The question of an individuals use is intriguing. If we accept that technologies are environmental then we shouldn't mistake the handheld unit for that environment. If we fetishise individual use then we doom our children to irrelevance AND deny them the services of the new situation. This is not to say that there's no scope for parental engagement on the matter of candy consumption.
I can't help but think of the Amish. Do you have Amish Kiwis? You know, the ones who dared to venture across the Pacific via horse and buggy?
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood. They not only took the one less traveled, but they chose to go by foot. Can we say that it's made all the difference?
The answer that makes the most sense to me is I, and I say that from the perspective of the child, not the parent. My parents chose answer A for me and my siblings when it came to smartphones. Is anyone ready for that kind of power in your pocket at that age, though?
I know this: as attached as I am now to my tech, I do not wish that on the children I one day hope to have. It's so difficult to see children today who grow up with an iPad in their hands from an early age, and to see how terribly they behave as a result of that attachment. I don't wish that for any children I may have, and I do not wish to subject the world around me to the sort of behavior that I have seen.
I like A but also I...how to choose if there is one and only one right answer? I myself got a dumb phone in high school (before 18) and a smartphone in college. I think combining the sentiments of A with the call for prudence in I is the “right” answer. But what do I know. My oldest is 3.
The question of an individuals use is intriguing. If we accept that technologies are environmental then we shouldn't mistake the handheld unit for that environment. If we fetishise individual use then we doom our children to irrelevance AND deny them the services of the new situation. This is not to say that there's no scope for parental engagement on the matter of candy consumption.
I can't help but think of the Amish. Do you have Amish Kiwis? You know, the ones who dared to venture across the Pacific via horse and buggy?
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood. They not only took the one less traveled, but they chose to go by foot. Can we say that it's made all the difference?
H makes the most sense. Hate smartphones.
Please tell me you didn't write this comment with a smartphone....
Hahhaha! Hope your doing well. I miss your class!
The answer that makes the most sense to me is I, and I say that from the perspective of the child, not the parent. My parents chose answer A for me and my siblings when it came to smartphones. Is anyone ready for that kind of power in your pocket at that age, though?
I know this: as attached as I am now to my tech, I do not wish that on the children I one day hope to have. It's so difficult to see children today who grow up with an iPad in their hands from an early age, and to see how terribly they behave as a result of that attachment. I don't wish that for any children I may have, and I do not wish to subject the world around me to the sort of behavior that I have seen.
Thanks for responding, John Paul. The effects of a smartphone or tablet on a child are indeed powerful, regardless of their age.
I like A but also I...how to choose if there is one and only one right answer? I myself got a dumb phone in high school (before 18) and a smartphone in college. I think combining the sentiments of A with the call for prudence in I is the “right” answer. But what do I know. My oldest is 3.
Excuse me ma'am. You look familiar. Do I know you?
My oldest is also 3.