this post was submitted on 23 Oct 2024
195 points (97.6% liked)

Interesting Global News

2603 readers
406 users here now

What is global news?

Something that happened or was uncovered recently anywhere in the world. It doesn't have to have global implications. Just has to be informative in some way.


Post guidelines

Title formatPost title should mirror the news source title.
URL formatPost URL should be the original link to the article (even if paywalled) and archived copies left in the body. It allows avoiding duplicate posts when cross-posting.
[Opinion] prefixOpinion (op-ed) articles must use [Opinion] prefix before the title.


Rules

1. English onlyTitle and associated content has to be in English.
2. No social media postsAvoid all social media posts. Try searching for a source that has a written article or transcription on the subject.
3. Respectful communicationAll communication has to be respectful of differing opinions, viewpoints, and experiences.
4. InclusivityEveryone is welcome here regardless of age, body size, visible or invisible disability, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity and expression, education, socio-economic status, nationality, personal appearance, race, caste, color, religion, or sexual identity and orientation.
5. Ad hominem attacksAny kind of personal attacks are expressly forbidden. If you can't argue your position without attacking a person's character, you already lost the argument.
6. Off-topic tangentsStay on topic. Keep it relevant.
7. Instance rules may applyIf something is not covered by community rules, but are against lemmy.zip instance rules, they will be enforced.


Companion communities

Icon attribution | Banner attribution

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 87 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (22 children)

That story is incredibly disturbing....

Only one 11-year-old girl in an entire class did not have a smartphone...?

How long has smartphone ownership and normalized for that age? What age did they first get them?

That's got to be wreaking havoc on their developing minds....to say nothing of their social development.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, go long on pharma.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

Just because a kid has a phone, it doesn't necessarily mean they have full access to it. My daughter has had her own phone since she was 3 years old, she is now 8 and still rarely gets access to her phone - maybe an hour a week on Saturday mornings or if we're going on a long drive. There's never any fights when she has to put it away, and she's learning good device usage habits.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

I'm unclear how your comment relates to the article, or my comment. Because even if I took you at your word, your anecdotal story would still seem to place you as an outlier, maybe.

Clearly an entire class of preteens, minus one girl, has full access to their smartphones, and I'm betting at least a portion of them had just as much access when they were 8 years old.

Also, not for nothing, but you might want to consider the possibility that a child's usage and behaviors on a smart device might change once it becomes an unsupervised activity. Or maybe it won't, I don't know you or your child, so who am I to say.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I was providing context to your question about how long it's been normalized and when kids get their first phones.

And yes, as a parent I know that I won't be able to control everything my kid does as she ages, however I think by creating good habits and setting healthy boundaries it will help her make the right choices later in life.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago

My kids are in similar situation but now 12 and it is not about stopping access anymore but fostering good habits. I still have app type and time limits but they are clever and figure ways around but still ask me if they can do things. I think it works

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I need your notes. My daughter is 2.5. I would appreciate if you can share your experience, how is it working, how you set the rules of engagement, etc.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 weeks ago

I think it started with TV being regulated. At first we were strict about only giving her access to 'educational' shows, so a lot of PBS Kids shows like Daniel Tiger, but we also did YouTube channels like Super Simple Songs. We avoided anything too commercialized or designed to sell toys (Paw Patrol), but that caused issues when she went to preschool and didn't know any of the shows and characters the other kids knew, so we relaxed a little, but treated Paw Patrol as a treat (she'd be limited to 30 minutes of it, but could then switch to something on PBS). And even PBS screen time was limited to certain times of the day. It never really became an issue because she never knew any other way.

For the phone, a few years ago on Google Fi it was actually the same price to have 3 lines as it was to have 2 lines, and I had an extra phone and so it just made sense to activate it so she had a phone to use in the car while we took a 12 hour car ride. It worked really well, and she knew that 'her phone' would always go right back in my pocket when she wasn't using it. We also got her some Bluetooth headphones and we've taught her that her phone should not make any sound that anyone else can hear when we're in public. We're trying to find that balance between making sure she has the skills needed to use technology, but also doesn't become dependent on it like the rest of us are. I'm not sure it will work in the long-term, but I do know that my family won't be the ones behind you in a restaurant with the kid playing a loud game on her phone.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

When she gets to teenager age, just make sure to let her live a little.

load more comments (17 replies)