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Sometimes software isn't the answer. I think this is a good example. One of my child's friends plays Roblox nearly every waking hour outside of school. He's 5.

Sometimes software isn't the answer. I think this is a good example. One of my child's friends plays Roblox nearly every waking hour outside of school. He's 5. People naturally would ask "where are his parents?" ...she's a single mom working two jobs, and he's at home with a teenage sister as his only supervision most of the time. This isn't uncommon in the US. I was a latchkey kid myself, my babysitter was TV. People say that parents need to pay attention to their kids more, but parents don't need more or better software, they need money and time.

watwut 5y ago
This issue with this is that contemporary American parents are already spending more time with kids then used to be norm. Compared to past, even relaxed parents are helicopter parents. Maybe the expectation that parents will be constantly there, hovering over the young teenagers itself, micromanaging every aspect of their lifes on itself is unhealthy on itself.
- micromacrofoot 5y ago
  I agree that this is a problem, albeit a different one. The subset of people I'm talking about almost certainly don't fit into this category. There are still millions of kids with struggling parents who don't have proper guidance (note, guidance isn't necessarily supervision). In the case of parents who are spending more time than ever with their kids, the problem could certainly be more related to aptitude. We live in a society where our lawmakers don't fully understand the technology most people are spending hours a day being manipulated by, so it certainly seems likely most parents don't understand the impact either. Either way, to say that these companies will solve it themselves with better software for parents doesn't seem like a solution to either issue. It's kind of like "the factories are safer for children now because they're wearing hard hats" — it's the wrong conversation driven by the wrong people.

watwut 5y ago

This issue with this is that contemporary American parents are already spending more time with kids then used to be norm. Compared to past, even relaxed parents are helicopter parents. Maybe the expectation that parents will be constantly there, hovering over the young teenagers itself, micromanaging every aspect of their lifes on itself is unhealthy on itself.

micromacrofoot 5y ago
I agree that this is a problem, albeit a different one. The subset of people I'm talking about almost certainly don't fit into this category. There are still millions of kids with struggling parents who don't have proper guidance (note, guidance isn't necessarily supervision). In the case of parents who are spending more time than ever with their kids, the problem could certainly be more related to aptitude. We live in a society where our lawmakers don't fully understand the technology most people are spending hours a day being manipulated by, so it certainly seems likely most parents don't understand the impact either. Either way, to say that these companies will solve it themselves with better software for parents doesn't seem like a solution to either issue. It's kind of like "the factories are safer for children now because they're wearing hard hats" — it's the wrong conversation driven by the wrong people.