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Ban all phones for kids? That's a terrible idea, what if they are in a ditch with a broken leg after falling off a bike? Only smartphones? Perhaps, but a dumbph
by cat_plus_plus 3y ago
Ban all phones for kids? That's a terrible idea, what if they are in a ditch with a broken leg after falling off a bike? Only smartphones? Perhaps, but a dumbphone is just a smartphone with restricted set of apps. It seems better to restrict apps based on appropriate age and individual needs than have a hard to tweak limit. For example, Maps is pretty useful when lost and Zoom is helpful with school events while away from home.
- SV_BubbleTime 3y agoWhat do you think the rest of us did? Also, is the topic pretty phones or smartphones?
- kelnos 3y agoSo because we had it worse when we were kids, we should make sure kids today don't get to take advantage of anything modern? When I was a kid, I got to play with the cast-off computers my dad would bring home from work. If he had your attitude, he would have thought, "oh, we didn't have computers when I was a kid, so certainly there's no value in my son having one".
- SV_BubbleTime 3y agolol, who said we had it worse? We had it way better.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- 9dev 3y agoThat’s hyperbole. The computers you were lucky to grow up with weren’t entry points to multi billion dollar industries with the sole intent of pinning a child to a screen and sell them stuff. Smartphones introduce children to addictive behaviour way too early in their life, and that’s a completely different situation than tinker devices of yore.
- WinstonSmith84 3y agonot sure how old you are, but the consoles of the early 90s were very addictive, Sega, Nintendo had really great games, much more than what I can find nowadays on Facebook or Tiktok which bores me after a few minutes of scrolling. The difference? Well, the key was that I had just some time slots I was authorized to play in a week and I suppose responsible parents now do the same with their kids smartphones.
- 9dev 3y agoThe difference between then and now is that on smartphones all the interesting things are inseparably intertwined with the actively dangerous things. A Nintendo console would allow you to play, but if a parent set a time limit and took away the console after that, the only effect would be your inability to continue playing. By taking away a smartphone, you’re stripping children of their primary access to their community. People seem to have forgotten what it’s like if you’re the outcast child who doesn’t get what it’s all about. Self worth, status, formation of taste and creativity, social contacts, and interaction, are all happening on social media now, whether we like it or not.
- wiseowise 3y agoSince you had computers back then, tell me how those engineered to perfection tech addiction machines were back then?
- cat_plus_plus 3y agoSome of us fell victim to accidents or crime.
- SV_BubbleTime 3y agoBecause smart phones prevent accidents and crime… amazing conclusion there.
- civilitty 3y ago> That's a terrible idea, what if they are in a ditch with a broken leg after falling off a bike? Then they'll have great survival skills. Or... you know... not.
- kelnos 3y agoAh, a casual joke about letting a child die rather than have a mobile phone. C'mon, really?
- civilitty 3y agoOh, please, get off your high horse. It's not about casually joking about child death; it's about assessing risks and making rational decisions. Kids survived for centuries without mobile phones - hell, humans survived for millennia without mobile phones. Are there risks? Sure. But there are risks in everything. And, by the way, that phone can distract your kid while crossing the road, ending up in a much more likely dangerous situation. Plus, the idea is not about banning phones altogether but rather regulating them, using them wisely. You know, like how we should use literally any tool ever invented? Having an appropriate usage based on age and situation is called responsible parenting, not Orwellian control. We can either raise a generation of mindless zombies glued to screens, or we can try and foster responsible and thoughtful use of technology. I know which one I'd prefer.
- Lapsa 3y agoI'm a mindless zombie, grew up glued to screen
- wiseowise 3y agoAh, a casual strawman about child dying.
- endorphine 3y ago> Ban all phones for kids? That's a terrible idea, what if they are in a ditch with a broken leg after falling off a bike? Let's give them guns too, because what if a giant bear comes in that cliff?
- cat_plus_plus 3y agoI don't know if you have ever visited Alaska, but I watched a homeowner trying to take out a bag of garbage and a bear with cabs coming to try and snatch it. Personally, I would want whoever in the family is doing that to have some kind of a failsafe if a wildlife interaction goes wrong. If not a gun, then high end bear spray that would still be dangerous to a human if misused. Do you really think that even teenagers should never take out garbage in Alaska? There are also places where a cellphone is the right risk/benefit balance.
- NoboruWataya 3y agoI'm guessing you haven't been to Greystones. Not so many bears.
- Neil44 3y agoPeople fell off bikes without having a mobile on them from pretty much the period between bikes being invented and very recently.