Comment on France seeks to ban social media for children under 15
ramenu@lemmy.ml 1 week agoBuy a dumb phone and make them feel ostracized from everyone else lol. Spoken like someone who isn’t gen Z.
Let’s say you do use a dumb phone. What about everyone else? Others have to make a lot of concessions in order to communicate with you in a group project for example.Best case scenario the group does its communication over social media and calls you directly. You’re going to miss out a lot on communication.
There’s also some aspect of “followers = clout”. Basically what I’m trying to say is expecting your child to be OK taking a dumb phone to school while seeing everyone else with one may have a dramatic effect.
fantasyocean@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 week ago
One, I’m not interested in making sure their coolest middle schooler. Well-Dressed and able to express their style through clothes, their bookbag etc. Two, I don’t really want them in a bunch of group chats yapping constantly. Yes, they will miss out on a lot of communication but they don’t need to be in constant 24/7 contact with anyone in elementary school and middle school. And finally, when I see them behaving maturely I may consider getting them a smartphone earlier. But if not they’ll just be waiting until they turn 15. If they want to get on TikTok they can open up the app on the family room TV and they can be the same with YouTube.
I’m not going to go through every single scenario parenting in the digital age, but I have to be aware and I have to monitor. And over time the amount of monitoring I do will have to be reduced based on the maturity that they’re showing but also out of respect for their autonomy.
But you know what’s great about everything I said, you don’t have to do any of that. You can give your kid the smartphone and let them get on FB messenger at 7 years old for all I care. And you know why I don’t care? Because that’s your decision and you can deal with the consequences or benefits of that parenting style.
Though I’ll be honest, I’m not certain what point you’re trying to make here. Are you saying you want the ban so you can give your child a smartphone without thinking about how they’re using it? Or are you saying no ban and iPhones for preteens?