Zift Advisory
The National Geographic Animal Jam app is an educational multiplayer game for kids set in the fictional world of Jamaa. This app is rated for everyone and is available for both iOS and Android devices for free. The Animal Jam app dose feature in-app purchases and advertisements. This app can be safe for kids with parental guidance.
What is Animal Jam?
The National Geographic Animal Jam app is an educational multiplayer game for kids set in the fictional world of Jamaa, where environmental neglect is slowly taking its toll on the resident animals.
This app is rated for everyone and is available for both iOS and Android devices for free. The Animal Jam app dose feature in-app purchases and advertisements.
Children create their own animal avatar, dress it up in virtual clothing, and interact with other users while playing games, going on structured adventures, and learning about animals and the environment.
Players also have private 'dens', which can be decorated and customized with furniture, pets, and other unique touches to make them their own. These can be purchased with in-game currency, though some objects, clothes, or pets are only available to paid Animal Jam members.
In some ways, Animal Jam is a virtual world expansion of National Geographic Kids magazine. Parents familiar with NatGeo's content and editorial standards will find a lot to like in Animal Jam's engaging, educational content.
Further educational content is available through the Animal Jam Academy, where families can find age-appropriate projects designed to teach concepts in science, technology, engineering, math, and art.
Animal Jam also features exclusive in-game educational video content from National Geographic scientists Brady Barr and Tierney Thys.
National Geographic's Animal Jam has won numerous educational awards, including:
- National Parenting Publications Awards
- Mom's Choice Award
- Life Buzz Award
- About.com Readers' Choice Award
- Webby Awards (Games)
- 2016 Parents' Choice Awards
- 2017 Google Play Awards, Best Kids App
Animal Jam is currently one of the fastest-growing online platforms for children. Within a year of launch, it had attracted one million active users. By 2017, Animal Jam's virtual world hosted more than 70 million players and counting.
Is Animal Jam safe for my kids?
While Animal Jam is safe for children in most respects, and the developers clearly take that responsibility seriously, it may not be entirely appropriate for young children.
In terms of interactions with other users, Animal Jam's developers have taken a number of steps to keep communications safe for children.
There are three levels on content control on player interactions: Safe Chat, where players may only type pre-screened words and phrases; Bubble Chat, which offers a list of approved expressive phrases for use in 'public' spaces; and Safe Chat Plus, which enables children to type freely – though their statements are still run through a content safety filter.
Profanity and explicit sexual language is automatically flagged, and players can report inappropriate content or behavior from other users easily.
Parents can select their child's level of access through a parental dashboard, though Safe Chat Plus is only available to paid Animal Jam members.
While not perfect – some inappropriate language inevitably escapes this filtering structure – Animal Jam's developers employ live moderators to respond quickly when unsafe behavior occurs.
In terms of in-app purchasing and advertising, Animal Jam is refreshingly low-key. The platform does not allow external ads, and paid memberships are promoted discretely relative to most contemporary mobile games.
Animal Jam's economy runs on gems (which can be easily obtained by playing games and going on educational adventures) and diamonds (which are either purchased from the online store or won during random daily giveaways).
This app can be safe for kids with parental guidance.
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