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The article recommends using a timer to limit Fortnite. Assuming the family in question can afford a computer and internet connection, a timer hardly seems a r

The article recommends using a timer to limit Fortnite. Assuming the family in question can afford a computer and internet connection, a timer hardly seems a reach, cost wise. Can you connect that to your points affordability, expectations, or classism for me?

0th_Place 8y ago
There isn't just the cost of a timer, there's also the time and effort that needs to be spent policing your child's screen time. Many families don't have a parent around the house a lot of the time.
- mattcwilson 8y ago
  It seems like we're all agreed that unmonitored, free-for-all access for kids onto computers or phones is risky and potentially unhealthy. Where I am confused is - what might make that hard to govern? I fully appreciate that the tools 20-30 years ago were not where they are today. But now?
- fjsolwmv 8y ago
  It is free and easy to simply not buy your kid a screen, or take away the one you gave them. The main "benefit" to parents of screens is that it's a cheap bad babysitter that shuts kids up.
vinceguidry 8y ago
When I was a kid, I would sneak out of my room at 3 in the morning to play Diablo. There's not a whole lot parents can do to police kids' online activities who have a burning need to do what they want to do despite parental involvement. At some point you're fighting a war using the most precious resources you have against an adversary that has an endless supply of them.
- always_good 8y ago
  I did the same thing to grind levels in Runescape and I look back with regret, getting <4 hours of sleep during an important developmental stage in my life. My parents didn't even suspect that I'd do such a thing. But they could've trivially stopped it. If they knew I was doing it, they would've removed the computer from the game room. Luckily for my kids, I know how addicting gaming can be unlike my parents did back then. I don't really know what you're trying to say. Kids have almost zero resources. If they have an internet-connected device they can use 24/7, it's because you got them one and you let them. Kids do have more disposable time than parents do, but that's also why kids are so good at creatively filling the void when they can't just turn on their dopamine machine. When I was bored at my grandma's house without electronics, that's when I learned to draw, a hobby I've taken into my 30s.

0th_Place 8y ago

There isn't just the cost of a timer, there's also the time and effort that needs to be spent policing your child's screen time. Many families don't have a parent around the house a lot of the time.

mattcwilson 8y ago
It seems like we're all agreed that unmonitored, free-for-all access for kids onto computers or phones is risky and potentially unhealthy. Where I am confused is - what might make that hard to govern? I fully appreciate that the tools 20-30 years ago were not where they are today. But now?
fjsolwmv 8y ago
It is free and easy to simply not buy your kid a screen, or take away the one you gave them. The main "benefit" to parents of screens is that it's a cheap bad babysitter that shuts kids up.

vinceguidry 8y ago

When I was a kid, I would sneak out of my room at 3 in the morning to play Diablo. There's not a whole lot parents can do to police kids' online activities who have a burning need to do what they want to do despite parental involvement. At some point you're fighting a war using the most precious resources you have against an adversary that has an endless supply of them.

always_good 8y ago
I did the same thing to grind levels in Runescape and I look back with regret, getting <4 hours of sleep during an important developmental stage in my life. My parents didn't even suspect that I'd do such a thing. But they could've trivially stopped it. If they knew I was doing it, they would've removed the computer from the game room. Luckily for my kids, I know how addicting gaming can be unlike my parents did back then. I don't really know what you're trying to say. Kids have almost zero resources. If they have an internet-connected device they can use 24/7, it's because you got them one and you let them. Kids do have more disposable time than parents do, but that's also why kids are so good at creatively filling the void when they can't just turn on their dopamine machine. When I was bored at my grandma's house without electronics, that's when I learned to draw, a hobby I've taken into my 30s.