I have a kid (5~8 range) and what we did was to limit PC consumption, avoid getting our kid a tablet and cellphone. It has been really good and my kid still has his/her innocence intact. Hopefully this will continue until adolescence. We're also trying to put the kid in different outdoor activities as well as playing with him/her (chess, uno, etc...). It's not easy, but is doable.
Ask HN: How do you prevent the impact of social media on your children?
41–50 of 405 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent the impact of social media on your children?
#42I was an outcast as a kid, and this was years before social media. I think I turned out alright regardless. Your social status as a pre-adult doesn't really matter at all once you join the real world. That and I think kids not having any social media will become more and more common, so it's not going to be that big a deal.
But if you blame your parents' or guardians' overly restrictive dogma for your outcast status then it will likely turn into lifelong resentment. Would you want your kid to resent you? The better alternative is to explore the net together with your children and show them that there is a world beyond typical social media which is far more interesting and rewarding to explore. Encourage them to foster trust and strong r…
> But if you blame your parents or guardians' overly restrictive dogma for your outcast status then it will likely turn into lifelong resentment. Would you want your kid to resent you?
That's not a good reason. Would you let your kid take up smoking, because they'd resent you if you said no?
Also: My parents wouldn't let me drive until at least a year after my peers got their licenses. I didn't like it, but I don't harbor a "lifelong resentment."
Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent the impact of social media on your children?
#43Our kids? Hell, my wife and I don't use social media, except in very limited doses for work reasons. Our kids have zero access to it and never will. Their device usage is kept at a minimum and used for mostly educational or quality conversational purposes. I hate how many people now, whenever we're around them everyone has their phones out scrolling through 30 sec videos. They want to show you things which aren't fun…
Every week since she was about six months old, I've taken my daughter with me to get groceries. She's absolutely fascinated by the grocery store: the rolling cart, the colors and textures of produce ("ta-to!"), the other shoppers, the illustrations on packaging ("bear!"). I hand her items and give her their names. She shakes them, rotates them, repeats their names back to me.
But every time we go, I see at least one child my daughter's age or younger staring mindlessly at a phone or tablet, oblivious to their environment and the parent pushing their cart. It just seems sad.
Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent the impact of social media on your children?
#44No phones or SM accounts for kids till they turn 18. Yes, there's a "fear" of being an outcast but they work their way around that quickly and if they have other things to spend time on, they'll be fine. The "need" for social media is mostly FOMO.
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Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent the impact of social media on your children?
#45Our kids? Hell, my wife and I don't use social media, except in very limited doses for work reasons. Our kids have zero access to it and never will. Their device usage is kept at a minimum and used for mostly educational or quality conversational purposes. I hate how many people now, whenever we're around them everyone has their phones out scrolling through 30 sec videos. They want to show you things which aren't fun…
Oh ok, I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds those things idiotic, not fun and not useful
Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent the impact of social media on your children?
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
lol, take a quick peek at your home’s Internet access logs. You’ll almost certainly find opportunities for some parenting / teaching moments.
Isn’t the teachable moment to realize your kids are going to see those things no matter what I do? Kids on the internet see all sorts of stuff and almost all of them end up fine.
If you don't mind me asking... do you have kids?
Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent the impact of social media on your children?
#47Our kids? Hell, my wife and I don't use social media, except in very limited doses for work reasons. Our kids have zero access to it and never will. Their device usage is kept at a minimum and used for mostly educational or quality conversational purposes. I hate how many people now, whenever we're around them everyone has their phones out scrolling through 30 sec videos. They want to show you things which aren't fun…
How old are your kids?
Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent the impact of social media on your children?
#48Our kids? Hell, my wife and I don't use social media, except in very limited doses for work reasons. Our kids have zero access to it and never will. Their device usage is kept at a minimum and used for mostly educational or quality conversational purposes. I hate how many people now, whenever we're around them everyone has their phones out scrolling through 30 sec videos. They want to show you things which aren't fun…
Every week since she was about six months old, I've taken my daughter with me to get groceries. She's absolutely fascinated by the grocery store: the rolling cart, the colors and textures of produce ("ta-to!"), the other shoppers, the illustrations on packaging ("bear!"). I hand her items and give her their names. She shakes them, rotates them, repeats their names back to me. But every time we go, I see at least one…
Ahh I just had to share that my 1 year old daughter also loves the grocery store. She doesn't want to leave the cart when it's time to go. Thanks for the comment.
Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent the impact of social media on your children?
#49Maybe try pushing your community towards adopting https://www.waituntil8th.org/
Re: Ask HN: How do you prevent the impact of social media on your children?
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
but your competency and how you communicate does.
Are you implying that children need social media to develop competency and communication skills?
If all of your peers are talking about the stuff they saw on YouTube, but you’re not allowed to, this will naturally make you an outcast in that topic. Now, if almost everything they talk about in the internet, and you cannot relate to it at all, it will hinder your interpersonal skills, because you just don’t talk to your peers.
I hate how we got here, but watching my nephews go through this stuff made me realize you can’t cut the kids off completely. Ideally, you would live in a community where all parents have agreed on the social media limits, and slowly get the kids see how others function through it as well.