Live data from Hacker News

YouTube has become the world's nanny

qz.com

291–300 of 403 posts

Re: YouTube has become the world's nanny

#291

As a parent, screen time vs no screen time is a fine line that we have to continually renegotiate. Screens can be great, there is so much good information out there that can enrich our lives. I wouldn't go the "no screens ever" route because that's just being a luddite, robbing them of the change to experience, and acquire expertise in, the digital world that they will be interacting with for the rest of their lives.…

>Curating content and setting limits on screen time is your job as a parent in this era. This, 100%! We're at the point where the tablet is for podcasts, and we can watch instructional videos with a specific topic in mind (e.g. tips on drawing anime characters). And that's it. It's been a month and we saw a noticeable change literally overnight in quality and amount of sleep, quality of conversation, and the child is…

> It's been a month

all diets fail after 6 months on average. ppl gain even more weight.

you are going have the same results with this screen cap thing because you are using willpower to supress the urge which is still there and isnt going anywhere

Re: YouTube has become the world's nanny

#292
I was raised pretty much alone and spent far far too much time on the computer, always online and on the internet other than going to school and "surviving" - was exposed to 4chan at a young age, nobody monitoring what I was doing online, nobody caring for my struggles in school growing up other than "oh you've got great marks, you must be doing well in school!". My parents didn't really pay attention to me growing up other than to serve their own emotional interests which didn't help.

I'm 100% sure it's the primary reason that I'm so socially disadvantaged now in my late 20's - and honestly, probably why my late-diagnosis ADHD and its symptoms are as bad as they are now. The depression and anxieties are huge - and I still spend _far, far_ too much time online recreationally playing video games instead of doing actual work advancing my career.

Yes, the world is increasingly digital - yes, the world is going to be/already is "a computer in every pocket, a device in every room"... that doesn't mean we can't teach our children moderation. Make sure you know what your kids are watching online. Don't substitute parenting with a tablet because you're tired, you had a bad day at work, etc. etc. - I understand there's a lot of specific instances (single mothers/fathers, both parents working long hours, etc. etc.) that encourage this too and it's sad that society has encouraged these behaviors for so long.

A family member of mine allowed her 10 year old to make a TikTok account even though there's a strict age limit of 13 - I shudder to think about the content that the app is filling their easily impressionable mind with at such a young age...

YouTube is a video-sharing service designed to serve as many ads as possible into your eyeballs. It's obvious that if you leave a child to their own devices (hahaha) that they're going to get the full, "un-moderated" Youtube Kids experience. Toy ads disguised as videos, commercial lifestyles disguised as "influencers", etc. etc. I'm sure there's a lot of decent content there but it's up to the parent to teach kids moderation, teach kids to get off the screen and get outside, talk to friends in person, etc. etc.

There's only so much you can do though with the hours you have in a day. Hopefully society changes and begins to realize that these tools are harmful as much as they are helpful if not used properly.

Re: YouTube has become the world's nanny

#293
post #224

YouTube is the best invention in modern history. While working I can passively listen to thousands of ideas in a year often curated by my interests automatically. We don't teach people how to use these things well but we should.

Unless this is sarcasm, I completely disagree. Listening to thousands of ideas inevitably lowers the value you attach to each one, and lowers the barrier of entry for what ideas you hear.

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."

This is how I exercise that skill. I listen to science, sociology, religion, conspiracy theories, relationship dynamics, etc.

Sometimes, I pick up something. Most of the time I'm allowing the ideas to float around in my head.

It helps a lot to practice this skill, because I trade for a living and I need to be able to convince myself that I am wrong about something all the time.

Re: YouTube has become the world's nanny

#294
post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those silly parents, overreacting by dying, losing their jobs, and and not being available 100% during a generation-defining global crisis of confidence.

Those silly governments, making sure the medical system was slowly whittled down from something that was once actually pretty good at taking care of it's citizens to a system that forced/required society to completely grind to a halt from a pandemic because of exterior motives (votes, profits, etc.) Those silly large media/news companies, not being responsible and considering the results and after-effects of their al…

> Those silly governments, making sure the medical system was slowly whittled down from something that was once actually pretty good at taking care of it's citizens to a system that forced/required society to completely grind to a halt from a pandemic because of exterior motives (votes, profits, etc.)

Lockdowns were almost universal, and also happened in countries where the healthcare systems are robust.

Healthcare systems are statistical mechanisms. They can't treat abnormal amounts of people at once. And no, we can't overbuild them to cover extreme contingency, it's not economically viable.

It's the same thing as with bank runs or your ISP's network bandwidth.

Re: YouTube has become the world's nanny

#295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Curating content and setting limits on screen time is your job as a parent in this era. This, 100%! We're at the point where the tablet is for podcasts, and we can watch instructional videos with a specific topic in mind (e.g. tips on drawing anime characters). And that's it. It's been a month and we saw a noticeable change literally overnight in quality and amount of sleep, quality of conversation, and the child is…

> It's been a month all diets fail after 6 months on average. ppl gain even more weight. you are going have the same results with this screen cap thing because you are using willpower to supress the urge which is still there and isnt going anywhere

Right, just like I wasn't able to quit smoking after a 25-cigarette a day habit over 10 years ago and haven't looked back? Or how no one is ever able to keep weight off? Or get off heroin? Or change their lifestyle?

Maybe ask: "What are you doing to try to ensure you'll keep your kids off screens and active?"

Or

"Do you have any experience trying to give up addictive behaviors, and how are you helping your child deal with it?"

Snarky comments, especially those that involve assumptions ("you're using willpower") just make you come off as 1- a person who has never accomplished anything of note and isn't worth paying attention to, and 2- a naval gazer with neither the curiosity nor intelligence on how to approach discovery.

Learn how to be inquisitive, then you can be judgemental

Re: YouTube has become the world's nanny

#296

As a parent, screen time vs no screen time is a fine line that we have to continually renegotiate. Screens can be great, there is so much good information out there that can enrich our lives. I wouldn't go the "no screens ever" route because that's just being a luddite, robbing them of the change to experience, and acquire expertise in, the digital world that they will be interacting with for the rest of their lives.…

Use tube-archivist which lets you grab your favorite youtube videos and serve them locally. You can basically build a locked down youtube clone for your kid.

Re: YouTube has become the world's nanny

#297

I'm not American, so I don't know how much people can afford -- a nanny, or not working for one parent. I can afford my wife not working, but we don't even try to hire a nanny, because we don't know if she won't give the child a gadget, and because the thing little children need the most are us, parents. So we're biting the bullet and doing home duties ourselves. The gadget seems a solution to a lot of things. For ex…

This strategy is hard to do if you add an another kid to the mix within the first 3 to 4 years. The baby will suck up so much resources that between baby, cleaning, cooking, working, and resting, being able to give that much attention to the older toddler may not be possible and so you decide to entertain them with a tv show or something while you do something else.

Re: YouTube has become the world's nanny

#298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Curating content and setting limits on screen time is your job as a parent in this era. This, 100%! We're at the point where the tablet is for podcasts, and we can watch instructional videos with a specific topic in mind (e.g. tips on drawing anime characters). And that's it. It's been a month and we saw a noticeable change literally overnight in quality and amount of sleep, quality of conversation, and the child is…

> It's been a month all diets fail after 6 months on average. ppl gain even more weight. you are going have the same results with this screen cap thing because you are using willpower to supress the urge which is still there and isnt going anywhere

I used to be 220lbs and winded going up steps. Now I'm 180lbs and weightlifting and running, going on 7 years.

Not all diets fail. Willpower is the way.

Re: YouTube has become the world's nanny

#300

As a parent, screen time vs no screen time is a fine line that we have to continually renegotiate. Screens can be great, there is so much good information out there that can enrich our lives. I wouldn't go the "no screens ever" route because that's just being a luddite, robbing them of the change to experience, and acquire expertise in, the digital world that they will be interacting with for the rest of their lives.…

We've had good success with our three-year-old with Khan Academy Kids. We have an old Android tablet that has a few FOSS parental control apps (TimeLimit and App Lock), and he's allowed 30 minutes of Khan or Scratch Junior per day. All other apps are locked by App Lock.

Khan Academy Kids strikes a good balance between activities and videos. He enjoys and uses both, and all the content is intentionally teaching something.

Post reply on HN