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Buried Apple feature turns an iPhone into the perfect kids' dumb phone

wired.com

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Re: Buried Apple feature turns an iPhone into the perfect kids' dumb phone

#51

Post by eigencoder »

philips wrote: post #42
abeyer wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup, came to say this. Kids have learned to walk places on their own without maps or satnav or tracking for hundreds of thousands of years. I believe everyone would benefit from that continuing. We don't teach kids that the only way to do arithmetic is with a calculator... they learn first, then get a tool that can support what they already know. Why do we think we should do it differently here, and train this learne…

As I parent I am downvoting this because I am quite tired of others judging parents and their technology choices- particularly when it comes to restrictions. Parenting is hard. Parenting when everything is changing so quickly is very difficult.

Yeah, but your kid can also walk to school without a map, it's not a big deal.

Re: Buried Apple feature turns an iPhone into the perfect kids' dumb phone

#52

Post by lemoncucumber »

kelnos wrote: post #33
isomorphic wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm speculating that it's not the selfie; it's where that selfie ends up (or with whom).

OP apparently still hasn't learned that the kids today are taking selfies "blind" using the rear camera.

I do this myself (albeit pretty rarely) since the rear camera is significantly better than the front camera, especially in low light.

Re: Buried Apple feature turns an iPhone into the perfect kids' dumb phone

#53

Post by philips »

This looks perfect! I had been searching around for “feature phones” but the market seems dire. Lots of carrier locked devices or devices that still offer “a little bit of internet”. And then I started thinking about finding a repair shop when my kid inevitably breaks it and an old iPhone keeps looking better and better.

Plus when my kids lose it in a bag somewhere I can use find my instead of wasting an hour digging around.

Re: Buried Apple feature turns an iPhone into the perfect kids' dumb phone

#55

Post by Aurornis »

fma wrote: post #4

>children have quickly found workarounds for such measures, such as asking friends to message them links, which can bypass restrictions when opened I was very surprised of this by my own kids find workarounds like l33t hackers. Apple's restrictions are a joke. The app store is full of things they can mess with. My daughter mentioned some way to get around screen time. I've ended up just taking the iPads away.

Australia was one of the first countries to institute social media bans under a certain age. Reading the reports and commentary from parents there has been fascinating, but not really surprising if you remember what it's like to be a kid.

The most positive thing I read was that the kids are spending less time on social media in front of adults (like at the dinner table) because they're not supposed to be on social media.

But most of the parents in the article I read believed their kids had circumvented the ban somehow. Their problem now was that the kids' social media use was entirely hidden from them and they had no way to monitor it or even bring it up with their kids. The kids didn't want to admit to using social media at all.

None of this should be very surprising for any of us who remember back into childhood. Circumventing the restrictions was a game with its own reward. I had friends who were finding ways to get around the school's internet controls for the fun of doing it, not because it blocked any sites they wanted to use.

Re: Buried Apple feature turns an iPhone into the perfect kids' dumb phone

#57

Post by eigencoder »

I like the feature, but I don't like the assumption at the beginning.

> Come September, he will have to walk across town to school on his own. But if he's going to be walking around out in the world without me, then a tracking tag won't cut it. He is far too young to have unfettered access to the internet and social media platforms, but what if he gets lost? A classic Nokia, supplying just texts and calls, won't come to his aid. Maps and satnav require a web connection.

What if he gets lost? With a classic Nokia, he could still call someone and get help. Or, he might (heaven forbid) just need to ask someone for help. Or walk around until he remembers where he is. These are all good skills to learn.

Re: Buried Apple feature turns an iPhone into the perfect kids' dumb phone

#58

Post by wpm »

eigencoder wrote: post #57

I like the feature, but I don't like the assumption at the beginning. > Come September, he will have to walk across town to school on his own. But if he's going to be walking around out in the world without me, then a tracking tag won't cut it. He is far too young to have unfettered access to the internet and social media platforms, but what if he gets lost? A classic Nokia, supplying just texts and calls, won't come…

the idea of tagging my kid with a tracker like they're a wild bird being tracked is repugnant

Re: Buried Apple feature turns an iPhone into the perfect kids' dumb phone

#59

Post by hamburglar »

NuclearPM wrote: post #46
wrs wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When my friend's kids were totally obsessed with League of Legends, I offered to set up a home firewall with increasingly difficult workarounds, so by the time they graduated high school they'd at least have a cybersecurity certificate and possibly a Ph.D in networking.

That’s how 80s kids learned computers and programming. Trying to install a game and having to lookup what the hell “fat32” was.

Dude. 80’s kids think of FAT32 as that new filesystem that supports more than 8.3.

Re: Buried Apple feature turns an iPhone into the perfect kids' dumb phone

#60

Post by PrimalPower »

flippyhead wrote: post #7
fma wrote: post #4

>children have quickly found workarounds for such measures, such as asking friends to message them links, which can bypass restrictions when opened I was very surprised of this by my own kids find workarounds like l33t hackers. Apple's restrictions are a joke. The app store is full of things they can mess with. My daughter mentioned some way to get around screen time. I've ended up just taking the iPads away.

I found it such a hassle to keep locked down I gave up. Like, he'd be so aware that he'd find ways to watch me enter the PIN code when adjusting the settings. I'd have to be ever-vigilant and I got tired of it.

I've concluded the only way to avoid workarounds it to reduce my own screen time. I stopped having a tablet myself. Got off the Iphone too.

I still need some smartphone for work. Got the smallest one possible so at least games aren't really fun.

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