Ed-Tech Startups Are Cashing in on Parents’ Insecurities
By: Bertilla Niveda
Tags: Education, Technology, Children, Edtech, Parenting

The tech hustle culture that takes lives every day

It is no secret that millions of youngsters in India prepare for these exams 2 years before they are supposed to take them. Many of them don’t even want to be engineers. Many of them choose it because they have never been granted the freedom to even consider anything else.

An alarming number of Indian households abhor the idea of their children having desires and interests of their own — ones that aren’t conventionally profitable. This has inevitably lead to thousands of students ending their lives not being able to cope with the pressure. And those who are still alive neglect their mental health so much that their lives simply become a dull existence.

The focus has now shifted to children

If it wasn’t enough to put our teenagers under crushing expectations, we’ve now gone a step further. Little children.

Several ed-tech startups are now starting to lure in the parents of young kids by dangling their dreams before them. In this rapidly advancing world, with people of all ages excelling left and right, any average parent would have FOMO. The fear of missing out. Not for themselves, but for their children.

So many parents would grab at any chance to give their kids a life they could only dream of. And popular ed-tech companies are now happily monetizing this fear.

Bizarre claims in the pretense of marketing

Here is an ad that will summarize the entire marketing strategies of ed-tech companies lately.

Image source

This is one company that has gone above and beyond to stick to its targets. So, let us get this straight. They have created a fictional pre-teen with the name Wolf Gupta. And little Wolf here actually earns 1.5 billion per year, because he is a superstar prodigy who works at Google.

There are several other ridiculous ads like these, flaunting imaginary six-figure salaries and child brainiacs. Note that every one of these ads makes sure to kindle the insecurities of parents everywhere.

“Other useless little kids were watching cartoons, but Wolf? No, Wolf is special. Wolf is no idiot. Because his parents came to us and we made him a billionaire in 4 months. Your child could be the next Wolf. Your child could be on a flight to Silicon Valley right now. Join us today!”

They crush anyone who questions them

When Youtuber Pradeep Poonia pointed out the blatant lies, he was met with an army of cyber warriors under the employ of the above company, whose name I almost fear to take. Why? Because they slapped a 200-million-rupee defamation lawsuit against him.

The vicious takedown of numerous posts and people on social media is frightening. Several YouTube videos, Quora posts/accounts, LinkedIn posts/accounts, Reddit threads/users, Twitter handles, Instagram comments, Facebook profiles. The list goes on and on. I sincerely hope this doesn't get taken down too.

A couple of months ago, ASCI demanded that these false ads be taken down. And the company even admitted that this mastermind Wolf Gupta does not exist. But they will not stop barring any form of even the slightest criticism. Thankfully, their extreme efforts are slowly backfiring and their discrepancies are highlighted by high-profile networks like Forbes India, Inc42, The News Minute, The Print, and The Wire.

What can we do?

Before running straight into the tangled web of these slick companies who demand exorbitant fees, do your own research. All the learning material and resources paraded by such companies are often found at much lower prices and with much more experienced teachers.

These ads that were posted openly and often televised on mainstream channels are an insult to our intelligence. We need to realize that they treat us like sheep because they are that confident that we will fall for their traps.

This brings us to our next, and probably the most important point.

Let kids be kids.

What is so wrong with a child acting his/her age? Why are we obsessed with pushing them to be coding whizzes when they’re learning how to ride a bicycle? These “useless” hobbies are essential for a child’s wholesome development. Wanting them to map out their entire future before their age reaches double digits is a delusion.

If you introduce the concept of coding to your child, and they are genuinely interested to learn more, that’s great. If your research directs you to a good ed-tech platform that is worth your investment, by all means, go ahead. But don’t implant firm ideas in their minds, that would never naturally occur to them.

There’s nothing wrong with having a big dream for your kids. Just don’t force it upon them if they don’t share that dream with you.