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It's definitely worth a discussion. Owning a smartphone is practically mandatory in modern society, and kids are more online than anyone. I've held the line at
by flerchin 2y ago
It's definitely worth a discussion. Owning a smartphone is practically mandatory in modern society, and kids are more online than anyone. I've held the line at 14 before first smartphone, and it's been challenging. I just picked up my 11yo from a GT test where he was expected to phone me after he was done. He used his mother's phone for that.
In the US, there's also all the murders to consider. My wife absolutely panics at the idea of not being able to contact the kids, and no amount of reasoning can reassure her. She is not alone in this sentiment.
My niece also almost succeeded at suicide, and her parents blame social media. This is specifically what we're trying to address with this article.
- hypeatei 2y ago> My wife absolutely panics at the idea of not being able to contact the kids I've never understood this reasoning but I don't have kids. How is a child being able to contact their parents going to help in active shooter situation?
- flerchin 2y agoYou can't reason someone out of a position they didn't reason themselves into. It's an exceedingly common sentiment among parents.
- rahimnathwani 2y agoThe parents might be willing to attempt a rescue when the police are not.
- mrguyorama 2y agoThis notably did not work in Uvalde, where parents were threatened and even restrained to prevent them from doing the Cop's jobs.
- flerchin 2y agoThis is not true. Some parents did save some kids. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/uvalde-tx-shooting-anniversary-angeli-rose-gomez/ https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/uvalde-tx-shooting-ann...
- bigstrat2003 2y agoDumb phones address the "kids contacting their parents" angle just fine, you don't need a smartphone for that. I also think that if parents are truly panicked by the inability to contact their child on a moment's notice, that is genuinely an issue they need to work on. It is neither normal nor healthy to feel that way. But regardless of whether they are justified in that stance, that too is addressed just fine by dumb phones.
- flerchin 2y agoDid you buy your kids a big dumb phone?
- bigstrat2003 2y agoI don't have kids (my wife can't have them, unfortunately). But I absolutely will give my kids a dumb phone if we ever adopt. I wouldn't even want them to have a phone at all, but my wife persuaded me that it's needed in an age where kids can't just use a pay phone to call home the way we did as kids. I am categorically against kids having smartphones.
- jjav 2y ago> Dumb phones address the "kids contacting their parents" angle just fine There are also other suitable devices. My child has a Garmin watch which can send/receive text and voice messages, but only within a set of pre-configured people. And it can't run or access any ad-ware spam. It's very useful without any of the downsides.