Teenagers finally experience parenting, even if it's only from themselves.
'parenting' is not simply taking tech away from their children but rather about teaching a healthy relationship with technology, just as you would with food, sports, etc.
Also there is very little of 'technological skill' to learn, clicking around could be understood by little kids, rest is just usage. Sure, hackers and generally brilliant folks may actually thrive, but they are rare and far apart in general population.
There is endless stream of highly addictive technology, and those kids have absolutely 0 defenses against it. Alcoholics also never notice when they crossed the threshold of a proper addiction, its quiet and sneaky business as usual till you hit the wall hard in some way.
What a great way to prepare for adult life, entering it with some heavy but peer-accepted psychological addiction or two. What could go wrong, raising a strong balanced individual right. Pride for any parent.
I don't think I know of a good parenting solution to this, to be honest. But if parents read this and want to chime in, I'm quite curious to see how others handle this. And I'm assuming the HN parenting crowd is a technical audience that understands the risks involved.
The toddler does have a "Yoto," which is a thing that plays music and little stories for kids. They love it, and I think it's kind of cool. We also let them watch a few shows on TV, but only during the afternoon. It usually gives the adults a chance to do something else, like cook dinner, but if there's an adult available, we try to do something else besides watch TV. Jellyfin has been great for curating a small list of parent-approved shows, with no other shows vying for my kid's attention.
When they get a little older, I would like to introduce video games. It would be either a home console with no online connection, or maybe some kind of Linux box that I've locked down.
We will be avoiding social media and similar platforms for as long as we can. That is where I feel the most worst, brain-warping dangers exist.
I'm not on social media, don't watch short-form content etc because I'm an adult and aware of the danger of these things. And I definitely think that parents should teach their kids the same, even if you can't outright forbid / ban it.
I still can't get into scrolling a feed hoping something is interesting. Sure, it happens in short bursts, but usually I'm trying to actually achieve something, even if it's only to satisfy a personal itch or curiosity.
I think it's slightly less the world of technology, and more survivorship bias (and self bias, if that's a term?) You doing well, and well enough to be on a site like this, isn't evidence of very much when applied to a population. In general I'd say better ways to do things are totally to allow technology, but have it in public areas of the house, rather than in kids' rooms.
> 'parenting' is not simply taking tech away from their children
Indeed; no one is saying that.
Basically a tool to help kids realize they can be makers and not just consumers or products.
There's a big difference between being offline and being online.