5 ms·

As a parent, I’m seeing a very clear division in parenting style among my peers. Some parents allow screen time with moderation and caution because they know w

As a parent, I’m seeing a very clear division in parenting style among my peers. Some parents allow screen time with moderation and caution because they know what excessive use leads to. The other group sees nothing wrong and screens are everywhere all the time. My friend circles are exclusively in the first group, from daycare to schools to friends. So much so that at first I thought everyone was like this. Then I stepped outside of my bubble and watched some parents hand their kids phones and tablets like they were automatic babysitters. They saw it as normal. One person explained to me that it was a “tool” to help build his relationship with his child by making them “not upset” because they were happier with the phone. It blew my mind that he didn’t realize that he was cultivating an addiction.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
newsclues 3y ago
Smartphones and social media are tools. Drugs are tools. Both can be used or abused.
- TremendousJudge 3y ago
  By that analogy, most drugs are not suitable for children, and for the ones that are it's never good to allow a child to self-medicate. It's always an adult giving ibuprofen to a child when he has a fever, not giving the child a 100 pill bottle and telling him to go play.
  - newsclues 3y ago
    As a blanket rule, I wouldn't let children use drugs or social media on a regular basis. Certainly not at will. But I also think total abstinence doesn't always work for everyone. There can be some exceptions. A child with cancer should have access to medicinal cannabis if it's appropriate for their condition for example. Some children may benefit from LSD/MDMA/mushroom assisted therapy. But active kids shouldn't be labeled as ADHD and medicated. And the occasional sip of wine at dinner with parents might help kids learn to respect alcohol and not go overboard when they go to college.
- cpsempek 3y ago
  Who are the trained professionals prescribing and dosing out smartphones and social media? Like, I get your analogy, but they are so dissimilar in practice that it just ends up reading naive.
  - newsclues 3y ago
    Some people seek out their own drugs to harmlessly fill a void of boredom, or to be a social tool, or for entertainment after a hard days work. Some of those people who innocently tried to use a tool to alter their brain chemistry for the better eventually abused drugs to their detriment. Some people seek out their social media experiances to harmlessly fill a void of boredom, or to be a social tool, or for entertainment after a hard days work. Some of those people who innocently tried to use a tool to alter their brain chemistry for the better eventually abused social media to their detriment. But you can also go to the Apple Store and a trained professional will sell you an iPhone if you want to get on TikTok to make new friends because you are lonely.
- 23B1 3y ago
  For sure, but I don't think it's a 'level playing field' when the multivitamin you give to your kid is laced with fentanyl! Darkpatterns, for example, are specifically designed to exploit holes in our psychological armor.
- Aerbil313 3y ago
  Tools tend to manifest certain use cases when they encounter that thing called human nature.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

newsclues 3y ago

Smartphones and social media are tools. Drugs are tools. Both can be used or abused.

TremendousJudge 3y ago
By that analogy, most drugs are not suitable for children, and for the ones that are it's never good to allow a child to self-medicate. It's always an adult giving ibuprofen to a child when he has a fever, not giving the child a 100 pill bottle and telling him to go play.
- newsclues 3y ago
  As a blanket rule, I wouldn't let children use drugs or social media on a regular basis. Certainly not at will. But I also think total abstinence doesn't always work for everyone. There can be some exceptions. A child with cancer should have access to medicinal cannabis if it's appropriate for their condition for example. Some children may benefit from LSD/MDMA/mushroom assisted therapy. But active kids shouldn't be labeled as ADHD and medicated. And the occasional sip of wine at dinner with parents might help kids learn to respect alcohol and not go overboard when they go to college.
cpsempek 3y ago
Who are the trained professionals prescribing and dosing out smartphones and social media? Like, I get your analogy, but they are so dissimilar in practice that it just ends up reading naive.
- newsclues 3y ago
  Some people seek out their own drugs to harmlessly fill a void of boredom, or to be a social tool, or for entertainment after a hard days work. Some of those people who innocently tried to use a tool to alter their brain chemistry for the better eventually abused drugs to their detriment. Some people seek out their social media experiances to harmlessly fill a void of boredom, or to be a social tool, or for entertainment after a hard days work. Some of those people who innocently tried to use a tool to alter their brain chemistry for the better eventually abused social media to their detriment. But you can also go to the Apple Store and a trained professional will sell you an iPhone if you want to get on TikTok to make new friends because you are lonely.
23B1 3y ago
For sure, but I don't think it's a 'level playing field' when the multivitamin you give to your kid is laced with fentanyl! Darkpatterns, for example, are specifically designed to exploit holes in our psychological armor.
Aerbil313 3y ago
Tools tend to manifest certain use cases when they encounter that thing called human nature.