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I really liked your phrase: "analog child being introduced to the digital magic". I don't know if children in today's generation can at all be called as 'analo

I really liked your phrase: "analog child being introduced to the digital magic". I don't know if children in today's generation can at all be called as 'analog children'? And that plausibly is not good, overall.

tempguy9999 7y ago
That's quite an assumption. I really don't know if they are any better, worse or just different because their environment is different. I really don't like dissing things just because they've changed. Can you really summarise an entire generation so easily?
- deepaksurti 7y ago
  Sorry, my intent was neither to diss nor to summarise trivially; thanks for pointing it out and I need to put my thoughts in a better way.
bayesian_horse 7y ago
It's inevitable that children today have more contact to digital technology in all its forms. This may have disadvantages. But it's certainly not avoidable. The best that parents can do is to try and teach and encourage children to focus on healthier stuff. To not be slaves to their mobile phones. To have empathy. Easier said than done though.
- GuiA 7y ago
  > But it's certainly not avoidable. It certainly is avoidable. The difference between my friends who are very conscious of the exposure they give their children to TV, phones, tablets, etc vs those who don’t is striking. Case study A: a friend who lives with her 6 year old son in a tiny Paris apartment. She has a laptop for work and an old phone she uses for WhatsApp/basic tasks, and that’s it. When I spent a few days at her place last winter, the kid helped us cook, we played board games after dinner, and he was really excited to go to the park the next day. Case study B: San Francisco friends who let their kid use an iPad pretty much any time there is any chance the kid might be bored, moody, etc. She is pretty much addicted, and it’s quite hard to get her excited about anything else.
  - bayesian_horse 7y ago
    The 6 year is probably in kindergarden or starting elementary school. You can bet his class mates / potential friends will soon all have smart phones and converse mainly through online groups. It's hard to say if at some point the disadvantages of limiting screen use is outweighing the benefits. Worse, if children already use social media heavily, stripping them of access during the school hours (or longer) will actually increase their anxiety levels. Children's social dynamics are tricky, especially for adults, and a lot can go wrong. In my youth I wasn't spending so much time with a computer because it was my free choice. I lacked the social skills to make friends and was bullied heavily through my entire school life. Next problem: To entertain a child without iPads requires a lot of time and conscious effort, which not all parents can spare, despite their best efforts. Instead of iPads, especially with preschool children, you'll see parents give them some food item when they need to be still for a time (bus, train etc). That's not necessarily a better solution. Nor is letting them cry all the time because children at such ages can't control their focus and impulses for a meaningful amount of time.

tempguy9999 7y ago

That's quite an assumption. I really don't know if they are any better, worse or just different because their environment is different. I really don't like dissing things just because they've changed. Can you really summarise an entire generation so easily?

deepaksurti 7y ago
Sorry, my intent was neither to diss nor to summarise trivially; thanks for pointing it out and I need to put my thoughts in a better way.

bayesian_horse 7y ago

It's inevitable that children today have more contact to digital technology in all its forms. This may have disadvantages. But it's certainly not avoidable. The best that parents can do is to try and teach and encourage children to focus on healthier stuff. To not be slaves to their mobile phones. To have empathy. Easier said than done though.

GuiA 7y ago
> But it's certainly not avoidable. It certainly is avoidable. The difference between my friends who are very conscious of the exposure they give their children to TV, phones, tablets, etc vs those who don’t is striking. Case study A: a friend who lives with her 6 year old son in a tiny Paris apartment. She has a laptop for work and an old phone she uses for WhatsApp/basic tasks, and that’s it. When I spent a few days at her place last winter, the kid helped us cook, we played board games after dinner, and he was really excited to go to the park the next day. Case study B: San Francisco friends who let their kid use an iPad pretty much any time there is any chance the kid might be bored, moody, etc. She is pretty much addicted, and it’s quite hard to get her excited about anything else.
- bayesian_horse 7y ago
  The 6 year is probably in kindergarden or starting elementary school. You can bet his class mates / potential friends will soon all have smart phones and converse mainly through online groups. It's hard to say if at some point the disadvantages of limiting screen use is outweighing the benefits. Worse, if children already use social media heavily, stripping them of access during the school hours (or longer) will actually increase their anxiety levels. Children's social dynamics are tricky, especially for adults, and a lot can go wrong. In my youth I wasn't spending so much time with a computer because it was my free choice. I lacked the social skills to make friends and was bullied heavily through my entire school life. Next problem: To entertain a child without iPads requires a lot of time and conscious effort, which not all parents can spare, despite their best efforts. Instead of iPads, especially with preschool children, you'll see parents give them some food item when they need to be still for a time (bus, train etc). That's not necessarily a better solution. Nor is letting them cry all the time because children at such ages can't control their focus and impulses for a meaningful amount of time.