Harder to be a parent these days?

[F0017S0]

I allowed iPad but did not give my kid a cellphone until the 1st day of high school. It was hard and led to many arguments but I stood firm. Whether ti made any long lasting difference I am not sure.

Good for you for standing your ground. One day I hope s/he thanks you for preventing the middle school years from being those of continuous torture (had s/he possessed a phone).

[Bdoc]

what do you parents think of "dumb" phones. I had a a nokia in middle school/high school and was very convenient to call my parents to pick me up from things instead of using the payphone.

Is that too "uncool"?

Also, Snake was a great game

[Lordosis]

what do you parents think of "dumb" phones. I had a a nokia in middle school/high school and was very convenient to call my parents to pick me up from things instead of using the payphone.

Is that too "uncool"?

Also, Snake was a great game

Yup I had one of those at the end of high school and into college until I got a flip phone lol. I did not get a smart phone until 3rd year of medical school and justified it by needing it to look stuff up. But really it was for all the stupid down time med students need to endure.

[Tim]

The philosopher Bill Maher calls this the "'[email protected]#$ you mom!' generation". I guess it also extends to dads too...

Kids don't need a phone beyond one of those old Nokia bricks that were popular when I was in middle school. They called and texted; that was it, and that's all that is needed.

My kids got phones first year in high school, call and text only. Smart phones were rare then. I have yet to understand a “need” for kids to access the internet on phones.

I do see a lot of adults making money by putting addictive internet content for amusement only. Realistically, physical and psychological development has to be impacted if it’s overwhelming.

I am sure they can “play” plenty on devices other than phones. Talk and text only would be a big push today. Adults are making money and most kids are paying the price.
Uphill battle. Different challenges for different generations.

[F0017S0]

what do you parents think of "dumb" phones. I had a a nokia in middle school/high school and was very convenient to call my parents to pick me up from things instead of using the payphone.

Is that too "uncool"?

Also, Snake was a great game

Those bricks were amazing. Never broke one, not once. I still carried a dollar in quarters to use a pay phone in the event of cellular issues.

I still remember sophomore year of high school when one of my peers brought out the first iPhone for everyone to see; never would I have imagined the mayhem it would unleash...

[F0017S0]

My kids got phones first year in high school, call and text only. Smart phones were rare then. I have yet to understand a “need” for kids to access the internet on phones.

I do see a lot of adults making money by putting addictive internet content for amusement only. Realistically, physical and psychological development has to be impacted if it’s overwhelming.

I am sure they can “play” plenty on devices other than phones. Talk and text only would be a big push today. Adults are making money and most kids are paying the price.
Uphill battle. Different challenges for different generations.

Absolutely, it's like the old playbook from Big Tobacco: hook them early and they are yours for life. Now it's just internet garbage.

I still remember my first phone: as you said, it called and texted only. But we "only: got 120 minutes a month of calls and texts were $0.10 per message. I still can recall my late dad asking from time to time "why did you text when you had so many minutes left?".

[Tim]

Those bricks were amazing. Never broke one, not once. I still carried a dollar in quarters to use a pay phone in the event of cellular issues.

I still remember sophomore year of high school when one of my peers brought out the first iPhone for everyone to see; never would I have imagined the mayhem it would unleash...

Where do you find this thing you call a pay phone? Why not just borrow a stranger’s phone? Do you really need to give them 4 quarters? Geez.

[LIFO]

Despite unprecedented access to knowledge and opportunity, I think its much harder to be a normal kid these days. The dopamine fixes available to these kids would rewire a drug addict. Combine that with a developing brain and things can go sideways pretty quick. If your child is acting like a junkie, its because they probably are and we are the ones allowing them to do it because its convenient.

Watched a documentary on the competitive video game industry last night. It was eye opening to see what these kids were able to do once there was a perceived benefit on their part - 15 hr days, strategy, collaborative teamwork, networking, etc. It was also eye opening to see how much of the rest of their lives they were willing to sacrifice to play video games and not in a good way.

[bovie]

My oldest is only 8 so I still have a ways to go but I know it is going to be a hassle. All they want to do is watch crap on youtube. Either other people playing video games or weird videos made by obviously rich families or kids playing with toys. It is dumb and I do not get it. I do not trust youtube to filter content and I do not trust my kids to recognize inappropriate content so we have taken you tube off of all the devices except our main living room TV where we can supervise. I would get rid of it all together but it is occasionally helpful to have for some things.

"Almost constantly." Uphill battle ahead.

[Lordosis]

I ask a lot of kids what they want to do when they grow up. It is a common question of mine during a well check to get them talking. Youtuber is a pretty darn frequent answer in the 5-13 range. I don't know or blank stare is the most common answer 13-17 lol

[bovie]

Youtuber is a pretty darn frequent answer in the 5-13 range.

Sad. Though not surprising.

But the world has a way of fixing this, eventually.

[Dusn]

What about giving them an apple watch? I've never used one but it seems ideal for kids -- limited screen but can still make calls.

[uksho]

Are they any apps or way to control what they sites they can access on their computer ?

They do most of their homework on computer too , so can’t take it way , neither do I can sit in their room.

phone : I have controls set up , not sure how to do it on computer . I can shut down the internet when i want too , but would like to just block sites like like YouTube etc.

[F0017S0]

I ask a lot of kids what they want to do when they grow up. It is a common question of mine during a well check to get them talking. Youtuber is a pretty darn frequent answer in the 5-13 range. I don't know or blank stare is the most common answer 13-17 lol

So it's no longer "influencer" anymore? I had a study participant who answered "influencer" when I asked the same question.

Kids used to want to be astronauts, fire fighters, police officers...

[F0017S0]

Where do you find this thing you call a pay phone? Why not just borrow a stranger’s phone? Do you really need to give them 4 quarters? Geez.

Hey man, I'm just reporting what was taught to us in the Boy Scouts back in the dinosaur age of the early to mid 2000's. Local calls were $0.25, so that $1.00 in quarters was four calls easy as a reserve option.