Paywall Bypass Link https://archive.is/7qwuZ
Because of time’s arrow, my daughter, who was once a toddler, is now a preteen. A new question thus arises: When should I let her get a smartphone? This problem isn’t new to me. I have two older kids, now in their 20s. Back in the day, I bought each of them an iPod Touch—essentially, a smartphone without the phone—when they were about her age, and then the full device at around the start of high school. But online life was different then. There was less pressure to be smartphone-connected all the time. Social media wasn’t yet as ubiquitous, or worrisome, as it is today. Now the stakes seem higher.
Today smartphones are as widespread as the concerns about their effects on young people’s brains. Psychologists have written best-selling books about how bad phones are for kids, and many schools have banned their use. Despite all this, no one can dispute the fact that phones and phone apps have entered every aspect of contemporary life. Even Jonathan Haidt, who aims to end the phone-based childhood, floats policies that would allow for a phone-based adolescence. The question is not whether your kid will ever get a smartphone, but rather how to manage its adoption in a way that will preserve the integrity of child, parent, school, and home life. And to that end, I believe I’ve found a good solution: Get your kid a watch.
I am so tired of these rags recycling this drivel for clicks. I shouldn’t expect any better of The Atlantic, they’ve been awful for as long as I’ve known they existed.
The problem isn’t technology inherently.
The problem is who controls it and what is incentivised.
Mobile phones used to have screens the size of today’s smartwatch, but they were monochrome. It’s no obstacle for watching videos or playing games.
The only inconvenience is lack of external input (keyboard), but with Bluetooth, anything can be connected on android and a lot of apps can be installed.
