Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring bananas phone

[woekitten]

I don't have kids, so maybe I shouldn't be commenting on stuff that involves raising kids, but I dunno. The Internet is currently jizzing itself over sensei Louis CK's revelation that he's never going to let his kids have smartphones, and I think that stance is, well, kind of horse shit

Comments

[windwoodrose]

Though I still like it, Facebook is nothing if not weirdly reactive and groupthink-y.

I do think growing up on the Internet affects kids and now they have access to its particular certain language and hostility which seems to be normalizing some disturbing stuff. That said, it's not like without smartphones, kids were all that empathetic to begin with and never left anonymous notes or crap in some other kid's locker.

We weren't allowed to watch TV on weekdays and my mom was squirmy over any show with a whiff of sexuality (ie Buffy). I didn't get the Internet until high school (1998 - yes, yes, I am young) because my mom didn't want me to have access since she thought I was going to complain about her behind her back. That was her reason! In fairness, she was right.

[ryoneko]

This reminds me of all the kids I knew while growing up that weren't allowed to have a Nintendo or a Sega. Always felt sorry for those kids. My brother and I pretty much had every system starting with Mattel's Intelevision, and I'd like to think we turned out okay. Our parents did oversee the games we played, or played along with us, which I think made all the difference. I remember once my Mom brought home a game that a co-worker gave to her for us to play, which was Dead or Alive. We played it for about half a minute when Mom decided to "give it back", lol. Oh man, good times.

[kirinn]

My mom was pretty skeptical about video game systems when I was young and they were new, and as such wasn't inclined to buy me one. But she didn't stop me from saving up my own money for a long time and buying an NES for myself. I had limits on how long I could play but that was about it.

As with pretty much anything that's potentially bad for you in excess, sensible limits >> prohibition.

[corridor7f]

I think if you come up with rules on when / how you can use your smartphone, then you come to see the they aren't evil incarnate.

They're just fairly new and society is still all dazzled by their mere existence. They don't give a damn about etiquette surrounding them.

No phone at the dinner table, blah, blah.. and all that.

I don't have kids either, so am also talking out of ass.

[shadsdf]

This is completely unrelated, but I just woke after having a dream where I decided to go on a train adventure to Toronto, and when I got off at the station you were there. We chatted a bit then you sold me some meth and I got reaaally high. I think I watched too much Breaking Bad this week.

[spodlife]

No kids here either - instead I can watch other people wrestle with child raising. One of my neighbours is 11 and isn't a fan of reading (tried the usual - Harry Potter, Discworld, etc) but he does seem to love his dad's Nexus 7 tablet and keyboard. I'm presuming the boy likes it because his dad complained about always having to retrieve the tablet and the keyboard from his son's room. If the boy likes writing then this must be encouraged!