Most houses don’t have home phones anymore so kids cannot just call up their friends. I think the over lap of people who don’t allow kids’ phones also don’t allow social media is high.
Younger children (ages 6-11) shouldn’t have more than a basic “Ladybug-esque” phone, their parents should largely be coordinating playdates between friends and supervising them during anyways — so there’s no need to text.
Tweens, IMO, can start getting a real phone but parents need to step up and lock that shit down. No social media, no adult sites, no ability to contact strangers.
Then, as the kids learn and become more responsible, the parents should start unlocking features as privileges upon a showing that child understands the internet, its permanency, and how it can be a useful tool but also a possible addiction/source for harm.
I’d say when the children are in their teens, social media should start to be unlocked BUT monitored. I really think the big social media companies are just evil and don’y care about protecting children at all, so it’s up to the parents to ensure that.
Then when the kid becomes an adult, their parents have no say and hopefully the parents prepared them well for the real world!
I say this as an adult who had technologically illiterate parents as a child and thus I had free access to the internet and the birth of modern social media around the age of 11 or 12 lol. I saw shit that definitely left impressions on my brain (r/watchpeopledie on reddit) and was also almost groomed by a stranger lol. I imagine the internet would be even worse for my younger self’s brain nowadays.
Overall, I think more in-person socialization would be better for everyone of all ages.
I don’t see how.
Most houses don’t have home phones anymore so kids cannot just call up their friends. I think the over lap of people who don’t allow kids’ phones also don’t allow social media is high.
Younger children (ages 6-11) shouldn’t have more than a basic “Ladybug-esque” phone, their parents should largely be coordinating playdates between friends and supervising them during anyways — so there’s no need to text.
Tweens, IMO, can start getting a real phone but parents need to step up and lock that shit down. No social media, no adult sites, no ability to contact strangers.
Then, as the kids learn and become more responsible, the parents should start unlocking features as privileges upon a showing that child understands the internet, its permanency, and how it can be a useful tool but also a possible addiction/source for harm.
I’d say when the children are in their teens, social media should start to be unlocked BUT monitored. I really think the big social media companies are just evil and don’y care about protecting children at all, so it’s up to the parents to ensure that.
Then when the kid becomes an adult, their parents have no say and hopefully the parents prepared them well for the real world!
I say this as an adult who had technologically illiterate parents as a child and thus I had free access to the internet and the birth of modern social media around the age of 11 or 12 lol. I saw shit that definitely left impressions on my brain (r/watchpeopledie on reddit) and was also almost groomed by a stranger lol. I imagine the internet would be even worse for my younger self’s brain nowadays.
Overall, I think more in-person socialization would be better for everyone of all ages.