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For every one of these anecdotes there's another where the kid got unrestricted access and is now incapable of going anywhere or doing anything without having t
by TaupeRanger 4y ago
For every one of these anecdotes there's another where the kid got unrestricted access and is now incapable of going anywhere or doing anything without having their tablet with them, and is chronically addicted to the screen at nearly every waking moment, to their extreme detriment in school and social encounters. I have a family member like this.
- hunter-gatherer 4y agoI have two nephews like this. Their future looks incredibly bleak. Although I believe the culprit is that their parents are always "phone on" as well.
- kaesar14 4y agoI think the more important thing is fostering your children to have other interests - when the electronics are given just to make a kid shut up it can eventually become their "real" parents. When parents are active and make an effort to show their children other activities and find what they're interested in, the electronics won't be as enticing. Maybe that requires a child having some built in proclivity towards some manner of creative expression or physical activity, who knows.
- friedman23 4y agoLike I said in another comment, phones and tablets are portable slot machines. Gambling wins over "other interests" every time.
- quest88 4y agoThat can't be true. If it were, no kid with access would have other interests.
- kaesar14 4y agoThat’s just not true for every child. Children are not so reductive.
- friedman23 4y agoAh ok, so you are fine with taking your child to Las Vegas and sitting them in front of the slot machine with a handful of quarters? Maybe just give them a small heroin injection too, there's a chance they wont get addicted.
- kaesar14 4y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reductio_ad_absurdum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reductio_ad_absurdum Also, giving your children unfettered access to the internet is not the same thing as giving them money for a slot machine. They don't have money unless you give it to them. It's not difficult to prevent them from having unlimited access to your credit cards. Children will grow up into adults that have access to all this stuff anyway. Better to teach and manage excess early then restrict.
- friedman23 4y agoI reject that it's reductio ad absurdum. We do not know the effect of this kind of stimulus on children and how it can affect their development.
- kaesar14 4y agoSo clearly it's comparable to heroin and slot machines at Vegas then, if we don't know the impact. Just gotta get a couple more years in to know for sure whether we can compare it to opiates :)
- Scarblac 4y agoThose other interests don't have a real chance to compete against endless YouTube etc, real life is just slower and gives less stimulation per second than the output of a whole industry trying to play their mind.
- kaesar14 4y agoI don’t know, I see it with the children around my family all the time. They’d rather play with one another then sit around on their phones. You’re not giving the children enough credit :)
- friedman23 4y agoYep, all these people don't understand they are handing their kids slot machines disguised as harmless kid games. Completely irresponsible.
- ngoilapites 4y agoThere is no black or white on this point, still clearly there is an unprotected risk.
- Kranar 4y agoYep and what's worse is no parent is going to ever admit that they gave their child unlimited screen time and now their child is addicted. Anecdotes that exhibit this kind of asymmetry are effectively worthless.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- Dudeman112 4y agoIndeed. People growing up isn't a function of one variable