Terry, when I lost the two battles on phone use for my three children it was the beginning of losing my marriage and familial relationship...in COVID my stand was against the world.
I wonder if those limited in screen time have the pressure of being off the device placed on them by demanding and guilt tripping parents who have laid the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ in their hands. If the kids are declaring themselves ‘addicted’ they’re anticipating their dopamine hit and their reward system has no other recourse. Mom and (Dad) have made a monster out of a tool that the child has no freedom to put down because he/she can’t wait to receive it.
The research scientist spoke like a true empiricist. Reminds me of the old disaster headlines, "World Ends: Women and minorities hardest hit". The assumption that smart phones are a safe and healthy way to preoccupy children undergirds this. "Don't you care about the poor? Let them eat Tik Tok!"
It's true though that it is harder for vulnerable and struggling families to enforce counter-cultural norms, especially with all the forces of the tech world arrayed against them to make smart devices more integrated into public and social life at every level of society.
However, it doesn't relieve pressure on those families if we instead leave them alone to deal with *consequences* of our lack of collective action--after all, those same families have the *least* access to mental health supports like CBT.
I haven't read the article, but I would hope that the end conclusion to concerns about inequity would be to push for more systemic reforms at a societal level to reduce tech dependence and improve social supports for families. "It takes a village to raise a child" and all that.
At the very least we need some basic laws on protecting privacy and kids. Every now and then, I think pragmatic things: What would help these kids, especially boys, in the work place, in terms of potential for an adult life? Do screens before 16-18 help that?
Terry, when I lost the two battles on phone use for my three children it was the beginning of losing my marriage and familial relationship...in COVID my stand was against the world.
I wonder if those limited in screen time have the pressure of being off the device placed on them by demanding and guilt tripping parents who have laid the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ in their hands. If the kids are declaring themselves ‘addicted’ they’re anticipating their dopamine hit and their reward system has no other recourse. Mom and (Dad) have made a monster out of a tool that the child has no freedom to put down because he/she can’t wait to receive it.
The research scientist spoke like a true empiricist. Reminds me of the old disaster headlines, "World Ends: Women and minorities hardest hit". The assumption that smart phones are a safe and healthy way to preoccupy children undergirds this. "Don't you care about the poor? Let them eat Tik Tok!"
It's true though that it is harder for vulnerable and struggling families to enforce counter-cultural norms, especially with all the forces of the tech world arrayed against them to make smart devices more integrated into public and social life at every level of society.
However, it doesn't relieve pressure on those families if we instead leave them alone to deal with *consequences* of our lack of collective action--after all, those same families have the *least* access to mental health supports like CBT.
I haven't read the article, but I would hope that the end conclusion to concerns about inequity would be to push for more systemic reforms at a societal level to reduce tech dependence and improve social supports for families. "It takes a village to raise a child" and all that.
At the very least we need some basic laws on protecting privacy and kids. Every now and then, I think pragmatic things: What would help these kids, especially boys, in the work place, in terms of potential for an adult life? Do screens before 16-18 help that?