3 ms·

I do like the author trying to find some balance, but how does this not poorly prepare your kids to live in the world with their peers?

throwaway173738 2y ago
It doesn’t. Facebook and Instagram are such a tiny part of everyone’s life. I don’t use any of those sites, and a brief stint on Nextdoor recently reminded me that they contribute nothing but anxiety and comparison to my life. I’ve never needed an Instagram account to get a job or find an apartment or my significant other. The lure of those sites is that they make you think they’re revealing the whole world to you when they’re barely scratching the surface like a magazine. There’s a whole world of people and places out there that aren’t on social media because they have better things to do with their lives.
- jajko 2y ago
  It goes much further - social media is the new bread for the poor, rich folks travel, do expensive dining and adventuring and similar. Sure, its highly addictive due to short dopamine hits so even rich are not immune to it, but most rich / upper middle class I ever saw are smart enough and well off enough to stay the hell away from it. Also, article makes it like that's almost an unique behavior, while where we live (Switzerland), its more like default of good parenting, definitely a majority of our peers do it similarly. Doctors went through cancelling their FB accounts, we know number around us (wife is a doctor so I mean tens of various doctors mostly with smaller kids). Instagram was never a thing for them, neither for us. Raising their kids without digital screens either altogether or in a minimal fashion, till teenage years. It gets harder for parents, but anybody can see how much additional quality this brings into parenting. But this goes with the example parents set - if they are half-present and glued to screens themselves, don't expect miracles from those poor kids which imitate everything they see, and are very vulnerable to addictive behavioral patterns. When I compare such parenting with allowing screens almost infinitely due to laziness/exhaustion of parents, its heartbreaking how kids often end up later in life.
  - onemoresoop 2y ago
    > social media is the new bread for the poor, Not even bread, it's digital sugar
- watwut 2y ago
  Author is restricted everything including software necessary for homework. That includes any means of communicating with other kids other then face to face.

throwaway173738 2y ago

It doesn’t. Facebook and Instagram are such a tiny part of everyone’s life. I don’t use any of those sites, and a brief stint on Nextdoor recently reminded me that they contribute nothing but anxiety and comparison to my life. I’ve never needed an Instagram account to get a job or find an apartment or my significant other. The lure of those sites is that they make you think they’re revealing the whole world to you when they’re barely scratching the surface like a magazine. There’s a whole world of people and places out there that aren’t on social media because they have better things to do with their lives.

jajko 2y ago
It goes much further - social media is the new bread for the poor, rich folks travel, do expensive dining and adventuring and similar. Sure, its highly addictive due to short dopamine hits so even rich are not immune to it, but most rich / upper middle class I ever saw are smart enough and well off enough to stay the hell away from it. Also, article makes it like that's almost an unique behavior, while where we live (Switzerland), its more like default of good parenting, definitely a majority of our peers do it similarly. Doctors went through cancelling their FB accounts, we know number around us (wife is a doctor so I mean tens of various doctors mostly with smaller kids). Instagram was never a thing for them, neither for us. Raising their kids without digital screens either altogether or in a minimal fashion, till teenage years. It gets harder for parents, but anybody can see how much additional quality this brings into parenting. But this goes with the example parents set - if they are half-present and glued to screens themselves, don't expect miracles from those poor kids which imitate everything they see, and are very vulnerable to addictive behavioral patterns. When I compare such parenting with allowing screens almost infinitely due to laziness/exhaustion of parents, its heartbreaking how kids often end up later in life.
- onemoresoop 2y ago
  > social media is the new bread for the poor, Not even bread, it's digital sugar
watwut 2y ago
Author is restricted everything including software necessary for homework. That includes any means of communicating with other kids other then face to face.