5.1). Not only do parents have to make a comparison of the feature sets, but also a comparison in terms of mobile platforms.

Third-party mobile parental control software packages are mobile plat-form/operating system dependent. Some third-party mobile parental control software packages may support a specific mobile platform, whereas others may not (as discussed in Chapter 4, Section 4.2.4.1). Thus, parents must carry out comparison of the mobile platforms and acquire a third-party mo-bile parental control software package that supports their child’s momo-bile de-vice platform. The mobile platform comparison forms part of identifying which third-party mobile parental control software package would be deemed most suitable for their child, and the acquirement thereof.

Once parents have identified the third-party mobile parental control soft-ware features most relevant to their child (as discussed in Chapter 5, Section 5.3.5.1), identified the third-party mobile parental control software package that possesses the identified features, and acquired such a third-party mo-bile parental control software package, the process of enablement must be initiated.

5.3.5.4 Enable third-party mobile parental control software The third-party mobile parental control software that has been acquired by parents seeking a comprehensive mobile parental control solution, as indi-cated in sub-step three of the third-party software step in the parent-based framework for mobile parental control (as discussed in Chapter 5, Section 5.3.5.3), should consequently be enabled on the child’s mobile device. The enablement process makes up sub-step four of the third-party software step

in the parent-based framework for mobile parental control. In order to en-able the third-party mobile parental control software package, parents must install the software on the child’s mobile device and configure it based on the knowledge they have gained in sub-step one of the third-party software step in the parent-based framework for mobile parental control (as discussed in Chapter 5, Section 5.3.5.1). Specific information as to the installation and configuration of the mentioned third-party mobile parental control software goes beyond the scope of this research.

Guidelines in the form of sub-steps, relating to the third-party software step, have been summarised in Table 5.5.

Reference: Description:

5.3.5.1 Parents have to become acquainted with third-party mobile parental control software packages in terms of their inherent features, installation and management.

5.3.5.2 Parents should determine which parental control fea-tures are most suited to their child, based on their child’s physical and mental stage of development.

5.3.5.3 Parents must acquire mobile parental control software that contains the features determined in sub-step one of the third-party software step.

5.3.5.4 Parents must enable the third-party mobile parental control software they acquired in sub-step two of the third-party software step on their child’s mobile de-vice, by installing and configuring the software on their child’s mobile device.

Table 5.5: Summary of the Third-party software step

The third-party software step in the parent-based framework for mobile parental control requires parents to enable a third-party mobile parental con-trol software package on their child’s mobile device. In order to complete the enablement process, parents’ first need to become acquainted with such soft-ware and choose a softsoft-ware package most suited for their child based on a set identified feature set. The implementation of a third-party mobile parental control software package is not the final step in the parent-based framework for mobile parental control, as deemed necessary for the attainment of a comprehensive mobile parental control solution. Third-party mobile parental control software needs to be monitored and improved/refined more often than

other mechanisms. This is because third-party mobile parental control soft-ware gives parents direct access to their child’s mobile usage habits. However, several other steps in the parent-based framework for mobile parental control also require constant monitoring and improvement.