41–50 of 137 posts
Curious how tech-oriented parents here are approaching TikTok et al with their kids. My kid isn't walking yet, but for when the time comes, I'm not sure how I'll limit exposure to what I'd call "pure trash", but also give them freedom and the ability to 'fit in' with (inevitably) the rest of their friends using this stuff.
Is any ad-fueled corporate social media any different? Talking about shit such as Twitter, FB, Instagram, etc. I mean, they all use underhanded tactics and psychological tricks to keep you hooked and scrolling, TikTok is far from being a sole evil here.
TikTok is, in my opinion, the distillate of the algorithmic attention approach. Everything even remotely community building or social is stripped away until there is just the feed. Just the algorithm.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
My kid is 7. He has a Linux desktop he can use whenever he wants with no internet access from his user account. My wife and I abandoned all social media and we’ll probably get him a dumb phone when the time comes. I’ve heard the stuff some of his friends with more internet permissive parents parrot from YouTube and stuff and honestly it’s frightening. As for the good stuff that’s actually out there, I download for co…
> My wife and I abandoned all social media ...I'm sorry, I have to point out, you're posting this on what is basically a social media site.
Hacker News does not have the feed-driven approach of other social media that is designed to generate addiction/engagement amongst users; we just like to talk about fun stuff. Hacker News is more of an old-school forum, where we talk about topics, rather than being a true 'social media' experience where you can talk about anything/yourself as a topic.
Moreover, the average baseline of discussions here is much higher and more intellectually-driven than discussions on X, IG, FB, and so on. That makes it keenly distinct from other social media designed for more base discussions.
Is any ad-fueled corporate social media any different? Talking about shit such as Twitter, FB, Instagram, etc. I mean, they all use underhanded tactics and psychological tricks to keep you hooked and scrolling, TikTok is far from being a sole evil here.
TikTok is, in my opinion, the distillate of the algorithmic attention approach. Everything even remotely community building or social is stripped away until there is just the feed. Just the algorithm.
>One document shows one TikTok project manager speaking candidly about the time-limit feature’s real goal: “improving public trust in the TikTok platform via media coverage,” the TikTok employee said. Our goal is not to reduce the time spent.” TikTok's response is to claim quotes like this are out of context, but they also seem unable or unwilling to provide the context in which statements like this are OK.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
My kid is 7. He has a Linux desktop he can use whenever he wants with no internet access from his user account. My wife and I abandoned all social media and we’ll probably get him a dumb phone when the time comes. I’ve heard the stuff some of his friends with more internet permissive parents parrot from YouTube and stuff and honestly it’s frightening. As for the good stuff that’s actually out there, I download for co…
If you do that, your kid won't fit in and will be a social outcast
>One document shows one TikTok project manager speaking candidly about the time-limit feature’s real goal: “improving public trust in the TikTok platform via media coverage,” the TikTok employee said. Our goal is not to reduce the time spent.” TikTok's response is to claim quotes like this are out of context, but they also seem unable or unwilling to provide the context in which statements like this are OK.
My friends with young kids 3-11 all let their kids use iPads. All of the kids seem well adjusted, able to read (a worry I saw), etc. I have no idea what limits they have but the kids are social, they don't hide on their iPad when people visit but instead interact with the parent's friends. The point being, unlike lots of comments here, I haven't seen any evidence of ill effects of young kids have access to electronic…
Curious how tech-oriented parents here are approaching TikTok et al with their kids. My kid isn't walking yet, but for when the time comes, I'm not sure how I'll limit exposure to what I'd call "pure trash", but also give them freedom and the ability to 'fit in' with (inevitably) the rest of their friends using this stuff.
She is an avid reader, and reads for hours a day, re-reads the same books, and on YouTube she mostly consumes recipes, book reviews and book related content (like fanfic) so by most standards she's pretty good.
That being said, once she has a phone, she will not be allowed to use it in the house at all.
Our youngest has fewer issues with impulse control, and uses her iPad for things like Duolingo, Toca Life and Finch the self-care pet and messaging friends on iMessage or Facebook Messenger kids. She doesn't have access to YouTube, but does have YT kids. She likes the tiny cakes channel and regularly brings me the videos because I find them very enjoyable also.
They're both very heavily supervised and when they demonstrate there are problems, we take away their devices.
My eldest has had an apple watch SE since year 7 and we use that for communicating, and she can get in touch with friends that way. I also bought a 4g nokia with has the SIM for the same number in it (I had to use my backup iPhone to set up her watch) and if she is going somewhere further or longer than a school day she takes that for safety reasons.
My youngest will follow the same trajectory, we talk about the risks with them often, and they aren't allowed phones at school (by the school) and have had regular online safety sessions provided by the school.
Australia is also seriously considering legislation to criminalise allowing children under 16 from having any social media accounts.
Note that we only got them iPads in 2020 because of home schooling, prior to that we had given them iPhone 5s each to listen to podcasts and music. We always used screentime controls, and had them set up with family sharing and their own iCloud accounts, they have never (even as children) been allowed to use either mine or my wife's phones, we never let them watch or listen to anything during dinner or on car rides under 2 hours (a rule that still stands).