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Calls for smartphone-free childhood grow in Britain
(www.straitstimes.com)
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
You dont need a law for this. If you dont want your kid to use or have a smartphone then dont buy them one.
Honestly I would appreciate if they banned phone manufacturers from forcing Facebook, X, and other bullshit onto your phone. Making people go out and get it is one of the many intended barriers.
Ya I would also enjoy a phone free from bloat.
Also OEMs should not be succumbed by Google. Punkt has already introduced MC02 with option to install Google services.
The question then would be if it might cause other problems. A lot of places are moving to e-learning, for example, and might expect the students to have internet access of some form or other.
Whether that be in the form of smartphone apps/websites, or through a laptop that the school provides, at which point, it's basically the same thing, especially if peer pressure puts them on social media or some such.
As I said in another comment if the parents are the ones to buy it then they can put heavy parental controls on the phones or tablets.
I use a work provided cellphone while I'm on my job site and they have that fucker so locked down I can't even change the auto lock timing so I know you can lock tons of things with passwords on phones and tablets.
Idk anything about school laptops because I'm apparently old as fuck now and that wasn't a thing when I was younger. But I would assume that they also use software to lock those down.
If they don't create a new law then how will these parents impose their parenting on other families?
You shouldn't need a law, but the reality is that you simply can not control it. Your kid will interact with other kids and most will have access to a smart phone.
There absolutely needs to be a law of some kind
How about we create some data and privacy laws that benefit everyone and this will benefit now and for their whole life.
Yeah, that would be nice too, but do you honestly see that happening either? I don't. And for that Matter: there are more problems with children having unlimited access to media through irresponsible parents than just data and privacy not being respected.
Yes they may be able to see a smart phone at school or a friend's house but if they don't own one then for the majority of the day they will not be using one. Or God forbid you (the royal you not you specifically) actually try parent your kids and teach them about internet safety.
Should we remove gambling and drug access restrictions for youths? After all, parents can just parent around it.
Like all things, there's moderation to consider. It's fine to debate if this is too far, but to simple blame parents for being lazy or unwilling to parent is short sided.
Ahh, yes, because smartphones are the same as cigarettes, alcohol and gambling. Btw if you think kids aren't already gambling, you are wrong.
I wonder when the last time smartphones gave someone cancer or liver psoriasis.
You can give your kids smartphones and put tons of blocks and restrictions on them. Ya the kids will get around that at some point but that's the nature of being a kid.
Why are you all so fucking aggressive? How fuck it's annoying me to the point to not even wanting to participate at all. How about some civility? Can you imagine how a nice discussion there could be? Ffs
I know I can limit what my child might see on their phone, but there are other children and other phones and you just can't regulate like you want to.
Internet safety would be one concern but not all. It's not that simple like you make it out to be.
So should we keep kids in theor rooms all day long every day so we can "protect" them 24/7?
And how am I being aggressive when you are the one swearing and the one who wants to pass needless laws?
Yeah, well, sorry. I was annoyed by people being unreasonable and either jumping to conclusions or not really interested in a constructive discussion. What's the point in trying to have a discussion if there is nobody really trying?
I'll just leave it at that.
Totally understand where you are coming from and sorry if I made it seem like I was not up for a discussion about this. I definitely enjoy hearing differing opinions on stuff like this.
No we don't need a lot just because you want one. Take some responsibility for your own kids.
You should ready before you write. Not bothering to answer honestly I you don't do the minimum.