As a child brought up by screens, I've never believed that screen time is a problem, so much as what's on the screens. I wish I could find the clever comment f

As a child brought up by screens, I've never believed that screen time is a problem, so much as what's on the screens. I wish I could find the clever comment from the parent who talked about "playing defence" with smart phones, which this thread is about, vs "playing offence", finding competing interests and distractions! I try to "play offence" and do trips and social things. But our capitalist hellscape makes it hard for other parents to get that time. So we look for total control or total abstinence, right? I am just optimistic about technology and want my kids to be masters of it. So my 10yo has had mostly free rein of a laptop & phone since he was about 5, maybe a bit of TV and kids Youtube channels before then. He was reading before 24 months and is a bit of a sponge (& parrot) for whatever he finds interesting. We have lots of weird and interesting conversations about internet culture. I wish he was more interested in long-form things, but he gets great reports from school, so I have no concerns about his ability to learn. I see his various internet histories, and I've quietly poked on some parental controls: YouTube time limits on long days, or blocking obnoxious bro channels. He likes to draw, spend time with his family, organise play with his friends, but he's published Roblox games too. I spent a lot of time helping him understand addiction, loot crates, pay-to-win and algorithmic horrors (particularly during the pandemic). It took a few months but he's worked out how to deal with all of that - I guess that's a "better under my roof" policy. My 4yo has a tablet, no particular restrictions but she can kindof forget about it for days in a way that my 10yo wouldn't. She's learning about boring games that suck until you pay for a subscription, and has learned why flicking between new games every single day isn't actually fun. She is just as capable of changing content on YT Kids but sticks with videos. Unlike the 10yo she likes watching long movies, particularly musicals where she will rewind and learn songs. Again I block the odd obnoxious channels: product placement, gender stereotypes, whiny voices or just general artistic bankruptcy. So (on this thread anyway) it looks like I'm in a minority in being laissez-faire, a little reactive maybe. There are potential harms but I think I'm active and knowledgeable enough to keep them at bay.