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When Your 11-Year-Old Says No to a Smartphone

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Re: When Your 11-Year-Old Says No to a Smartphone

#61

Post by throwaway66920 »

Seems like a banal humble brag about her kid. The author makes it pretty clear she is really into social media and projecting an image of her best self. She goes to quite an effort to make it clear her son is rejecting shallow values. Likely embellished.

I didn’t want a phone as a kid. That doesn’t mean I didn’t spend tons of time on the computer instead.

A kid not liking pop music or social media is probably extremely common. Heck a lot of 11 year olds aren’t emotionally developed in such a way that they really care about any music at all.

Re: When Your 11-Year-Old Says No to a Smartphone

#62

Post by TeMPOraL »

rjsw wrote: post #59
TeMPOraL wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Much more than a separare alarm clock, radio and a mp3 player together. These things are cheap now.

Can you really get separate devices for less than a feature phone ? My Nokia/HMD was only $20. I agree that a smartphone isn't the cheapest solution.

I can get a radio and an alarm clock for something like $10 to $15 total on a local flea market. It's probably not even the cheapest option. Not sure if I could find an MP3 player for $5-10 on that market, but I can find one for below $5 with free shipping on Aliexpress.

Re: When Your 11-Year-Old Says No to a Smartphone

#63

Post by [deleted] »

m-i-l wrote: post #52

I read a report recently on predictions for Generation Alpha, i.e. the generation after Generation Z (in turn the generation after the Millennial Generation) very roughly born after 2010. One of the predictions was that they would be both "digital masters" but also "the new old fashioneds" that would be looking to break away from technology more, perhaps as a result of feeling neglected by parents constantly distract…

[deleted]

Re: When Your 11-Year-Old Says No to a Smartphone

#64

Post by everlastingfan »

grenoire wrote: post #44
CalRobert wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

11 year olds can be brilliant, and tragically I suspect far more of them would if we didn't infantilize them.

Some level of infantilising is not necessarily a bad thing. I definitely was not equipped mentally to be able to overcome the things I am dealing with in my 20s. Was I any less smart when I was 11? Probably not; but now I have other skills and traits apart from intelligence. Work ethics, sense of responsibility, and empathy to name a few. Giving kids too much responsibility or credit does not help them further down t…

We can do better: infinite credit, no responsibility and no attention altogether. The perfect setup for narcissistic hell.

Re: When Your 11-Year-Old Says No to a Smartphone

#65

Post by Wowfunhappy »

Phenix88be wrote: post #37

Anyone else think this is fake ? I mean, 11 years old can have that level of thinking ? Or maybe I m missing something ?

For many years now, I have used vacation time to work at an academic summer camp for 11 and 12 year olds. Almost all of the kids have phones, but some years there's one (I don't think there's ever been more than one) who does not.

A couple of the children without phones have been very proud of the fact they don't have phones. They'll readily tell you they don't need one and don't want one.

Now, I have no clue if these children were in truth allowed phones by their parents, or how they would react if actually offered one. But they certainly seemed to be doing fine.

So, yes, I found the story plenty believable.

P.S. If it sounds like a crappy situation where only one kid is left without a phone, I don't disagree, but it's mostly out of my control. As I said, some children are completely fine with it, but I had one this past summer who was not.

Re: When Your 11-Year-Old Says No to a Smartphone

#67

Post by hdfbdtbcdg »

endymi0n wrote: post #7
hdfbdtbcdg wrote: post #3

This mother seems very disrespectful of her son... Her children are not her chattel to do with as she sees fit they are human beings with thoughts and feelings of their own that need to be respected.

If you read closer, you‘ll notice a lot of stylistic (self-)irony and exaggeration between the lines. The last paragraphs clearly give away that she‘s very much respecting their kids.

His picture is at the of article!

Re: When Your 11-Year-Old Says No to a Smartphone

#68

Post by codingdave »

Phenix88be wrote: post #37

Anyone else think this is fake ? I mean, 11 years old can have that level of thinking ? Or maybe I m missing something ?

They absolutely have that level of thinking. They can't always verbalize it eloquently, so the author may have re-phrased it as the article was written. But my kids have real depth of feeling about the world, their place within it, and have more passion about engaging with it in their own way than most adults I know... not because adults don't have the same concerns, but because we resolved them decades ago, while the teens and tweens are just starting to engage in that process.

Re: When Your 11-Year-Old Says No to a Smartphone

#70

Post by snvzz »

cylinder wrote: post #34
azangru wrote: post #18

I cannot imagine how it can be a good idea to reject the internet. Avoid social media all you want, but choosing not to have a search engine, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps and so on at your fingertips is just bonkers. Also, smartphone is great at being a digital watch with alarm clock, a audiobook reader, a radio set, etc. You can rebel against the mindless social media generation to your heart's content and stil…

you cannot imagine an 11 year old not having a smartphone?

I could have got a cellphone in high school and didn't.

I didn't in university either. I was uncomfortable with the idea of my location being tracked, and the idea that I could be interrupted by a call at any time.

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