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Has anyone here tried the Haidt recommendation of "no smartphones till high school, no social media till 16" with their children? Is it better than just banning

• jedberg 2y ago
  The problem is if the school doesn't ban it, it's a lot harder for the parent to enforce. The child will either complain constantly about their friends having it, or just do it behind your back. If there is a school ban, then enforcement happens at school too, making it harder to do behind your back, and the bulk of their social circle isn't on social media, avoiding the FOMO issues.
  • itishappy 2y ago
    Having personally not had a smartphone or laptop through most of college back when Facebook was still cool (smartphone by choice, laptop by crime), I can say that social media on a library computer is a very different beast. You get most of the social benefits (I'd argue all of the important ones, is instant chat really needed?) while avoiding most of the distractions. So I get the complaint, but I feel like even if kids sneak around behind your back (been there too, lol, I rooted my iBook G4 when my parents added a password) the added friction makes a difference. In other words, kids will be kids, but that shouldn't stop us from setting healthy boundaries. Edit: Bit of a tirade, but I'm trying to say I agree with you! Just trying to add interesting context.