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"screen time" is so general though. What were they doing on the screens? Sure, I know plenty of parents who stick their kids on YouTube with no monitoring, who

"screen time" is so general though. What were they doing on the screens? Sure, I know plenty of parents who stick their kids on YouTube with no monitoring, who end up watching Jake Paul for hours. But I also know plenty of parents whose kids spend their screen time drawing in paint apps, playing with redstone creations in Minecraft, and generally doing stuff that I (as a parent of 2 who aren't quite that age yet) would LOVE my kids to be doing. I'm sure the former is more common than the latter, but I wish articles like this weren't so "screen time is BAD" and would differentiate and encourage parents to instead push their kids towards educational-but-entertaining screentime. If I hadn't spent my entire childhood on screens learning to code in BASIC and playing in Paint, I wouldn't have had my career, which has now let me support my family and give them a comfortable life (whereas I grew up in poverty).

windexh8er 8y ago
Your comment is valid, but screens today are generally for a consumption model vs an interactive one you and I grew up with. I get the whole painting, drawing, etc - but mastery of those are still very much founded in the physical realm of many mediums. The other thing this article fails to touch on is the damage that can be done to younger eyes. Screens can literally burn retinas. Apple, for example, made quiet reference to the improvements in their new iPhone displays that they are easier on eyes (https://www.cultofmac.com/581646/iphone-xs-max-display-is-scientifically-healthier-for-your-eyes/ https://www.cultofmac.com/581646/iphone-xs-max-display-is-sc...). I've also seen the MPE (maximum permissable exposure) metric reference more and more lately. Finally, I'm sure you spent as much time in front of the screen writing code when you were growing up, just as I did. But it meant going to sit down in front of a desktop. You weren't laying with it in bed, on Facebook or sending Snaps 24/7. The difference of access today is 180 from when I was using technology as a teenager. I don't think technology is bad when it has a purpose, but I would say the majority of youth are not using technology in a manner that's constructive to their future long term.

windexh8er 8y ago

Your comment is valid, but screens today are generally for a consumption model vs an interactive one you and I grew up with. I get the whole painting, drawing, etc - but mastery of those are still very much founded in the physical realm of many mediums. The other thing this article fails to touch on is the damage that can be done to younger eyes. Screens can literally burn retinas. Apple, for example, made quiet reference to the improvements in their new iPhone displays that they are easier on eyes (https://www.cultofmac.com/581646/iphone-xs-max-display-is-scientifically-healthier-for-your-eyes/ https://www.cultofmac.com/581646/iphone-xs-max-display-is-sc...). I've also seen the MPE (maximum permissable exposure) metric reference more and more lately. Finally, I'm sure you spent as much time in front of the screen writing code when you were growing up, just as I did. But it meant going to sit down in front of a desktop. You weren't laying with it in bed, on Facebook or sending Snaps 24/7. The difference of access today is 180 from when I was using technology as a teenager. I don't think technology is bad when it has a purpose, but I would say the majority of youth are not using technology in a manner that's constructive to their future long term.