4 ms·

I’m trying to put this politely - I promise! There’s a world out there far and beyond whatever bubble you’re in. My daughter (6) can go out back on the playgro

I’m trying to put this politely - I promise! There’s a world out there far and beyond whatever bubble you’re in. My daughter (6) can go out back on the playground or practice archery or whatever. My next-door neighbor (next-door in the original, pre-app sense) has a dirt bike track for his handful of kids (5+ and up) I’ve got all kinds of neighbors with kids doing all the old things we did pre-Black Mirror in the pocket. Don’t get me wrong, I FIGHT like a… expletive, with my kids about screen time to a degree that my folks and older siblings laugh about given I’m a self-taught teenage hacker. But kids and communities with “go do shit” old-er school norms exist outside of the big cities.

ricardobeat 3y ago
That sounds great! But have you considered that you may be the one living in a bubble? What you described is the exception, most people live in either sterile suburbs and small towns, or densely packed (and dangerous) cities. Space for a dirt track in your backyard is a pipe dream. Around the world, the closest to your description would be rural areas in less developed countries, which is also a small % of the population.
- lebean 3y ago
  Good point! Excuse me for interjecting here, but is it possible that you yourself are in a bubble of sorts?
  - codeTired 3y ago
    It’s bubbles all the way down.
- dalbasal 3y ago
  The bubble op referred to is not a particular place or lifestyle. The bubble, in this context, is the average/representative lifestyle and parenting depicted in lifestyle journalism/blogging space. The proverbial TED abstraction. Obviously physical circumstances are vary, but that didn't start in the smartphone era.
  - watwut 3y ago
    Yeah and the person with kids being allowed outside is the one living in a bubble in USA. And the people outside of his bubble do get really outraged over the idea that 7 years old could be outside without parent.
    - squigz 3y ago
      Lots of people handwaving about "bubbles" and making vast generalizations about massive populations. Is there any objective data to back these claims up? For what it's worth, I wouldn't claim either of the sides in this conversation are the norm; I know plenty of people who will let their kids run around, and plenty of people who wouldn't.
      - dalbasal 3y ago
        Objective in what way? What claim are you rejecting? Anyway.. if you want to have a conversation about childhood, parenting, suburbs.. quantifications and statistics (assuming that is what you're looking for) are allowed.. but the conversation will be fundamentally subjective. There's no other way, that isn't meaningless, to have this conversation. If you want to narrow down, to a specific point that can actually be settled in such a way.. that's great. A great point in the conversation. Not the conversation itself. There is no way to quantify or settle this debate.. with published social studies. The complex relationship between parental culture, modern childhood, screens, neighborhoods... There is no reason to think this will be modeled out in a comprehensive,"objective" way. You can make a data centered argument, that is fine. It is not possible to do this honestly, well being both broad and tight. Iregardless, OP's point stands. "It's the screens." Trying to isolate kid culture, school culture, parents, parenting.. it can't be done. It's a complex. It is now a complex operating in a highly computerized world. The way to think of it is as one major aggravating factor.. that changing material culture.. and how it is affecting the complex that is parenting-childhood-culture. Every element of that complex is co-evolving tightly interrelated. If you want to think of this objectively (in a pragmatist sense), which outside (the complex) change is the primary driver. Suburban design, or screens.. a computerization of culture.
    - 3y ago
- everdrive 3y ago
  What if you’re in yet another bubble!? It’s bubbles all the way down.
SallyTayes 3y ago
[dead]
JJMcJ 3y ago
Most suburbanites don't have the room for a dirt bike track in their backyard, or a playground with room for archery practice.
LorenzoGood 3y ago
Like 7 years ago (I'm 17), I was running around playing from 9 am to 8 pm during the summer, without a phone.

ricardobeat 3y ago

That sounds great! But have you considered that you may be the one living in a bubble? What you described is the exception, most people live in either sterile suburbs and small towns, or densely packed (and dangerous) cities. Space for a dirt track in your backyard is a pipe dream. Around the world, the closest to your description would be rural areas in less developed countries, which is also a small % of the population.

lebean 3y ago
Good point! Excuse me for interjecting here, but is it possible that you yourself are in a bubble of sorts?
- codeTired 3y ago
  It’s bubbles all the way down.
dalbasal 3y ago
The bubble op referred to is not a particular place or lifestyle. The bubble, in this context, is the average/representative lifestyle and parenting depicted in lifestyle journalism/blogging space. The proverbial TED abstraction. Obviously physical circumstances are vary, but that didn't start in the smartphone era.
- watwut 3y ago
  Yeah and the person with kids being allowed outside is the one living in a bubble in USA. And the people outside of his bubble do get really outraged over the idea that 7 years old could be outside without parent.
  - squigz 3y ago
    Lots of people handwaving about "bubbles" and making vast generalizations about massive populations. Is there any objective data to back these claims up? For what it's worth, I wouldn't claim either of the sides in this conversation are the norm; I know plenty of people who will let their kids run around, and plenty of people who wouldn't.
    - dalbasal 3y ago
      Objective in what way? What claim are you rejecting? Anyway.. if you want to have a conversation about childhood, parenting, suburbs.. quantifications and statistics (assuming that is what you're looking for) are allowed.. but the conversation will be fundamentally subjective. There's no other way, that isn't meaningless, to have this conversation. If you want to narrow down, to a specific point that can actually be settled in such a way.. that's great. A great point in the conversation. Not the conversation itself. There is no way to quantify or settle this debate.. with published social studies. The complex relationship between parental culture, modern childhood, screens, neighborhoods... There is no reason to think this will be modeled out in a comprehensive,"objective" way. You can make a data centered argument, that is fine. It is not possible to do this honestly, well being both broad and tight. Iregardless, OP's point stands. "It's the screens." Trying to isolate kid culture, school culture, parents, parenting.. it can't be done. It's a complex. It is now a complex operating in a highly computerized world. The way to think of it is as one major aggravating factor.. that changing material culture.. and how it is affecting the complex that is parenting-childhood-culture. Every element of that complex is co-evolving tightly interrelated. If you want to think of this objectively (in a pragmatist sense), which outside (the complex) change is the primary driver. Suburban design, or screens.. a computerization of culture.
  - 3y ago
everdrive 3y ago
What if you’re in yet another bubble!? It’s bubbles all the way down.

SallyTayes 3y ago

[dead]

JJMcJ 3y ago

Most suburbanites don't have the room for a dirt bike track in their backyard, or a playground with room for archery practice.

LorenzoGood 3y ago

Like 7 years ago (I'm 17), I was running around playing from 9 am to 8 pm during the summer, without a phone.