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As an educator and summer camp director for over 10 years, the surge of readily available smart phones for children is absolutely causing them to be a generation of hapless buffoons. GBS, I ask you, what are your stances on kids with phones? Personally I was the last kid in school to get a computer and we never had more than 56K dialup for like a few months before I went to college and got a laptop with DSL. I was using roadmaps long after mapquest came out, it wasn’t until I got an iPhone that I really started to feel my brain get soft. On the one hand, I want kids coming into the world to have an understanding and appreciation for Earth and nature. Camping with my family and scouting trips taught me valuable survival skills (which admittedly I only use when I go camping, lol) and instilled in me a strong sense of “go outside and play, screens are for when the sun is down.” I’d be a much fatter piece of garbage if I’d gotten started on phones and stuff earlier. Schools are basically a phones out free-for-all these days, there’s nothing you can do about it. Kids are straight up sexting and watching porn in class, because school has always sucked and now they have a way out. So while I really would love a “no phones for my kids until they are old enough to afford them” policy, I also don’t want my kids to be social outcasts who never get invited to anything. Even in college I started to see a clear impact social media had. People just post events, personalized invitations are passé. If you’re not connected, it won’t occur to people to reach out to you individually, because your lack of participation in social media is perceived as being anti-social. I also don’t think any 14 year old on Earth is important enough to need a phone. My therapist gave both his daughters Apple Watches, but the watches can only text or call his and his wife’s phone, which seems totally reasonable to me (they are 12 and 9). Giving your child a smartphone also gives the world access to your child, doesn’t it? How many kids are easily preyed upon under their parents noses, texting back and forth with perverts who liked their pokemon Go tweets or whatever. I’d love to raise outdoorsy, Calvin & Hobbes type kids who are comfortable in their bodies and not completely impaired without the internet, but I also don’t want force my kids into this puritanical anti-phone moron ideology if it means they don’t have friends and don’t get to hang out. TLDR: How fo you feel about kids with phones? What’s too young for a phone? Do your kids have phones? Do you let them take their phone to school? Is it totally unrealistic to want to raise a child without giving them an internet ready super-computer GOS locator in their pants pocket until they are old and responsible enough to appreciate it? I’ve had over 500 students in my career, and probably another. 3-400 campers, but no kids of my own, so while I enforce no phone policies in my domains, I’m not sure how I’ll feel in 5-10 years when I’m ready to have my own.
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Dec 11, 2018 17:36
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I've got 1 year old twin girls, and I've struggled with this exact question. My wife has a friend who's child is an absolute nightmare and I'm convinced it's because he was sat in front of a tv every day watching stupid baby shows and being on a tablet. We don't do any screens for them and they are happy enough picking through a toy box and just loving around, which is cute as hell to watch. As far as phones, I'm going to get them flip phones at an appropriate level for security purposes, but no smart phone until at least 14. Social media will be on family computer only until 16 when they get their own laptops. I am lucky in that I've got twins so they can hopefully keep each other from turning into dickheads, but we'll see how it goes.
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Dec 11, 2018 17:58
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Most kids are dickheads technology or not. But also please limit screen time. It's healthy for them to go outside and do stuff and It's very good for their brain development for kids to be bored sometimes. Even if they are whiny shits about it.
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Dec 11, 2018 18:04
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old man yells at cloud in thread form
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Dec 11, 2018 18:11
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More screen time for kids! The more they are inside playing with their screens. I can enjoy being outside without kids barking at me as they speed down the road in their ford model A roadsters.
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Dec 11, 2018 18:34
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Hell Yeah posted:old man yells at cloud in thread form Wait, real cloud or file storage cloud? Because when the latter goes down we all yell.
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Dec 11, 2018 18:37
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I'd lock the phone down so the kid can only call me and the only website that loads are the SA forums.
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Dec 11, 2018 18:37
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Jose Oquendo posted:I'd lock the phone down so the kid can only call me and the only website that loads are the SA forums. i read this going through a mobile blackspot and it took a long time to load so gently caress phones, god
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Dec 11, 2018 18:42
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Dumb phone at 8, smartphone at 13. Retinal implant at 18.
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Dec 11, 2018 18:47
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Give them SA accounts!
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Dec 11, 2018 18:49
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Fleetwood Crack posted:Dumb phone at 8, smartphone at 13. Retinal implant at 18. DataJack at 2.
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Dec 11, 2018 18:49
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We absolutely should not be exposing developing brains to constant stimuli from smart phones and the internet. In 100 years this’ll be looked on like smoking used to be Although perhaps I’m biased because I was part of the first generation to be raised by screens since a child and I really really suck Tolkien minority fucked around with this message at 18:56 on Dec 11, 2018 |
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Dec 11, 2018 18:54
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Im buying my kids an encyclopedia set No Wikipedia until they're at least 13
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Dec 11, 2018 18:59
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terminal chillness posted:Most kids are dickheads technology or not. But also please limit screen time. It's healthy for them to go outside and do stuff and It's very good for their brain development for kids to be bored sometimes. Even if they are whiny shits about it. That's what the Sabbath is for. No kindling a flame in this family
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Dec 11, 2018 19:03
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I just got a new phone for my 12 year old, mostly because we don't have a land line any more and he stays home by himself sometimes. He's getting it for Christmas with lots of parental control so we'll see how it goes.
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Dec 11, 2018 19:04
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Buy one of those asia edition flip phones that are 4g but let you block internet browsing
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Dec 11, 2018 19:10
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Bust Rodd posted:
I teach elementary education and it's unbelievable how much un-restricted access to these devices has messed up kids. Personally, only one of my kids is old enough that I want her to have a way to communicate. And she just has a 10$ tracphone flipphone (just basic stuff like: "Where do I pick you up at? Hey, where are you? etc etc). We've had this conversation over in the capitalism thread and the concensus among goons is that I'm literally hitler and my children will be outcasts due to not having an iPhone 25 and watching youtube all day, or whatever. Also, there's a bunch of kindergarten kids at my school that want to be youtube content creators for their future job.
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Dec 11, 2018 19:44
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My parents let us sit in front of all sorts of screens growing up and did very little actual parenting. My life is a disaster. Hope you enjoyed that anecdote.
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Dec 11, 2018 20:07
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My kids are in grade school and they both have old Galaxy S3s my wife and I retired. They don't have a data plan so they're pretty much mini tablets. They use them to text their relatives walls of emojis and play Minecraft, mostly. You can't shelter them forever so I'm trying to take the equivalent of the European approach on underage drinking, and just make it no big deal. I do have some rules about the phones and monitor their activity; the biggest is they aren't allowed to watch videos of other people playing video games, or of adults playing with or unboxing kids' toys. The former is a massive waste of time - just play the drat game yourself - and the latter is creepy as gently caress. They are also required to play a musical instrument of their choice, and participate in one sport or athletic activity each season. They're both pretty social and get excellent grades, and draw/play Lego/get dirty outside in equal proportion to screen time, so I'm just gonna keep on keepin on for now. My nephew is on the other end, though. He's had unrestricted screen time for 15 years and no parental guidance, and while he's a nice kid, he's another "future YouTuber" that coasts through school on C's and D's and doesn't have any interests outside social media and gaming. I don't think the phones are the problem with "kids these days", but rather that these traits are the new indicator of poor parenting.
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Dec 11, 2018 20:08
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Just don't procreate problem solved
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Dec 11, 2018 20:10
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No. 6 posted:My parents let us sit in front of all sorts of screens growing up and did very little actual parenting. My life is a disaster. This is the American system working as planned. Happy people make for bad consumers Having values and principles gets in the way of being a fungible production and consumption unit
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Dec 11, 2018 20:14
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OXBALLS DOT COM posted:This is the American system working as planned. Happy people make for bad consumers Wrong. I hate capitalism and consumption culture. Also I have no values.
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Dec 11, 2018 20:30
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No. 6 posted:Wrong. I hate capitalism and consumption culture. Your opinions are irrelevant, so long as you behave as directed
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Dec 11, 2018 20:31
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OXBALLS DOT COM posted:Your opinions are irrelevant, so long as you behave as directed Valid point. I feel that I do.
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Dec 11, 2018 20:33
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No. 6 posted:My parents let us sit in front of all sorts of screens growing up and did very little actual parenting. My life is a disaster. I did I enjoy your dry wit
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Dec 11, 2018 20:36
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tbh if I could have watched porn in school I would have totally done it too. Instead I slept through classes. Much more productive.
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Dec 11, 2018 20:37
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PXJ800 posted:the biggest is they aren't allowed to watch videos of other people playing video games, or of adults playing with or unboxing kids' toys. The former is a massive waste of time - just play the drat game yourself Why is it any more of a waste of time than playing games? How arbitrary.
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Dec 11, 2018 20:39
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When I have children, I will not let them play Counter-Strike because if they want to shoot people they should just join the army isntead
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Dec 11, 2018 20:40
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What do lovely math teachers do now that they can't tell kids they won't always be carrying a calculator?
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Dec 11, 2018 20:42
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If it will shut them the gently caress up, give them all the phones.
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Dec 11, 2018 20:45
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I’m basically Bart Simpson. I got to be among the very last possible group of kids in the us who got cut loose for summer vacation and rode around on bikes in a safe neighborhood with my nerd gang, which consisted of “whoever lived near me,” with no adult supervision (we looked exactly like the kids from stranger things) I apparently once ramped a bmx bike off a waterfall and did a full 360 somersault into a lake. I say apparently because my sister told me that story which didn’t stick in my mind as memorable because that was every single day Now I have a phone that lets me consume endless media and do all my shopping in bed. I rarely put on pants.
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Dec 11, 2018 20:46
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Give kids whatever technology they can make use of because we live in an age where having the entire world in your pocket is the norm, but lock down their access to stuff that will shape them and their personalities without your supervision imo. This includes twitch.tv and jacksepticeye
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Dec 11, 2018 20:51
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CJacobs posted:Give kids whatever technology they can make use of because we live in an age where having the entire world in your pocket is the norm, but lock down their access to stuff that will shape them and their personalities without your supervision imo. This includes twitch.tv and jacksepticeye Jacksepticeye is probably one of the lease offensive examples you could use lol
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Dec 11, 2018 20:55
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naem posted:I’m basically Bart Simpson. I got to be among the very last possible group of kids in the us who got cut loose for summer vacation and rode around on bikes in a safe neighborhood with my nerd gang, which consisted of “whoever lived near me,” with no adult supervision (we looked exactly like the kids from stranger things) I started playing world of Warcraft for 8~ hours a day when I was 9 years old
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Dec 11, 2018 20:56
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SpazmasterX posted:Jacksepticeye is probably one of the lease offensive examples you could use lol I do not care
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Dec 11, 2018 20:57
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NO YOU SHUT THE gently caress UP DAD!!!!
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Dec 11, 2018 20:58
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spacetoaster posted:Also, there's a bunch of kindergarten kids at my school that want to be youtube content creators for their future job. idk why people say this like it's some big deal kids want to be famous, youtube celebs are famous. I bet none of them particularly say they wanna be a rockstar but that was the big thing not so long ago.  so what?dantheman650 posted:Why is it any more of a waste of time than playing games? How arbitrary. Yeah like obviously people should actually parent their kids and not let them loose on the internet with all caution thrown to the winds but a lot of the stuff being brought up does seem kinda arbitrary. Like have ya'll considered that people enjoy unboxing vids or watching others play games because they can't afford that stuff themselves. "Just play the game" yeah it's not free though dude. Moridin920 fucked around with this message at 23:03 on Dec 11, 2018 |
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Dec 11, 2018 23:01
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I didn't have a phone until college
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Dec 11, 2018 23:03
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give kids katanas
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Dec 11, 2018 23:04
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Sonny can get his phone when he gets his concealed carry license.
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Dec 11, 2018 23:07
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