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Original poster

Do you love Alexa? Why?!

100 replies

wakemewhenitsallover · 28/12/2019 03:42

My 11yo was given an Echo Dot by a family member.

Personally I hate the fucking things. I don't want a robot listening to everything we say. It feels like an intrusion. Plus it annoys me that it's a woman's voice - reinforcing the idea women are the service class. And DS and DD fight over it.

But - relative has presented gift, DS loves it so I can hardly take it off him (without a good reason anyway).

So, can anyone explain to me what the use of it is? How do you use yours? What good is it? Can I learn to like it?

I want to say DS should keep it in his room as I don't want it in the front room - but is that a bad idea? He's not allowed to use his computer in his room as a measure to keep him safe online.

OP posts:
ThisIsNotARealAvo · 28/12/2019 04:12

It's very good as a speaker. I listen to radio and Spotify on it all the time. Kids also like playing the quizzes and just randomly talking to it. I'm not that bothered about it listening to us as lots of devices do that and all I've noticed so far are adverts.

Lemonsaretheonlyfruit · 28/12/2019 04:20

I now have 3 in the house after DS (10) kept stealing mine so I bought him one for Christmas. I use mine in a different way to how he'll use his. He loves listening to music and dancing around. In he evening he'll have relaxing music or 'sounds' to get to sleep (Alexa, play raindrops falling on a tin roof) . If you say good morning to it, it gives you an interesting fact for the day which I think is good as they take it into school . I use it as a timer for him to be ready by. He's a reluctant reader and his teacher suggested that listening to audio books is almost as good so that too. It can also do still things like he can play a pop quiz with a friend and keep score. He was playing rock scissor paper with it with it the other day. Some of. It useful, some of it just silly.

I use mine as a radio, timer when cooking, audiobook, asking it years that things happened or just trivial stuff. I don't use it fir anything 'smart' like turning the lights on and off. I have also used the shopping list function on there. I find it handy to be able to play any album or song I could possibly want or feel like listening to without having to search on my phone.

I do understand your reservation on the listening in front, but I figure that if you have a smart phone we are already open to so much of that anyway.

Original poster
wakemewhenitsallover · 28/12/2019 04:23

Thanks ThisIs. Can you use it to listen to Spotify without subscribing to it?

Although if you don't then I guess you get adverts all the time?

I don't like the idea of DS being advertised to in his room.

DD (age 6) keeps asking it loads of metaphysical questions like whether it wants to be human and if it likes being Alexa which is quite entertaining but I imagine the novelty will wear off.

Can it help the kids learn stuff?

OP posts:
aggitatedstate · 28/12/2019 04:24

Got bought it too. Hate it. Already in a drawer to never be opened

Original poster
wakemewhenitsallover · 28/12/2019 04:25

Lemonsaretheonlyfruit thanks :)

Do you have to subscribe to something to get audio books? (I just cancelled an audible subscription I let run on from a free trial by mistake).

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frasersmummy · 28/12/2019 04:27

So. Say you are in the middle of making dinner and you remember the car needs tax. You can say alexa remind me to tax the car in an hour

In. The same vain if you notice you are running low on binbags.. You can say alexa add bin bags to my. Shopping list
Next time you are at the supermarket.. Bring up the app and see what's on your list

You can drop in on it when you are out.. A useful feature for a sleeping teen. I can sit in The office and yell. Oi!1pm get up.. Now

Its fun for trivia and games

Original poster
wakemewhenitsallover · 28/12/2019 04:27

DP linked it to Amazon, not sure if mine or his. I have Prime, he doesn't. It plays music if we ask it, does that mean it's on Prime?

Can DS order stuff on our Amazon accounts through it?

OP posts:
Original poster
wakemewhenitsallover · 28/12/2019 05:00

I'd prefer him not to be able to order stuff on my Amazon account!

OP posts:
GinNsnowmen · 28/12/2019 05:06

I've avoided it so far

Allmyarseandpeggymartin · 28/12/2019 08:29

I’m interested in this too, the dab radio in the kitchen died just before Christmas and I’m thinking about Alexa instead of another radio. Would it play all the dab channels?

Bezalelle · 28/12/2019 08:38

Don't voluntarily install spyware in your home, and pay for it!

At least under dictatorships you'd get them installed for free by the State...

cookiemonster5 · 28/12/2019 08:51

I got one last Xmas but it was still in the box until yesterday following our house move in the summer. I dug it out and plugged it in. It's great fun. I play the Harry Potter quiz quite often, listen to the radio on it which is especially handy in the winter for school closure lists, use the shopping list when I am cooking and finish something instead of finding a notepad and pen, settles arguments about stuff without grabbing a phone and googling facts lol and last night it was teaching our eldest about all the good music over the last 20 years I failed to teach him before now.

Aposterhasnoname · 28/12/2019 08:54

Yes, it’s accessing music through prime. You can disable voice purchasing in the settings.

Yes, you can play dab radio on it.

There isn’t someone sat at a desk listening to you asking Alexa to switch on the lights, or make fart noises, or whatever. You can see and delete everything it’s recorded in your settings. You can set it to delete automatically if you want.

Tumbleweed101 · 28/12/2019 08:55

I use mine mainly for music and alarms. It’s a pretty good speaker for something small and can be tucked out the way.

You can turn off online ordering via the app. You can also turn off the microphone so children can’t keep changing what it’s doing (assuming they are young enough for you to put it out of reach).

If you have more than one you can talk to each other through from different parts of the house.

My children like the games, jokes and quizzes.

I quite like them. The app allows you to put parental controls on.

fascinated · 28/12/2019 08:56

I like to know the source of information and “facts”. With Alexa, who provides the info? How do we know it is correct and/or unbiased ? It’s like taking the first hit on Google, surely, without cross checking or even knowing where the info comes from? I wouldn’t want to instill those habits in a child...

Squigean · 28/12/2019 08:57

@wakemewhenitsallover yes you can listen to Spotify without subscription, but you will have adverts. You won't be able to select particular songs and there appears to be a restriction on how many songs you can skip in an hour.

On of mine got an echo dot too. I'm trying to get my head around it!!!

Ocomeocomeimaginaryfleas · 28/12/2019 09:41

I asked mine yesterday if she had a boyfriend. She told me she was happily single.😁

FireUnderpants · 28/12/2019 13:22

I've linked our Alexa to follow DSs continuous blood glucose monitor. We can ask her and she tells us his current blood glucose level and if it's rising, dropping or steady.

What would have previously been a hand wash, dry, kit bag out, finger poke, strips and meter is now a simple question. We are truly living in the future.

EnormousDormouse · 28/12/2019 13:30

I use mine to listen to the radio (not in UK so if I didn't have Alexa I would have to turn a laptop on, open a VPN, open BBC sounds, find R4, which is much more time consuming), switch aircon and lights on/off, set timers and alarms, make shopping lists and listen to all the music on mine and DPs Amazon accounts. It's a brilliant device for me - I don't worry about it listening in as all it will hear is me talking to my cats Grin

Original poster
wakemewhenitsallover · 28/12/2019 14:43

You can also turn off the microphone so children can’t keep changing what it’s doing

It's DS's Alexa, not mine. So the choice is either he keeps it in his room, or it's downstairs and they learn not to fight over it.

(Not keen on either option tbh!)

OP posts:
SilverySurfer · 28/12/2019 16:43

Bezalelle
Don't voluntarily install spyware in your home, and pay for it! At least under dictatorships you'd get them installed for free by the State...

Absolutely agree - when I got my Kindle, the first thing I did was turn Alexa off.

Aragog · 28/12/2019 16:48

Plus it annoys me that it's a woman's voice - reinforcing the idea women are the service clas

Not all of the 'robot' voices are female. My Siri is a male voice.

Babyroobs · 28/12/2019 16:54

I generally dislike her but this year I forgot to buy Christmas crackers and the kids were moaning about missing the bad jokes from crackers so we asked Alexa for some and she got us all laughing.

Newcatmum · 28/12/2019 16:55

I hate Alexa. She can't understand a word I say (Scottish accent) and I end up getting raging with her. That goes for all automated telephone systems that also don't understand me Angry

NoBlueXmasLightsAllowed · 28/12/2019 17:00

I'd never have one as I don't trust Amazon's intentions. Same goes for 23andme DNA testing and Facebook Portal.