A 3-Pronged Approach to Kid-Friendly Digital Services Launches Grom Social Onto the NASDAQ Exchange

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The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

Grom Social GROM was uplisted to NASDAQ this month, marking its official move out of the over-the-counter markets and onto a major stock exchange. The entertainment, social media, and tech company made the move to the NASDAQ exchange on June 17th amid a growing demand for safe social media services just for kids. Grom, however, is more than social, thanks to Top Draw Animation, its award-winning animation production studio, NetSpective web filtering to keep kids safe online in school, and the pending acquisition of Curiosity Ink Media, all of which bring Grom a robust slate of original, story-driven IP for kids and families. Grom Social Enterprises, Inc. is poised to entertain kids and families in a variety of settings today’s families seek for premium family content. Here are some of the key factors fueling the entertainment and tech company’s rise.

Kids Are Ditching TVs & Grom Aims to Be Their New Destination

In the nine years between 2011 and 2019, TV usage fell by almost 50% among kids aged 2 to 11 and 65% among teens aged 12 to 17. Instead of TV, younger audiences increasingly prefer online streaming and digital video platforms. This trend has spurred heated competition among streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney as both pour billions of dollars into developing new content, especially animation, for kids.  

With 1,400 hours of exclusive content and strategic acquisitions like the recently announced Curiosity Ink Media deal, Grom Social already has a wide offering of age-appropriate, engaging content that meets the evolving demands of this digital native audience.

Stricter Regulations Make Dedicated Kid-Friendly Media the Best Way Forward

As legislators continue to update and tighten regulations in the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), existing social media and entertainment platforms that are geared toward adults struggle to rollout compliant versions of their apps and platforms that meet the stricter regulations for younger users while still enabling the full range of data-driven services and advertising for adult users. 

After Facebook FB drew flak from child safety groups from its announcement that it was developing a kid’s version of Instagram, it seems clear that retrofitting existing platforms to be COPPA-compliant is not enough to soothe parents’ concerns. Instead, developing brand new platforms with children in mind from the outset is the best way forward in this lucrative but potentially regulation-heavy space. 

Grom Social has met that challenge by developing a fully COPPA-compliant platform, complete with robust parental controls and live monitoring capabilities. Parents can now take a more proactive role in monitoring their children’s digital lives and trust that they’re engaging with content that is age-appropriate, educational, and safe.  

Meanwhile, kids can connect with other kids on a safe, engaging platform that lets them take pictures, create their own videos, like and comment on friends’ posts, and do all of the other things that make social media so appealing, but in a more secure environment. 

Increasingly Concerned Parents Want More Control

As kids spend more time online, parents are expressing increasing concern over the content their children are being exposed to, the threat of cyberbullying, and other safety issues. In a 2020 Pew Research survey, 75% of parents reported using some form of parental controls in an effort to regulate their children’s online activities. 

This trend is driving a 10.5% CAGR in the parental control software industry, leading to an estimated $1.7 billion market by 2030. Grom Social is already positioning itself as a leader in that industry with its social media parental controls and web filtering services. 

On its social media platform, parents have access to a MamaBear companion app that enables parents to monitor their child’s activity on Grom Social live from their own device—instead of having to peek over the kid’s shoulder. They can also control which features of the social media platform their child has access to right from the companion app. 

In addition to robust parental control features built into the social media app, Grom Social also offers a web filtering service through its subsidiary, Grom Educational Services, Inc. which has already been adopted by over 1,000 K-12 schools as well as private businesses. 

The web filtering service provides advanced filtering controls and detection software that can spot abusive language, inappropriate content, and other harmful content on the internet so that parents and educators can feel assured that their children are browsing safely online, even when they venture outside the Grom Social app.

Armed with safe social media just for kids, animation production that streaming services and linear entertainment need to compete, and a full slate of original IP, Grom Social Enterprises, Inc. is poised to become a meaningful player in kids and family entertainment.

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.