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I think this is a lost cause. Other have already mentioned this, but I'll state it again. The computers themselves are the trivial part, both the hardware and t
by em500 5y ago
I think this is a lost cause. Other have already mentioned this, but I'll state it again. The computers themselves are the trivial part, both the hardware and the software. You can buy a budget 11- or 13-inch laptop, new for $300 or used for $100, load them with emulators of all the 1980s and 1990s machines, and have literally the same software and much better hardware than we did back then.
If you give that to them, odds are overwhelmingly (I'm guesstimating at least 99:1) that your kids might show some interest for less than 5 minutes, and them move on to their current preferred form of entertainment. You might stretch it a bit if there is a knowledgable and enthusiastic adult sitting with them all the time, but most will only continu when the adult is present. How many hours can you spare?
Back in the 1980s, we had 3 tv channels (with mostly boring adult programming), a library that we visited a few times per month, to take out 6 books per visit, a video store where we rented movies a few times per year. Even in that restrictive setting with far less competition for attention, most of the (few) children who hade home computers only used them (personal schoolyard experience) to consume (cracked) games. Nowadays, with the endless streams of highly optimised attentions sinks (all-you-can-eat video channels, adware/IAP touch screen "games"), just giving them open-ended ways to create or great creative experiences does not stand any chance.
Now maybe your children are among the very few that do have an aptitude for open-world creativity. You can probably tell with something like Lego, or paid games with some creation tools (Minecraft, Super Mario Maker). But don't be too disappointed if they show little interest or enthusiasm. It's not you, nor the hardware/software. It's the children themselves.
- foobarian 5y agoThis is super depressing. What do we do? Firewall all the things at the house and get rid of tablets/phones?
- em500 5y agoDon't be depressed. In due time, our kids will complain about their kids zombie-ing out in the metaverse all day, whereas back in their days, they were actively creating memes and dance videos, modding minecraft worlds, and occasionally even had to read entire paragraphs of text.
- warrenm 5y agoIt's only "super depressing" if you choose to see if that way Here are some ways to "combat" the choices available, though, if you want: - kill/limit streaming services - kill/limit TV in general - limit internet time(s) per device - have your kids go outside and play
- ivansavz 5y agoOne thing to realize is that technology is not bad—it's the shitty apps and the social media superficialities that are bad. So if you can pre-load the "good stuff" (educational stuff, documentaries, wikipedia, etc.) then you're biasing their device time toward useful stuff. Here is a comment with detailed instructions for how to setup Kolibri and Kiwix, which are really useful educational software that works on localhost (or local network): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26137100 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26137100 The idea is after installing these locally, you could turn off the internet connection.
- markus_zhang 5y agoThanks this is really good.
- hnthrowaway0315 5y agoYou can't. They will have friends who have access to those devices, plus daycares play programs and schools sometimes "require" a tablet. I don't know TBF.
- sebastianconcpt 5y agoGood observation. This generation has the problem of abundance of resources and attention competition which we didn't have in the Apple II years. Worst, you have TikTok kind of content contaminating them with futility that makes them get dopamine shots in exchange of "short exciting things" that will make them A) loose time and B) raise expectations on what will make them trigger dopamine hits in the future.
- hnthrowaway0315 5y agoAnd once the dopamine shots are done, there is no way back unless the parents are very mindful. It would be only decades later, when they are at our age (30/40) that they realized that something could be changed back then. In reality I see many parents actively feed kids with dopamine shots because it "quiets the kids". TBH I don't know what I can do. Even as both my wife and I are aware of the situation, in daycares and schools they simply feed those stuffs too, maybe with an educational bent, but still dopamine shots underlied.
- sebastianconcpt 5y agoSomehow, the attempt has to be in imprinting virtue and high values. And a lot of the culture wants people to focus in resentment, self-victimism and ungratefulness towards anything good and punishing what's trying to be good. Negative Dialectics focused in this, the destruction of everything.
- hnthrowaway0315 5y agoAgreed. As I said in an above comment, getting 100X of resources and choices is NOT a good thing. You need VERY knowledgeable adults to guide the kids. TBH most parents are not prepared for this, let alone many of them are deep into the rabit hole themselves.
- ddingus 5y agoThis all rings true for me. Frankly, if I am doing things on the old computer, that's one scenario. My young one wants to get involved and do stuff with me. Doing stuff on their own? Not gonna happen.
- some-guy 5y agoI have a vintage Mac setup, and I tried to get my nieces and nephews when they visited to play KidPix. It's a PowerMac 5400 all-in-one, and they thought it was a weird looking machine, but they kept trying to use it as a touchscreen. When they started to use the mouse with it, they played it for awhile then got bored.