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mhluongo 4 hours ago

Or perhaps we should expect parents to take some responsibility for their kids' screen use?

harel 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Don't be daft. It's not the parent's responsibility to monitor and care for their kids.

inigyou 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Ok, can you explain what that looks like in practice or is it just some abstract feel-good words?

mhluongo 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Sure! With my kids it's meant not buying them internet-enabled devices (or disabling the internet access, eg smart TVs), only having 1 family computer in a shared space, and managing my own local network. There also aren't screens in the house through the week.

On the flip side, I let them read whatever they want, including things that are upsetting or that other parents would say aren't appropriate, and I talk to them about what they've read.

Overall, I think these policies have meant more thoughtful media consumption, and more time outside and with friends. I'm not enough of a fool to think our rules are enforced at friends' houses, but we've chosen to live in a community that's largely on the same page.

None of this stuff is easy, but as a parent, it's the job.

SoftTalker 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

You expect the average parent to outwit Meta and TikTok and their teams of psychologists scheming to get their kids attention?

The social media companies could have done the socially responsible thing a decade ago and avoided all this.

mhluongo 2 hours ago | parent [-]

I expect them to give a shit, yeah. Just like they should care about what they read or watch, or who they hang out with.

Don't let your kids have an internet-connected phone, or keep it locked down so they don't have parasitic apps preying on their pre-frontal immaturity until they're old enough to handle it.

All of this needs to be done intentionally, of course, or it will feel like the kids are being punished. But I can't emphasize this enough... it's our job as parents to raise our kids.

varispeed 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

How do you create new procurement pipeline and surveillance infrastructure from that?

mhluongo 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Bingo