A modest proposal: No smartphones for kids

Fucking Tik Tok has been such an instrumental tool for sharing information that the government wants to get rid of it.

That's right. Not sure how that's relevant here though since you sound like a Jack Thompson-esque deranged puritan.

I think if the parents have enough money to have a legit tv setup with a YouTube / streaming accounts (which should be easier to police anyway), that should basically be the done deal with it: as in, no smartphones.

It is kinda funny in a sad way now that for poorer income families it's frankly simpler to just dole out some smartphones/pads for entertainment. But yeah, I don't think anything good comes out of it.

And this conversation does actually ramp up to another level when talking about computers. I'm guessing most users on this site take having a computer at home as being a default living scenario but I can assure you plenty of folks don't have or know anything about personal computers, whether laptop or pc.

Kids don't need smartphones. Anything "good" that comes out of them can just be had via other means. They should really just be seen as a point of convenience for adults. Of course, the other side of the convo is how basic flip phones are almost extinct these days, and they're mostly just out there for senior citizens. I think society's just behind on this one, since smartphones are just hyper prevalent.

This idea is certainly more rational than wanting the government to do your jobs but just going for a blanket ban for your children is still a sign of lazy parenting instead of actually monitoring and moderating your children's activity. Similar to a parent that would just ban video games for their child entirely instead of limiting the times they can play and after they've done their homework and gone outside.

It's called reality lol. Seeing things for what they are.

For generalizing an entirety of a generation's media and claiming it's mind poison. It's exactly what boomers and puritans used to say about Millennial media.

It's called reality lol. Seeing things for what they are.

I can't help but wonder what sorta stuff the people on this board watched on their computers when they were kids and young teens.

Like as an adult now I know that I was given way too much free reign on the internet. But overall I turned out fine. I think?

And that's the same thing every deranged puritan of their generation says. Are you intentionally playing dense or are you legit lacking in self-awareness?

And then we eat the children?

No smartphones until high school and no social media until Junior Year are ridiculously harsh and out of touch blanket bans.

No thanks; smartphones are a god-send for diabetic children like my younger sister.

As for the 16y age restriction, again, we have restriction for websites already. 13 is often already the age limit for much of the internet and digital content. We also have age restrictions for sports and many school activities. It may be harsh, but why is social media some sort of required right for 16yo?

Yes we certainly know that kids follow the rules on the internet. I'm sure everyone here didn't go on GameFAQs until they were 13. We all definitely waited until we were 18 to watch porn.

I can't help but wonder what sorta stuff the people on this board watched on their computers when they were kids and young teens.

Like as an adult now I know that I was given way too much free reign on the internet. But overall I turned out fine. I think?

If you asked Boomers if they turned out fine, they'd probably think they did as well. The hope is to prevent the kind harm we only now acknowledge in hindsight.

I definitely watch messed up things during my time and look at me now, I'm a CEman. is that what you want? more CEmen.

If you asked Boomers if they turned out fine, they'd probably think they did as well. The hope is to prevent the kind harm we only now acknowledge in hindsight.

I definitely watch messed up things during my time and look at me now, I'm a CEman. is that what you want? more CEmen.

Punished_Blinx posted... Yes we certainly know that kids follow the rules on the internet. I'm sure everyone here didn't go on GameFAQs until they were 13. We all definitely waited until we were 18 to watch porn.

Keeping in contact with parents, long distance families and friends, setting alarms, schedules, step count, cameras, calculators, reminders, school notifications, notes, e-books. The fact that you can only think of the most well known purposes really speaks to your own age and perspective here. A lot of schools integrate smartphones and tablets with their curriculum. It's the other way around. If social media and various internet sites are the issue, it's using parental blocks for off topic content and firewalls that are the solution, not lazy blanket bans.
And what age restrictions for sports and school activities are you talking about? They have to be able to walk on their feet? There are programs for all kinds of activities and sports for preschoolers.
I'm aware a lot of people here might not be as familiar with it but 16 year olds can drive and hold jobs, and yes most of them have had sex. Putting facebook on that level is ridiculous. Unless you think the age of all of those should be upped as well? Do you really think infantilization would help society? If anything it's the opposite.

Wouldn't this apply to the entirety of the internet? Video games too? At what point do you realize you're using conservative boomer logic yourself?

Less capacity to be able to immediately contact their teachers, guardians, and authority, less capacity to interact with minorities as themselves in more secluded areas, less capacity to read about world news, or learn all kinds of information from wikipedia and education sites, less capacity to talk about interests that their other peers don't have (like why all of you are here ). And that's besides all the everyday conveniences that various apps can give. The fact that you can only think of things as what right wing boomers fearmonger you about shows your own lack of perspective and projecting technology being mostly a negative for you. What negatives would banning video games or cartoons be?

Are you actually so out of touch you think smartphones and Facebook are as dangerous and requires as much responsibility and life experience as driving and working? Did playing video games and posting on old style forums like gamefaqs really fuck your life up that much?

Your logic is extremely ignorant and uneducated. Yes, banking and flashlight would also be uses for smartphones. Smartphones are far more of an everyday accessory and modern convenience for all ages than driving is. This should be common sense to people who aren't still stuck two decades ago.

As you say, this varies between different schools and leagues. There can be local programs for even younger ages. 7-9 sounds fair though. There have also been many articles about the dangers and long term negative effects of football with lots of schools and lawmakers that have called for a ban on that too. Might even be more dangerous than smartphones and social media.

The fact that you can't tell the difference between restricting various content and banning entire mediums shows how lacking your education is. Which is par for the course for older conservatives. All your arguments and mentality are exactly one of an out of touch conservative that's only comfortable with the technology they're familiar with.

is it infantilizing to restrict drivers licenses to +16? why do we do that? A car has hundreds of uses and plays a pivotal role adult life. Shouldn't even younger kids be allowed? Why do we have child labor laws? Can't this just be up to the parents and not left to lazy blanket bans.

Your logic here is very childish. You really had to stretch

Thank you for lacking so much self awareness