There have been multiple accounts created with the sole purpose of posting advertisement posts or replies containing unsolicited advertising.

Accounts which solely post advertisements, or persistently post them may be terminated.

Sundial ,

You definitely see a difference in children who are regularly given phones to keep them occupied. They’re just so much more hyper active. I know a lot of teachers have been complaining about phone use in the classrooms. In Canada they just started rolling back against rules saying teachers can’t confiscate phones.

Mountain_Mike_420 ,

Please don’t give kids smartphones period. A smart watch is far less addictive and just as valuable to parents and kids (parents can track location, kids can still make phone calls and txt.) other suggestions are a dumb phone (think t9 txting), or just let them go phoneless.

majestictechie ,

Don’t they require smart phones to work though? All the ones I have had are all just BT devices which require a phone to do anything beyond tell the time

gray ,
@gray@pawb.social avatar

There are several cellular capable watches.

return2ozma OP ,
@return2ozma@lemmy.world avatar

My Samsung watch works without a phone on Google Fi network. Watches get a free line.

yaycupcake ,
@yaycupcake@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

I don’t think going phoneless would be a great idea because emergencies happen and people need to communicate but society would probably be better if kids weren’t glued to smartphone apps and social media from a young age. The smart watch or dumb phone idea makes sense to me though.

GBU_28 ,

Or just give them a dumb phone.

falk1856 ,

Anyone have a recommendation for a decent kids smartwatch with cell service? I got my son a Garmin Bounce and the text and the service sucked so we returned it.

prettybunnys ,

You can find older Apple Watches for fairly cheap, I paid 10 bucks a month on T-Mobile for just the watch plan.

You would need to have an iPhone in order to manage it but you can manage a watch for a kid that way. They have school mode for them so it just acts as a watch with emergency contact action at school.

helenslunch ,
@helenslunch@feddit.nl avatar

Garmin makes watches specifically for kids and seem to have a decent privacy policy.

fuckwit_mcbumcrumble ,

Is it the phone, or the social media? The article only really mentions social media as the real issue.

Subsequently, does that mean social media on a computer is 100% A-OK? (this is a mobile phone carrier so it makes sense that they’d only focus on phones)

ripcord ,
@ripcord@lemmy.world avatar

Both.

helenslunch ,
@helenslunch@feddit.nl avatar

The article specifically mentions smartphones. Which smartphone can’t access social media?

Computer is not necessarily “A-OK” but theyre far less likely to carry them around and be on them all day.

mannycalavera ,
@mannycalavera@feddit.uk avatar

Make parents less entitled. Problem solved.

yessikg ,
@yessikg@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Get the kids a dumb phone instead. Calls and texts are more than enough in an emergency

VerdantSporeSeasoning ,

When I went to price it out at the store, the line for a dumb phone was going to cost $30/mo more than a smart phone. It was dumb.

helenslunch ,
@helenslunch@feddit.nl avatar

So get them a smartphone plan and slap the SIM in their dumbphone?

bulwark ,

My kids are around that age and it’s a real struggle when all of their friends have one.

Imgonnatrythis ,

There is a growing tide of data suggesting the fight is worth it, but understand it is a serious struggle.

Much like trying to get kids to eat healthy when they are surrounded by so much awful food in the US.

helenslunch ,
@helenslunch@feddit.nl avatar

Too bad?

JDPoZ ,
@JDPoZ@lemmy.world avatar

Scrolling to find out what “EE” is… I can’t find anything. Can someone fill me in?

return2ozma OP ,
@return2ozma@lemmy.world avatar

EE (formerly Everything Everywhere) is a British mobile network operator, internet service provider and a brand of BT Consumer, a division of BT Group. Supposedly the #1 network in the UK similar to Verizon in the US.

skeezix ,

Equine Enchephalitis

themadcodger ,
@themadcodger@kbin.earth avatar

What age is a good age to give them one?

helenslunch ,
@helenslunch@feddit.nl avatar

No age. It’s just especially damaging for young people.

tal , (edited )
@tal@lemmy.today avatar

EE is advising parents that children under 11 should be given old-fashioned brick or “dumb” phones that only allow them to call or text instead.

That sounds ridiculous. An 11-year-old is, what, a fifth-grader in the US?

If they have access to a computer or something in addition to their phone, okay, maybe. But for a lot of young people in 2024, their smartphone is their sophisticated electronic device. Maybe they tack on a keyboard or whatnot. But take that away, and they don’t have a computer to use. A computer is just too essential of a tool to not let someone learn.

Kids used to veg out in front of the TV, where material is generally not all that fantastic and the device is noninteractive. I think that it’s great that smartphones are replacing that.

I was programming when I was in first grade. I was doing computer graphics and word processing somewhere around there. Those are important skillsets to have. I made use of those. You want kids to pick those up. You do not want to push those back. I’d get a computer of whatever form into their hands at the earliest point that they can avoid destroying it.

If your concern is that you want to restrict access to pornography or something, okay, fine, whatever, set up content filtering. I think that they’re probably going to get at it anyway. But that does not entail not permitting access to the computing device. That’s a restriction on access to the Internet.

In May this year, MPs on the education committee urged the government to consider a total ban on smartphones for the under-16s and a statutory ban on mobile-phone use in schools as part of a crackdown on screen time for children.

That’d be, what, up to high school before you have one? And that’s not “I have parents who want that”, but outright “the government doesn’t let anyone do that”.

Wikipedia. Google Maps. The store of knowledge available from search engines. I use those all the time. You want to cut them off from that?

I read and certainly write way more text than I did in the pre-Internet era. Do you want kids reading and writing less?

I mean, I’m just boggled.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • [email protected]
  • random
  • lifeLocal
  • goranko
  • All magazines
    •