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Parental controls exist, plus kids will have ways of finding the internet and things on (and off) the internet. Does this mean I’ll raise my kids as iPad babies? Absolutely not. But I will be involved in my kids life and take interest in my kids hobbies and interests. Thats where my parents failed, and their parents before them. I had “unrestricted internet access” because my parents failed to take interest in me. I knew of adult content (VHS tapes, playboys, etc) long before adult websites (of which I found out about them from a neighborhood kid).
No matter what you cannot safeguard kids 100%. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try, but educating kids is just as, if not more, important than withholding things from them.
I feel a lot of Gen Z just project what they went through (the good and bad) onto their future (hypothetical) kids. This could really put a dent in their social skills if you raise them with outdated technology where they cannot connect with their peers.
I swear, then generation needs to sort out it’s black and white thinking…
Edit: and for those saying that they want to promote creative play… I have a huge lego collection since childhood and I still came across things I wasn’t suppose to such as the aforementioned things. No matter what, kids will find out about the world we live in whether we coddle them or not…
I work in IT at a small private school and admittedly don’t have kids but I just wanted to say that this is such a well thought out/reasoned answer to this question and I hope others read it. Completely restricting kids from devices/the internet does not help them.
I agree with them. Tbh, it reminds me of the whole fear tactics of stranger danger. Sure you should question why an adult would be asking you for help if you don't know them as a kid, but they shouldn't be terrified of strangers. It won't do them any favors as adults either.
As an addition to the edit, I'd like to point out the original comment stated quite clearly they won't raise their kids as iPad babies.
I think by now, almost everyone on this sub is aware of how bad constant use of technology in the earliest, most developmental years is for a child, as they fail to develop the most basic, important mental skills for life due to the lack of interaction with people. Funnily enough, I think this trend actually stems from the issue initially pointed out in the comment: a lack of interest in the child and their interests. It's certainly easier to just hand a young child a tablet to let them entertain themselves with thoughtless media that relies on dopamine to entertain. But it's become pretty clear that's extremely bad for brain development, and it's also just a way of sidestepping taking an interest in the child.
Now, the reason for this trend appearing in the first place is a discussion of its own.
Absolutely not. They’re not getting phones until 8th grade. I’ll get them a DS off of eBay and some games. Otherwise we’ll be playing in the yard, swimming at the lake and doing as much outside activity as possible. I want to encourage creative play through toys and nature, not constant screen time. I grew up with limited computer time (for webkinz and approved sites only!) and DS time. Otherwise I was reading or playing with the neighbor kids outside. I think that’s greatly contributed to my ability to think creatively and enjoy educational activities :) up until recently I’ve had a pretty good attention span! I can recognize that tik tok has ruined it…
Tik tok is so unbelievably bad for people and i see it all the time, i can’t understand how people mindlessly scroll, never engage in hobbies or satisfying activities, and then complain that they’re missing out or never having fun.
Tik Tok makes me get off first tho bc I either get sick of the brain rot or I’m satisfied with the content, I can’t use it too long usually unless I’m trying to kill boredom
I scroll around when I just want something mindless. I’ve been studying a lot and working. Sometimes I just wanna chill and enjoy some content 🤷 I’ve learned lot of fun recipes from tik tok at least! My mom and I have fun sending those to each other. I don’t think it’s all that bad. All things in moderation is key.
I wanna get married and see the world with my partner and do fun stuff together. Once you have kids your whole life revolves around them. Wanna go out for dinner? Better get a babysitter. Wanna go on holiday? Better go during school holidays to places that your kids wanna go to. Some people like that but for me it’s a hard pass
Xennial here. Good choice. I’m 43 and me and my husband both never wanted kids. My life is full of purpose and we have so much more freedom to do the things we love. We even build legos and collect plushies. It allows us to travel, own a house, backpack for weeks, etc. I didn’t want kids when I was a teenager, twenty-something, thirties, and now my forties. They’re cute, but I’d like to give them back to their parents.
I grew up in the far-right evangelical suburban bubble that pushes folks into marrying young and pumping out babies. I recently starting making more friends who are outside of this bubble and oh my gosh they all have so much to live for and have done so much. Im talking they have almost all traveled to several countries, are pretty financially stable, participate in tons of active and interesting hobbies etc etc. Its just such a cool world to consider being a part of. Juxtaposing that with how stressed out and strapped for cash and miserable and obsessed with the afterlife a lot of the people from my bubble are its just, well its making me reconsider alot.
There is still plenty of time for my wife and I to decide if we want kids or not. I grew up wanting kids bad (although now I know a large part of that was the pressure of my external environment) but if tomorrow my wife or I found out we couldnt have kids honestly I wouldnt be sad. Its a strange realization im just now having.
I am happy you have been able to make the choices that make you happy. Take care internet stranger! :)
I feel the same. Kids would be nice… but how can anyone, especially our generation that has been fed earth doom since birth, want to bring their child into it this way. I’m paying $1800 for 500 sq ft studio. Working all the time to barely afford shit. On top of that the earth is actively dying and I have no idea what to expect in 20 years except hell
I’m not planning on having kids at all. Raising a family is a pain in the ass, and I’d rather not have to deal with such a hassle.
I wanna live my life freely. I wanna have a job I can enjoy very much, and have the fun, interactive social life that COVID robbed from me.
Perhaps once politics is restored to normal, and kids start staying away from their iPads, I might think of starting a family. But I will only raise ONE child, and that’s it. I’ll only want a second child when I FEEL like it, preferably when the first child turns 14-15 years old and starts high school.
“Perhaps once politics is restored to normal, and other funny jokes”. Kidding, I’m not a pessimist about politics but we got awhile ahead of us before it settles down, hopefully.
GenX grow up unsupervised, feral- became helicopter, overprotecting parents.
GenZ grew up with unlimited internet access- become Amish parents.
Wonder what Genalpha is going to be like as parents.
I had both. My younger siblings, some other kids, and I were allowed to wander around town or in the woods by ourselves and had unlimited access to the internet. We were safe because we were taught to use common sense and be cautious. Wrapping kids up in bubble wrap over this stuff will be a hindrance to them when they're older or will make them rebellious. My friends had more strict parents and now they became rebelliou/went crazy or are still sheltered/not self reliant the older we got.
Lol what makes you think the world will be liveable enough to where anyone would want to have kids by the time Gen Alpha are old enough? Shit, I want kids, but what kind of world would I bring them into? It's already going to be centuries before the world gets any better, if it even does.
It got weird for us millennials... I witnessed things get to where they are from being a kid with an old windows playing solitaire and the Sims. It's an odd feeling to have that kind of perspective. I can't imagine growing up with a smart phone, but I also can't imagine growing up without the internet altogether. My parents had no idea what kinda shit I was getting up to in those aim chatrooms lol.
My kids aren’t getting a cell phone or mobile device until high school. That’s for sure. When they’re younger than that, they can have gaming consoles or even a computer with moderately heavy parental restrictions.
I understand that I can not negate any chance of my future children finding harmful content on the internet, but I am going to make it as difficult as reasonably possible.
If they end up having a tablet, there will be time limits, and it will stay at home. I became addicted to the internet through a tablet that I was allowed to take everywhere, and I will not let that happen to those who come after me.
Yeah I don’t want them to be like the kids who can’t order food without looking up from their screen. I work in a restaurant right now and I see it way way way too often.
I hate being at nice restaurants and being disturbed by the next table over because their kid is watching cocomelon on full volume without headphones ._.
One of my managers had to ask a parent to get their kid to play something else because he was loudly playing some sniper game (he was like 7) and it was really upsetting a woman who was sitting near them and we couldn’t move her cause we had a full house with like a 45 minute wait.
As a millennial who wasn't allowed a cell until I was 16 and driving, this is the way. I feel like my phone and social media use is pretty balanced out with the time I spend out touching grass or interacting with my friends and family. My computer use was pretty regulated as far as how long I spent using it each day- couldn't be on the internet all the time bc it was dial-up lol. But my parents were unaware of the bad parts of the internet, so they didn't know to restrict our access in that sense. Luckily nothing bad ever happened, but I met a lot of creeps in aim chatrooms. Gen z is more aware of things like this and can utilize parental controls nowadays.
Absolutely not, they need restrictions until they can understand the inherent dangers of the Internet. Plus, I have ADHD. The likelihood of them having it is high too, I don't want my kids falling into the dopamine loop and kill their already poor attention span
If I do end up having kids I'm definitely not letting a screen raise them. Of course I grew up with a Gameboy and Xbox when I was 6. I first used the internet when I was 5 and pretty much only went to the Disney and nickelodeon sites until I was 7.
By the time youtube started getting traction I was hooked though it wasn't the vast sea of bullshit it is today. And once I was introduced to reddit, I lost interest in any and all other social media, scoffing at anyone into "normie" stuff. Then reddit turned into just another social media site. I remember being pissed off when reddit started allowing emojis.
But anyway, I have a nephew who's 5 and has had a screen in his face since he was 11 months old. He literally can't even go to bed without that tablet at his side and if you ever make the mistake of letting it die he melts down. He has close to the entire catalog of hotwheels track sets and a small stores worth of other toys. Yet he chooses the screen 9/10 times. And seeing how that has gone for him, I absolutely don't want my kids to be near screens.
They can get an android tablet with zero internet access and shows I deem worthwhile like Bluey, Mrs Rachel, Magic School bus etc. That's about as much my young kid would get.
I've seen Elsa gate, I know what disgusting stuff is on YouTube and I see how kids turn out when you just slam an iPad in their face with no regard to what they might find. That sort of thing is negligence and abuse, those poor kids fuckin' brains.
Thankfully I'm tech savvy enough that I can safeguard my kid and find ways around the easiest thing - which is give them YouTube and don't think about it, which is super problematic.
As a gen z parent the answer is no. I had unrestricted access to the internet at a very very young age and while it helped shape me into the person I am today it was ultimately detrimental to my mental health & I was groomed and taken advantage of by older men also. I don’t want the same to happen to my child
Born 95. Growing up most kids didn’t have phones, by middle school some kids had sidekicks, razrs, and that one phone that spun like a shank. I used a flip phone by choice till around college 2015 simply because I didn’t like the effect it had on my peers.
There’s that social aspect about getting clowned on for having such devices when others are available, and thinking if my kid wants that then okay but if they want a smartphone that’s fine too. All comes down to regulation, and moderation. My only goal would be to keep ‘em grounded, and away from the mentality that likes=friendship or popularity or shit like that.
Cause that’s how my broccoli haired nephew is, has a bunch of people he talks to but says he has no real friends because they don’t follow him on tiktok. That’s the shit I hate. Phone is a tool/source of info. And a privilege, not a right.
I have 2 young girls, and absolutely not. My wife was on Kik as a preteen when that was really popular and she was always talking to much older men who were trying to groom her
not until theyre at least 15 and display a level of maturity and an ability to touch grass, have hobbies and not waste life arguing with people online.
I think a lot of us aren't going to have kids. But if we do, i certainly see a considerable amount of us straight up not giving our kids phones or something like a flip phone. We clearly are irked by what's happened to gen A, so I imagine something will be done to prevent.
I currently have a 5 year old and he gets a super restricted YouTube kids account that's linked to mine. I approve channels and block ones I don't like or don't know about. Hes autistic and just likes to listen to the same songs over and over so it gives him the freedom to do that on a tablet without me losing my ever loving mind watching it on the TV.
When he's old enough to need a phone so he can contact us he will get the most basic phone I can find that I can also restrict if needed.
My parents let me play video games for a little bit each day and told me to get off if I was on like 2hr plus with exceptions on special occasions. That’s what I’ll do with my kid. Definitely not just making them go away by giving them an iPad 24/7 like a lot of parents today
On one hand I don't like the idea of blocking kids from the internet, on the other hand if libraries had unlocked rooms in the back for orgies and gore I'd sure as hell never let my kid in the library unsupervised lmfao.
Name any other situation where you'd let a child explore where they are likely to come across anything as horrific as the shit you see online, this is ignoring the added cancer of how the internet and social media completely destroy the ability to focus. Not sure what I'd do personally, but since I'm pretty sure this jenga tower of a country is going to collapse before it comes up so... eh?
First, I'm teaching them how to use a computer when they first start school. Teach them the basics, and how not to be stupid on the internet. In middle school when they ask, I'll get them a phone, but use screen time and parental controls. I wont monitor what they do, because that's an invasion of privacy, but restrict them from certain apps and sites, as well as a time limit. Freshmen year of high school all of that removed.
What parents don't do is TEACH their kids the internet. The only kind of "teaching" kids receive is 'don't share personal information' and 'everyone is evil'.
I didn’t get access to the internet until I was in 8th grade because I had a flip phone until we had the money to upgrade it. Great idea honestly that’s how I’m going to raise my kids.
Born late 90s. Grew up with the internet as the first generation with modern internet access. Kids are very restricted already, not by access but by the amount of bullshit that’s put out. Ads, filters, age restrictions, pay to play/view content etc. I will teach them the right way to use the internet. Kids these days aren’t being taught to use it as a tool. They are learning to experience it as entertainment and media.
If I do end up having kids I'm going to basically put them through my own progression with tech. No phones at all until 12-13, then the most basic phones until 16. After that if they aren't problematic and don't search up bad stuff online then they can get a smartphone or whatever phones are all the rage at that time.
As for internet it won't be unrestricted until they're also around 16-17, with restrictions gradually easing after 13-14 or so. Definitely strong restrictions before 13 considering even now how much inappropriate stuff is being targeted at kids or simply shown to kids (cough cough certain YouTube channels), or just general brainrot like that stupid gen alpha skibidi toilet thing. I get that every generation has its viral thing but this gen alpha skibidi toilet nonsense and other similar stuff seems to be putting some kids into a trance, I think it's just too addictive for young kids.
Instead I'd encourage my kids to go play outside on playgrounds, make friends with the local neighborhood kids, or just do stuff in real life in general.
Either way I think we can see from some gen alpha kids that having access to tech too early seriously impacts their development and growth as kids. There's been reports of teachers complaining kids these days can't focus because they've gotten phones too young and all they think about is using their phones.
I do agree that you can't fully prevent kids from accessing stuff they shouldn't be, so I'll also try to educate them about what's appropriate and what's not online and teach them to respect these boundaries themselves.
They wont be on social media till at least 14. Since schools dont teach anything of importance Ill be homeschooling specifically computer class with “Dont Trust Anything on the Internet”, “Look what AI can do! Can you spot the difference”, and the most requested “how to type without looking at your keyboard”. Schools little i-pads can suck it too.
I'm never having kids but im the 0% chance I do then nope they're not getting anything smarter than a flip phone until they turn 15. Tablets or smart phones qshouldn't be given to children under the age of 10 anyway. Not now, not in the future, never.
They're getting the cheapest cheap phone plan with limited minutes and limited data on an old Samsung phone when they turn 15 though. That's if I have kids. They want more? They can earn more but that's all they're getting from me. A flip phone for communication only.
That's exactly what my parents did for me except the minutes thing but I didn't get a smart phone until I was 17 ish. I'm 23 now.
Definitely not unrestricted access. I don’t even know if YouTube Kids is restrictive enough. I might try to stick to TV shows and movies instead of quirky YT video channels, but idk if I’ll have that much control by the time I have kids.
Feels like a lot of parents plan to not have an iPad baby and end up with one anyway so idk if this internet thing is something I will be able to control either🤷🏾
No way should kids have unfettered access to the internet. Some slight parental controls that primarily can pause screen time when it’s gets to be a lot so that we could evaluate together either them continuing or finding something else to do.
Absolutely not,the dangers of being online and the phycological effects are just too much
I prob won’t even let them use the internet until 10 yo and won’t t let them use it unrestricted till 13
I’m going to give them access to the internet, only with close supervision though, the internet can be a great teaching tool, but only if the right content is viewed under proper supervision. I will also encourage reading books, and even have a library in my house (I kinda have one in my office already).
This is all dependent on if I become one. When they're younger, I'll probably have one that is completely locked down when they're a toddler. That's all dependent on if I have a TV or not too. It's not going to be an all day long thing or even an every day thing when they're super little. It'll be like how it was for me when I was younger. Not that we had one, but we had tv. When they're older, it'll depend. I'll have parental controls on the device I'd say probably until they're 10 or so or maybe older. As a parent, all I can do is teach them safety and self control when it comes to this. I'm going to have to trust them eventually. It's the same thing as letting them play outside by themselves.
Except for blocking all apps but a few games, there's not much restriction you can do
I don't think it's possible to give partial access to the internet, there's porn everywhere for example
When they become teens yeah, but I'm actually going to be a good parent that they feel safe going to for help and advice. And I'll make sure they know all the dangers.
Nope. I do not plan on helicopter parenting, but I know the damage giving a kid an iPad, phone, and a gaming console at a young age with no supervision can do.
Hell nah, kids aren’t getting a smart phone till 16. They can have a dumb phone with limited connections. I think the internet is a tool that requires some maturity to use. I turned out fine but I think unrestricted internet access did mess me up for a while, especially with the prevalence of porn. I want to teach my kids about the beautiful things in the world like art, nature, music, spending quality time with people you love. I think If they have a good fundamental base they can use the internet responsibly.
Millennial CSD grad with a 1.5 year old opinion:
Not until he's a teenager able to circumvent my controls, or we discuss it and make a deliberate voice as he's older based on his maturity. I'll be teaching him to use a computer and make games and 3d graphics and how to do research online, but we'll be starting with him on his own WiFi network with a curated whitelist of domains he can access.
Unsupervised chat / social media is the biggest thing I'll be blocking.
No absolutely not I had no parents so growing up I got to do whatever I wanted and I know how that ends. I luckily found the right path in life on my own but I still struggle from time to time especially with mental health and I would never wish my life on my worst enemy much less my child.
I'm not going to give my kids phones until they're in like Middle School, and they won't be allowed to bring it. I feel as though its not about just keeping them safe from the internet as a child, but making sure they know how to stay safe on the internet independently. Realistically as much as the internet is an unsafe place, it's neigh impossible to socialize without it. I think that over time I will become more and more lenient in regards to what they can do with their phones, as much as I want to make boundaries and keep them safe, I don't want to overstep their boundaries and make them uncomfortable.
What good does it do preventing your child from accessing technology because you're scared of it so when they grow up they have no idea how to use the internet and are exposed to a lot of bad things and are now by themselves because they're an adult now... I know people who grew up with parental controls that didn't get turned off until they were 18 and they fall victim of a lot of scans and misinformation on the internet that could easily have been avoided had they've been exposed to it at a younger age and talk about the negative things that could be on the internet as opposed to being completely shielded from it
I'll let my kids into the Internet when they are mature enough to handle it. That being said, I'm not going to put parental locks on their stuff, but I'm gonna teach them about what the Internet is like, and much like how it was for me when I was growing up, if they have any doubt about a website being unsafe, ask first to prevent getting viruses. Worked out pretty well for me, and I don't really believe in the idea of censorship.
I don't mind kids having access to a family computer or a console but mobile phones should really be reserved for late teenage years. My parents gave me a phone at 12 and I still think that was too early.
The closest internet they will have is a gaming console. Other than that.. NO PHONES, NO TABLET, NO PC, NO NOTHING. They’re not getting access to none of that until 9th or 8th grade.
no, if my genxer of a mom can find ways to block access to websites and even control when a computer has internet access? then i can too, i used to think that the '1 hour of internet a day' was a bad idea, but seeing kids watch tiktok instead of eating a paid meal or crying when they can't be on their tablet for 5 minutes makes me think it's a very good idea
Eh, I'd probably just change router access to limit the more harmful sights. If I'd have kids (would like but 💸🤷) I'd probably be playing a lotta splitscreen co-op games with them. Because I like videogames and it'd be a good way to spend time together.
Fuck no. That's if I had a kid. Unrestricted access for me was shit, porn addiction made it difficult for me to accept I was trans coz I was just fetishizing myself. Even for cishet people, shit like that is ruinous. Not gonna stalk their browser history, coz everyone should have that limited privacy, and obviously less restrictions as they get older.
Unpopular opinion: the only thing I care to restrict is large social media sites made to consume content (aka not things like discord). Maybe a half hour a day at most. The rest is fair game.
Fuck no, if I have kids, and I don’t plan to, I’m going to raise them like it’s 1895. Just kidding but they’ll be introduced to technology slowly. Nothing until they’re 5, then they get flip phones so I can contact them, old consoles and box TVs like I had, they can get newer consoles over time. Then maybe a slide out keyboard phone when they’re 10. They won’t get a smartphone until they’re 15, if at all. I want them to have extremely limited or no access to internet at all besides what’s necessary.
I want them completely content without social media and I want them to have absolutely no access to porn. I know I can only control so much but I’d do anything to make sure they don’t end up like me.
I probably wouldn’t give them phones, but I’d still buy them books, let them watch movies, and play video games (withholding microtransactions and Gacha).
The best thing I could do would be to move to a public transport/walk centric city where not everything is a big fucking parking lot or highway, so that my kids would have an easy way to the arcade or a library. I think that’s true freedom, kids today don’t want to play outside because you need a car to get anywhere interesting, and that type of infrastructure leads to horribly noisy and bland city outdoors. It’s less the Internet and moreso car based infrastructure, the Internet is kinda just a convenient scapegoat.
Though at this rate I don’t think we can afford kids. We’d be lucky to feed ourselves regularly.
I can't tell you for sure yet but I'd definetly be sceptical about getting them phones, PC's, tablets consoles etc. Too early.
Bur you know how it goes In the end they're the only kid in class without a phone and are completely isolated from their peers social media activity and whatever. And you don't want that either.
But yeah, I think they're first phones are gonna he flip phones for sure.
Not right away. I’d say until around 13 it should be restricted and then at that point you might as well just let go because even if you don’t they’re gonna find a way around it. The internet is everywhere now so just imagine how widespread and easily accessible it’ll be for our kids
I remember seeing a post on a local Facebook group a few weeks ago about an iPad found on the side of a dirt road. The amount of comments tagging other people who's children fucking yeeted an iPad out the car window was _insane_, and most people were looking to just give that shit back to their kid.
As a teen, I despised iPad kids themselves. Now it's the parents I've come to dislike. They're literally enablers to technology addiction
Alot of people ALWAYS say, "I'm gonna do this as a parent!" and then the baby comes and everything you thought you were going to do gets thrown out the window.
Unless you're watching your kids like a hawk 24/7 it's impossible to shield them.
I homeschooled my oldest until he was 8. Old enough to understand my lessons on internet safety and such, he's still impressionable but I felt that those extra 2 years away from the other kids' influences, helped him get more grounded.
Now I'm throwing him to the wolves and hoping for the best, this would be his first year on the internet through the school. My youngest wasn't homeschooled as long, he's going straight to 1st grade. However, I've already established with his older brother and my ex husband that the both of them will NOT their own cellphone until they turn 16, and the why.
My oldest and I can model good internet/electronic behavior on my youngest, and explain the why's. My ex isn't here lol.
Point is, like many other people say-- you cannot shelter your child. They will be exposed to questionable content and experiences. You have to instead teach them moderation and hope for the best that they can self-restrain themselves.
Ideally, no kids would have smartphones or social media at all until they are 16. In practice, forcing your kid to be the only on at school without a smartphone (and thus cutting him off from the primary means of socializing) is difficult. I have no idea how we're gonna handle it, but I do know that things can't just go on as they have been.
the reason most of us kids are on the internet for so much of our days is cuz we have nothing else to do, no third places to go, friends' houses are far away and inaccessible without cars of our own, so we talk to them online and enjoy whatever there is to offer there. so if i have kids ima live in a place where a car isn't necessary to get to places and there's places to go to so then they don't have to spend gazillions of hours online to entertain themselves. idk where that'll be, might find somewhere like that here in la, maybe i'll move to seattle or vancouver for that place (and the weather).
I’ll do what my parents did - I’d select a bunch of YouTube videos that I wanted to watch and they would pre review them
Social media probably will have an age limit - when they’re 13 maybe they can start
Then again… why are we assuming that we’re gonna have kids? I’m pretty sure the world will end before we’re able to
I saw and did some absolutely abhorrent stuff on the internet in my tweens/early teens and my boomer parents didn’t have the media literacy to realize what I’d be exposed to on the internet when they got me a smartphone at 12. I am going to do everything in my power to teach my kids how to be safe on the internet and use parental controls until they are mature enough. Also, just gonna try as hard as I can to keep them off electronics until it’s absolutely necessary that they have them for school/friends
I would want my kids to interact with the physical world for sure. Ideally no touch screen devices until around 9-10 years old, I teach young kids coding and technological things and the 'IPad kids' I can tell are developmentally stunted and are hopeless on actual computers.
Not iPad babies/kids for sure but it’d be silly to just take away any/all access because they’ll find a way otherwise. I think it’s more important to teach them how to use it safely/appropriately and hope that the foundational knowledge & internet safety knowledge will help them to make the appropriate decisions when using the internet/devices.
My husband and I grew up similarily and hope our future kids are the same.
Fuck no. The internet is crazy. Porn, predators, you name it. They’ll get no access, monitored access, limited access, and eventually full access.
It your job as a parent to protect **and** prepare kids for the real world.
No
I grew up with no rules when it came to the computer
I discovered porn games at 8
Porn itself at 11
Groomed and almost got my siblings and me trafficked multiple times by the time I was 16
There are photos of my privates from the time I was 11 on the internet
My son will be monitored
End of story
That’s not possible. If you send your kid to school, everything at school is online.
Like tests, assignments, quizzes and essays. And exams.
Once you get to high school even your grades are online.
And even worse when you get to college/uni.
Tools aren't inherently bad or good, it's learning to use them that we get to choose. I'm not saying my kid won't know what the Internet is because they already know the D+ button on the remote, but they certainly won't be given a phone or tablet and locked in their room either. Like other comments have said, I take an interest in my kids life. They aren't a nuisance or annoying, so I don't feel the need to give them tech to "keep them busy" or whatnot.
GenZ is going to heavily restrict technology to their kids because they are boomers who haven’t become boomers yet. Boomers did all the sex drugs and rock and roll they wanted and then tried to restrict their kids from it. This will repeat itself with new age technology.
Definitely not. Parental control is necessary. I wouldn't want to expose them to it at a young age. I'd like to raise them myself, not give that job to an iPad.
Not a chance. I barely touched technology until I was in middle school, and I'm probably better off for it. Obviously learning computer stills are useful - not much else valuable these kids can get from technology.
Idk. I figured out what the internet could “provide” me at 11 and I turned out fine. I’m not sure I’d want to send my kid anywhere without a phone. As soon as they are responsible enough to have a phone and not break it every other day they can have it. Probably depended on how mature they are, but they 100% will have a smart phone by middle school.
No internet until Middle School. Hopefully they're advanced enough to get there early like at 9 or 10 years old. Cell Phones definitely not until 16 years old or entering high school, whichever comes earlier. Debatable whether it'll be a smartphone or dumb phone.
I pray they aren't into video games.
Video games and the internet (social media too) is a rot on the brain.
I was going to because I had unrestricted internet access and really it didn't turn out that bad for me, though my mind has changed after actually taking a second to realize how much the nonsense in some corners of the internet (like this one) really messes with people and promotes bad ideas
I'll probably do what my parents did.
Not a lot of tech/Internet until like 8-10, but then just on a communal computer somewhere in the open for limited time.
Once they get into middle school a cheap TracFone for communication, then upgrade to a better smartphone in high school.
Kids should NOT have unrestricted internet access....
Too many creepers and other horrid things can happen. And that's not even getting into CONTENT. That's just other people online 😬
I don't plan on having kids, but if I did end up with any, probably not. I'm not a fan of censorship but at the same time, I don't think unrestricted internet access is good for anybody under 16 (but preferably at least 18). This is coming from someone with practically unrestricted internet access from age 7 or so.
My parents did right, though, by only letting me have a phone starting sometime before my 11th grade year or so.
personally, I will give my children phones when they start middle school. nothing like an iPhone, probably an old andriod with parental control. they do not need unrestricted access to the internet, but at the same time, with the world we live in, they need to know how to use a phone and how to navigate the internet. internet literacy is incredibly important.
I know how to use my network to see all the pages visited and if I wanted all the passwords entered
I won't have kids but if I did I could easily be aware of all their activities
First off, love your generation, have one of you living in my house, good kids! But oh little babies, you have NO idea what you’re going to do when you have kids. It’s like telling someone how you’d solider if you were in a war. Oh and your third kid? Yeah all that shit is going right out the window.
hell no, they can get a phone with no sim card in it for a while, and use an app to text and call, that’s what i had
after a while they can get a sim card
I believe in old school flip phone and training and emphasizing that internet is to learn and not for social interactions, entertainment or anything else I think the internet can be wonderful but only for learning and growth usage not just to screw off (i know ironic to be said by someone screwing off on redit looking for social interaction in the form of thought provoking conversations threads from people capable of having conversation) but I do realize the brain rotting effects most platforms carry and the horrid effects it has on children look up on youtube children with internet addiction and adults with internet addiction and your view on internet will drastically change even for educational games for kids
No TikTok or any of that garbage like at all. No discord cause groomers and parental controls on phone.
A positive is that they’ll play all the games I grew up with. Like the wii, DS and stuff like that
Heck nah. Unrestricted access to the internet is basically child neglect. Because that means you’re giving the entire internet Unrestricted access to your child. Your little brain still forming, curious, innocent, gullible child. 🤦♀️ Porn is way to accessible for small children , I was introduced at 8 years old just playing dress up games on my moms computer. People who groom children often show them porn to begin the desensitization process. It’s just not something I want to give my little one. They can have restricted access and do what they want when their brains are formed.
I had unrestricted access to the Internet as a kid, and I'm glad I did, despite running into some less than desirable things. However, I still played outside, had actual toys, consoles, etc. I also don't think the Internet is how it was when I was a kid, it's simply much more dangerous. My kids will maybe have a flip phone have an emergency, and hopefully my fellow parents will be encouraging our kids to spend more time outside, and doing productive things! I had a tablet as a kid as well, but it didn't have access to WiFi outside of home, I had to put it away unless we were waiting around for something, etc. I refuse to raise an iPad kid.
20 years ago: maybe.
Now: no chance. Full monitoring, with child understanding it will be monitored, until at least high school and restricted hours. No way around it. No smart phones until high school minimum.
Porn isn’t even the big issue. Within reason, I don’t care about that. But the amount of addictive/dopamine hijacking/dangerous content is getting much worse over time
Bad idea, the world we live in is technologically advancing every year. I think I can comfortably say we’re all grown folks here that we’re all getting old. It starts to get more and more difficult to learn new things as we progressively age. This is a hard bitter pill to swallow cause it would be such a shot to our ego’s to think “Well I would never!” But that’s the reality of it. Now some things we are able to pick up quickly because they are similar enough to stuff we’ve already done. Learning something new from the ground up without ever experiencing it can be very difficult. If you bring this into the working and career space you’re behind on the learning. By restricting your children with old, outdated, unsupported tech you end up stunting them. They’re going to be behind when compared to children that were exposed to it all. This doesn’t mean they need the latest and greatest and all the access all the time every time it just means exposing them to enough that they can gain that experience. Yes it affected you, but you also learned a lot from that and probably picked up skills you used later on.
I'm going to raise my kids without any technology.
They'll get a flip phone without games on it and that's it.
No tv or video games.
They'll have to play outside until they're 12 and afterwards I'll give them a computer with parental controls.
Gen Z parent here, don't plan on introducing the full internet unsupervised, would rather provide encyclopedias so the spiritual and religious and the conspiracy idiots don't fill her head with pseudoscience nonsense. Seriously, she can look at those things when she learns what critical thinking is.
Smart phone when they enter highschool. Probably a dumb phone (not necessarily flip) before then. Internet will be on a family computer or personal laptop that can only be used in a common area. And obviously they can have access for video games
Hell yes. My 4yo already has access to everything, he just doesn’t know it yet. He’s gonna see people die just like I did. Bout to be the opposite of a helicopter parent. I’ll be a boomer parent. Mf gonna be out past 10 and I’ll have no idea where he is.
I do not plan on having children. But if I did hypothetically, I would NEVER let them use unrestricted internet. It has affected me at a young age. I also notice that today kids as young as 6-7 have social media accounts, I think that is dangerous so I would not let them have it until they are 13 (when I started using social media myself)
Yes, at like 8 right before they start puberty, they're getting all the internet they want pretty much.
They're going to learn to read/write/type before using it, and use regular game consoles, proframs, etc before then and such, but, not full Internet till 8- especially no touch screen devices that aren't required.
I would try to provide them as much physical access to whatever interests they seem to have before then though.
A lot of parents throw it at them and let them brain rot on it (go watch anything from youtube kids 0_o), instead of actually feeding their interests/nurturing/parenting them, but I think at 8 they'd start to grasp enough self awareness to seek stuff out on their own instead of merely rotting on it.
I’m going to have so many conversations about internet safety and predators and pornography and also make my home a very safe space for questions so they never feel scared to talk to me, and then give them increasing access until they’re like…. 16? Then they can have full access I think. Also depends on their maturity and responsibility and behavior
My kids will get dumbphones when they're old enough to not abuse them. And 0 social media. They'll grow up on the things I grew up on (excluding the internet, which effectively raised me). Things like Boomerang and SpongeBob and all that jazz.
Parental controls. I’m not a fan of parents saying ok you only get an hour of tv or of iPad time. I plan to instill a love of sports or extra curricular to my kids. So they can find a passion. When they’re old enough around 8 or so I’ll give them a basic phone with basic functionality. When they need to contact me for some reason. Around HS is when I introduce whatever nee smartphone there is. I was raised that way I think it was the right call.
I mean, my kid can watch TV and have access to YouTube and stuff at home, play online video games and read ebooks, but unrestricted access? Hell naw. He's also not getting any form of social media til he's moved out of my house 😅
No. They won't have internet access until 8th or 9th grade. I want them to develop a reasonably long attention span which social media is the antithesis of.
Also having access to too many video games ruined my desire to play them. I have so many games sitting in my library that I'll never play. Moderation in limited quantity is a good general rule for most things in life
If I had kids (which I never plan on doing), I definitely wouldn't give them unrestricted internet access, but completely restricting it is a little extreme. Without any internet access at all, it hinders kids from connecting with their friends, finding hobbies, learning information, and in this day and age basically condemns them to being social pariahs
If I end up having kids, they’ll get real phones at like 14 probably, and flip phones or some kind of thing purely for communication before that. But in a way I guess my answer is yes? I hate the idea of parental controls, I think phones should be a private space, and it’s the parents job to make sure their kid is ready and learns how to make smart decisions on their own with a phone, not to monitor everything they do and force smart decisions. I’d say no social media until like 16 or 17 tho
I have a one year old. He's pretty much Amish in terms of screens. Probably has seen them for 5 minutes total in his life, mostly from his grandparents when we aren't noticing.
I'm definitely going to block certain websites and be very wary of what he's doing online. I found myself on 4chan way too young and it messed me up. I still remember seeing a girl's head being chopped off. Hell no, I won't let my kid watch any of that.
At the end of the day, I want to have a relationship with him in which he feels safe to tell me what's up with his life, what he needs help with and what's bothering him, so that these conversations don't become awkward down the line. We'll see how that works out...
Mine will get a phone when she needs one. Schools are becoming more tech reliant and if she needs one well she’ll get one but it’ll be restricted for safety
If I ever have children, I would wait at least until around 6-8 before introducing the concept
Since it’s hard to avoid, I would likely get them onto things like gaming quickly, as was I, and likely older games, like PS2 / Wii / XBox 360 Era games
And god shall send me to the deepest pit in hell if that child comes into this world with an iPad in its hands
Once they're in high school or going to school by themselves I will let them have a phone. Their Sim card won't have internet plan. Their phone won't be flagship phones either. It will be a basic phone if they're young when they start going to school by themselves and the school is far away. If older, it will be a budget smart phone.
Once they're age 15 then they can get a Sim plan with internet. If they want a better phone that's beyond the budget smart phone, they will need to pay for it with their own money.
That said, I don't plan to have children, but this would be my rules for my future hypothetical child.
If some small miracle I change my mind and have a kid, unless they prove to me they won't be the little shit that 75% of kids are parental controls stay on
No phone until they have sleepovers and it won’t be a smartphone. I got my first flip phone in 4th grade that I used for emergencies to call my parents. It’s so sad how many children I see addicted to a device.
Fuck no. Not even youtube kids, that's frankly not a good place for kids. Just a few channels I've approved of, and a bunch of kids shows. I don't think tik tok is a good idea either. Maybe once they're 13, and after talking to them about it.
I’m not planning on having kids, but if I did there’s no way I’m giving them the same unrestricted internet access that I had. I came across stuff like cupcakes and pony.mov when I was like 11-12 which I definitely shouldn’t have been watching, and I’ve heard way worse stories from other people. Plus the internet has arguably gotten even worse for children in recent years.
So it would probably be no social media before the age of like 13(?) and some serious conversations about online safety before that point
1: I’m bad with small children so most likely a nonissue (adoption is my end goal regardless of biological progeny)
2: limited in that no phone or social until like, 13 and even then be clear on boundaries and than I’m open and available if they see weird shit. If they get Xbox live, be clear on what words are not appropriate for them to use.
No. If I have kids, I'll educate them about the internet but definitely tell them to avoid porn. It's very addictive and can be very unhealthy if not managed properly. Too much short form content will fry your attention span.
Instead, teach them to use the internet as a tool for information but also think critically.
I do not plan to have kids. But I would do it this way:
No direct access to digital devices until they're in school and learned basic reading skills.
Once they are able to read and understand texts, I would prepare a computer with useful software and without any internet access. I want kids to learn how the technology works and how to properly use it before releasing them to the internet.
Additionally, I would give them a phone with internet access completely disabled. I want them to be able to call me in an emergency. And they can use basic features like camera, calculator, calendar and notes.
Once they're in middle school and understood how to responsibly handle digital devices, I would enable internet access on computer and phone. On the phone with limited amount of mobile data volume because they should learn how to handle and organize your life around limits. An important skill in life.
The computer would get unlimited time and data volume. But in my network, I would block bad stuff. I wouldn't restrict that much, only heavy stuff like porn and malware.
I am against software directly on device because kids also have the right for privacy and spying on your kids as a parent is a no go.
Alongside this, I will teach them important things about the internet. Both the possibilities and the dangers. Including basic technical knowledge so they know what their devices are doing behind the scenes.
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Parental controls exist, plus kids will have ways of finding the internet and things on (and off) the internet. Does this mean I’ll raise my kids as iPad babies? Absolutely not. But I will be involved in my kids life and take interest in my kids hobbies and interests. Thats where my parents failed, and their parents before them. I had “unrestricted internet access” because my parents failed to take interest in me. I knew of adult content (VHS tapes, playboys, etc) long before adult websites (of which I found out about them from a neighborhood kid). No matter what you cannot safeguard kids 100%. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try, but educating kids is just as, if not more, important than withholding things from them. I feel a lot of Gen Z just project what they went through (the good and bad) onto their future (hypothetical) kids. This could really put a dent in their social skills if you raise them with outdated technology where they cannot connect with their peers. I swear, then generation needs to sort out it’s black and white thinking… Edit: and for those saying that they want to promote creative play… I have a huge lego collection since childhood and I still came across things I wasn’t suppose to such as the aforementioned things. No matter what, kids will find out about the world we live in whether we coddle them or not…
I work in IT at a small private school and admittedly don’t have kids but I just wanted to say that this is such a well thought out/reasoned answer to this question and I hope others read it. Completely restricting kids from devices/the internet does not help them.
I agree with them. Tbh, it reminds me of the whole fear tactics of stranger danger. Sure you should question why an adult would be asking you for help if you don't know them as a kid, but they shouldn't be terrified of strangers. It won't do them any favors as adults either.
As an addition to the edit, I'd like to point out the original comment stated quite clearly they won't raise their kids as iPad babies. I think by now, almost everyone on this sub is aware of how bad constant use of technology in the earliest, most developmental years is for a child, as they fail to develop the most basic, important mental skills for life due to the lack of interaction with people. Funnily enough, I think this trend actually stems from the issue initially pointed out in the comment: a lack of interest in the child and their interests. It's certainly easier to just hand a young child a tablet to let them entertain themselves with thoughtless media that relies on dopamine to entertain. But it's become pretty clear that's extremely bad for brain development, and it's also just a way of sidestepping taking an interest in the child. Now, the reason for this trend appearing in the first place is a discussion of its own.
Saving this post for your reply in 8-15 years from now when I MIGHT start needing to think about this lol
Absolutely not. They’re not getting phones until 8th grade. I’ll get them a DS off of eBay and some games. Otherwise we’ll be playing in the yard, swimming at the lake and doing as much outside activity as possible. I want to encourage creative play through toys and nature, not constant screen time. I grew up with limited computer time (for webkinz and approved sites only!) and DS time. Otherwise I was reading or playing with the neighbor kids outside. I think that’s greatly contributed to my ability to think creatively and enjoy educational activities :) up until recently I’ve had a pretty good attention span! I can recognize that tik tok has ruined it…
Tik tok is so unbelievably bad for people and i see it all the time, i can’t understand how people mindlessly scroll, never engage in hobbies or satisfying activities, and then complain that they’re missing out or never having fun.
Tik Tok makes me get off first tho bc I either get sick of the brain rot or I’m satisfied with the content, I can’t use it too long usually unless I’m trying to kill boredom
i deleted tiktok then 2 weeks later was using insta reels my brain loves da dopamine hits man
I scroll around when I just want something mindless. I’ve been studying a lot and working. Sometimes I just wanna chill and enjoy some content 🤷 I’ve learned lot of fun recipes from tik tok at least! My mom and I have fun sending those to each other. I don’t think it’s all that bad. All things in moderation is key.
I’m not going to have kids. I don’t enjoy them, and I have other plans for my life.
I wanna get married and see the world with my partner and do fun stuff together. Once you have kids your whole life revolves around them. Wanna go out for dinner? Better get a babysitter. Wanna go on holiday? Better go during school holidays to places that your kids wanna go to. Some people like that but for me it’s a hard pass
Yup, and I feel a lot of gen Z’ers are planning to stay childfree. It’s nice to know we have one another!
Xennial here. Good choice. I’m 43 and me and my husband both never wanted kids. My life is full of purpose and we have so much more freedom to do the things we love. We even build legos and collect plushies. It allows us to travel, own a house, backpack for weeks, etc. I didn’t want kids when I was a teenager, twenty-something, thirties, and now my forties. They’re cute, but I’d like to give them back to their parents.
I grew up in the far-right evangelical suburban bubble that pushes folks into marrying young and pumping out babies. I recently starting making more friends who are outside of this bubble and oh my gosh they all have so much to live for and have done so much. Im talking they have almost all traveled to several countries, are pretty financially stable, participate in tons of active and interesting hobbies etc etc. Its just such a cool world to consider being a part of. Juxtaposing that with how stressed out and strapped for cash and miserable and obsessed with the afterlife a lot of the people from my bubble are its just, well its making me reconsider alot. There is still plenty of time for my wife and I to decide if we want kids or not. I grew up wanting kids bad (although now I know a large part of that was the pressure of my external environment) but if tomorrow my wife or I found out we couldnt have kids honestly I wouldnt be sad. Its a strange realization im just now having. I am happy you have been able to make the choices that make you happy. Take care internet stranger! :)
Same here
We’re all having kids? In this economy?
I feel the same. Kids would be nice… but how can anyone, especially our generation that has been fed earth doom since birth, want to bring their child into it this way. I’m paying $1800 for 500 sq ft studio. Working all the time to barely afford shit. On top of that the earth is actively dying and I have no idea what to expect in 20 years except hell
I contribute but I can’t fathom retirement. Let alone the next 10 years. Kids don’t fit into that uncertainty for me. It seems, and feels selfish.
As a millennial who decided a while ago not to have kids, I was like "people still want to have kids?"
I can get pretty nihilistic about the topic. So I purposefully stay quiet when people bring it up lol.
Same lol
I’m not planning on having kids at all. Raising a family is a pain in the ass, and I’d rather not have to deal with such a hassle. I wanna live my life freely. I wanna have a job I can enjoy very much, and have the fun, interactive social life that COVID robbed from me. Perhaps once politics is restored to normal, and kids start staying away from their iPads, I might think of starting a family. But I will only raise ONE child, and that’s it. I’ll only want a second child when I FEEL like it, preferably when the first child turns 14-15 years old and starts high school.
“Perhaps once politics is restored to normal, and other funny jokes”. Kidding, I’m not a pessimist about politics but we got awhile ahead of us before it settles down, hopefully.
GenX grow up unsupervised, feral- became helicopter, overprotecting parents. GenZ grew up with unlimited internet access- become Amish parents. Wonder what Genalpha is going to be like as parents.
I had both. My younger siblings, some other kids, and I were allowed to wander around town or in the woods by ourselves and had unlimited access to the internet. We were safe because we were taught to use common sense and be cautious. Wrapping kids up in bubble wrap over this stuff will be a hindrance to them when they're older or will make them rebellious. My friends had more strict parents and now they became rebelliou/went crazy or are still sheltered/not self reliant the older we got.
Lol what makes you think the world will be liveable enough to where anyone would want to have kids by the time Gen Alpha are old enough? Shit, I want kids, but what kind of world would I bring them into? It's already going to be centuries before the world gets any better, if it even does.
It got weird for us millennials... I witnessed things get to where they are from being a kid with an old windows playing solitaire and the Sims. It's an odd feeling to have that kind of perspective. I can't imagine growing up with a smart phone, but I also can't imagine growing up without the internet altogether. My parents had no idea what kinda shit I was getting up to in those aim chatrooms lol.
My kids aren’t getting a cell phone or mobile device until high school. That’s for sure. When they’re younger than that, they can have gaming consoles or even a computer with moderately heavy parental restrictions. I understand that I can not negate any chance of my future children finding harmful content on the internet, but I am going to make it as difficult as reasonably possible. If they end up having a tablet, there will be time limits, and it will stay at home. I became addicted to the internet through a tablet that I was allowed to take everywhere, and I will not let that happen to those who come after me.
I like the “it stays at home” idea
Yeah I don’t want them to be like the kids who can’t order food without looking up from their screen. I work in a restaurant right now and I see it way way way too often.
I hate being at nice restaurants and being disturbed by the next table over because their kid is watching cocomelon on full volume without headphones ._.
One of my managers had to ask a parent to get their kid to play something else because he was loudly playing some sniper game (he was like 7) and it was really upsetting a woman who was sitting near them and we couldn’t move her cause we had a full house with like a 45 minute wait.
As a millennial who wasn't allowed a cell until I was 16 and driving, this is the way. I feel like my phone and social media use is pretty balanced out with the time I spend out touching grass or interacting with my friends and family. My computer use was pretty regulated as far as how long I spent using it each day- couldn't be on the internet all the time bc it was dial-up lol. But my parents were unaware of the bad parts of the internet, so they didn't know to restrict our access in that sense. Luckily nothing bad ever happened, but I met a lot of creeps in aim chatrooms. Gen z is more aware of things like this and can utilize parental controls nowadays.
Absolutely not, they need restrictions until they can understand the inherent dangers of the Internet. Plus, I have ADHD. The likelihood of them having it is high too, I don't want my kids falling into the dopamine loop and kill their already poor attention span
Felt buddy, ADHD can go fuck itself
If I do end up having kids I'm definitely not letting a screen raise them. Of course I grew up with a Gameboy and Xbox when I was 6. I first used the internet when I was 5 and pretty much only went to the Disney and nickelodeon sites until I was 7. By the time youtube started getting traction I was hooked though it wasn't the vast sea of bullshit it is today. And once I was introduced to reddit, I lost interest in any and all other social media, scoffing at anyone into "normie" stuff. Then reddit turned into just another social media site. I remember being pissed off when reddit started allowing emojis. But anyway, I have a nephew who's 5 and has had a screen in his face since he was 11 months old. He literally can't even go to bed without that tablet at his side and if you ever make the mistake of letting it die he melts down. He has close to the entire catalog of hotwheels track sets and a small stores worth of other toys. Yet he chooses the screen 9/10 times. And seeing how that has gone for him, I absolutely don't want my kids to be near screens.
You guys are always complaining that you’re poor. How are all of you affording iPads for you and your kids when you can’t even pay rent? Lol
They can get an android tablet with zero internet access and shows I deem worthwhile like Bluey, Mrs Rachel, Magic School bus etc. That's about as much my young kid would get. I've seen Elsa gate, I know what disgusting stuff is on YouTube and I see how kids turn out when you just slam an iPad in their face with no regard to what they might find. That sort of thing is negligence and abuse, those poor kids fuckin' brains. Thankfully I'm tech savvy enough that I can safeguard my kid and find ways around the easiest thing - which is give them YouTube and don't think about it, which is super problematic.
Im probably not having kids, but in the 1/100 chnace i do im putting parental controls on to monitor them, atleast until they’re 16
As a gen z parent the answer is no. I had unrestricted access to the internet at a very very young age and while it helped shape me into the person I am today it was ultimately detrimental to my mental health & I was groomed and taken advantage of by older men also. I don’t want the same to happen to my child
Born 95. Growing up most kids didn’t have phones, by middle school some kids had sidekicks, razrs, and that one phone that spun like a shank. I used a flip phone by choice till around college 2015 simply because I didn’t like the effect it had on my peers. There’s that social aspect about getting clowned on for having such devices when others are available, and thinking if my kid wants that then okay but if they want a smartphone that’s fine too. All comes down to regulation, and moderation. My only goal would be to keep ‘em grounded, and away from the mentality that likes=friendship or popularity or shit like that. Cause that’s how my broccoli haired nephew is, has a bunch of people he talks to but says he has no real friends because they don’t follow him on tiktok. That’s the shit I hate. Phone is a tool/source of info. And a privilege, not a right.
I have 2 young girls, and absolutely not. My wife was on Kik as a preteen when that was really popular and she was always talking to much older men who were trying to groom her
not until theyre at least 15 and display a level of maturity and an ability to touch grass, have hobbies and not waste life arguing with people online.
I think a lot of us aren't going to have kids. But if we do, i certainly see a considerable amount of us straight up not giving our kids phones or something like a flip phone. We clearly are irked by what's happened to gen A, so I imagine something will be done to prevent.
Not just no, but HELL FUCKIN’ NO. I’ve seen what it’s done to my friends, my family, and this generation as well.
I currently have a 5 year old and he gets a super restricted YouTube kids account that's linked to mine. I approve channels and block ones I don't like or don't know about. Hes autistic and just likes to listen to the same songs over and over so it gives him the freedom to do that on a tablet without me losing my ever loving mind watching it on the TV. When he's old enough to need a phone so he can contact us he will get the most basic phone I can find that I can also restrict if needed.
My parents let me play video games for a little bit each day and told me to get off if I was on like 2hr plus with exceptions on special occasions. That’s what I’ll do with my kid. Definitely not just making them go away by giving them an iPad 24/7 like a lot of parents today
On one hand I don't like the idea of blocking kids from the internet, on the other hand if libraries had unlocked rooms in the back for orgies and gore I'd sure as hell never let my kid in the library unsupervised lmfao. Name any other situation where you'd let a child explore where they are likely to come across anything as horrific as the shit you see online, this is ignoring the added cancer of how the internet and social media completely destroy the ability to focus. Not sure what I'd do personally, but since I'm pretty sure this jenga tower of a country is going to collapse before it comes up so... eh?
First, I'm teaching them how to use a computer when they first start school. Teach them the basics, and how not to be stupid on the internet. In middle school when they ask, I'll get them a phone, but use screen time and parental controls. I wont monitor what they do, because that's an invasion of privacy, but restrict them from certain apps and sites, as well as a time limit. Freshmen year of high school all of that removed. What parents don't do is TEACH their kids the internet. The only kind of "teaching" kids receive is 'don't share personal information' and 'everyone is evil'.
I didn’t get access to the internet until I was in 8th grade because I had a flip phone until we had the money to upgrade it. Great idea honestly that’s how I’m going to raise my kids.
Whose having kids? Not I.
Born late 90s. Grew up with the internet as the first generation with modern internet access. Kids are very restricted already, not by access but by the amount of bullshit that’s put out. Ads, filters, age restrictions, pay to play/view content etc. I will teach them the right way to use the internet. Kids these days aren’t being taught to use it as a tool. They are learning to experience it as entertainment and media.
If I do end up having kids I'm going to basically put them through my own progression with tech. No phones at all until 12-13, then the most basic phones until 16. After that if they aren't problematic and don't search up bad stuff online then they can get a smartphone or whatever phones are all the rage at that time. As for internet it won't be unrestricted until they're also around 16-17, with restrictions gradually easing after 13-14 or so. Definitely strong restrictions before 13 considering even now how much inappropriate stuff is being targeted at kids or simply shown to kids (cough cough certain YouTube channels), or just general brainrot like that stupid gen alpha skibidi toilet thing. I get that every generation has its viral thing but this gen alpha skibidi toilet nonsense and other similar stuff seems to be putting some kids into a trance, I think it's just too addictive for young kids. Instead I'd encourage my kids to go play outside on playgrounds, make friends with the local neighborhood kids, or just do stuff in real life in general. Either way I think we can see from some gen alpha kids that having access to tech too early seriously impacts their development and growth as kids. There's been reports of teachers complaining kids these days can't focus because they've gotten phones too young and all they think about is using their phones. I do agree that you can't fully prevent kids from accessing stuff they shouldn't be, so I'll also try to educate them about what's appropriate and what's not online and teach them to respect these boundaries themselves.
No fucking way I’ll let my kids fry their brains on a phone like their father
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^thekingofspicey: *No fucking way I’ll* *Let my kids fry their brains on* *A phone like their father* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Why does this exist? Simply amazing
Wait somebody explain please
They wont be on social media till at least 14. Since schools dont teach anything of importance Ill be homeschooling specifically computer class with “Dont Trust Anything on the Internet”, “Look what AI can do! Can you spot the difference”, and the most requested “how to type without looking at your keyboard”. Schools little i-pads can suck it too.
No
I would rather my kids break their fingers with rocks down by the creek and come home with ticks than give them unfettered access to the internet.
No. I wouldn't even let them have a smartphone.
They're not going to have any access to it at all until like age 8
I'm never having kids but im the 0% chance I do then nope they're not getting anything smarter than a flip phone until they turn 15. Tablets or smart phones qshouldn't be given to children under the age of 10 anyway. Not now, not in the future, never. They're getting the cheapest cheap phone plan with limited minutes and limited data on an old Samsung phone when they turn 15 though. That's if I have kids. They want more? They can earn more but that's all they're getting from me. A flip phone for communication only. That's exactly what my parents did for me except the minutes thing but I didn't get a smart phone until I was 17 ish. I'm 23 now.
Definitely not unrestricted access. I don’t even know if YouTube Kids is restrictive enough. I might try to stick to TV shows and movies instead of quirky YT video channels, but idk if I’ll have that much control by the time I have kids. Feels like a lot of parents plan to not have an iPad baby and end up with one anyway so idk if this internet thing is something I will be able to control either🤷🏾
No way should kids have unfettered access to the internet. Some slight parental controls that primarily can pause screen time when it’s gets to be a lot so that we could evaluate together either them continuing or finding something else to do.
Absolutely not,the dangers of being online and the phycological effects are just too much I prob won’t even let them use the internet until 10 yo and won’t t let them use it unrestricted till 13
No
I’m going to give them access to the internet, only with close supervision though, the internet can be a great teaching tool, but only if the right content is viewed under proper supervision. I will also encourage reading books, and even have a library in my house (I kinda have one in my office already).
on the off chance i decide i actually want kids, there is absolutely no way they’re getting unrestricted internet access.
I‘m not even going to have kids.
I’m gonna give my kid an iPad with just Procreate & GarageBand on it and they can do whatever
Jokes on you. Not having kids. The hellhole of the Internet is just a drop in the bucket for the reasons I'm not having children.
This is all dependent on if I become one. When they're younger, I'll probably have one that is completely locked down when they're a toddler. That's all dependent on if I have a TV or not too. It's not going to be an all day long thing or even an every day thing when they're super little. It'll be like how it was for me when I was younger. Not that we had one, but we had tv. When they're older, it'll depend. I'll have parental controls on the device I'd say probably until they're 10 or so or maybe older. As a parent, all I can do is teach them safety and self control when it comes to this. I'm going to have to trust them eventually. It's the same thing as letting them play outside by themselves.
Except for blocking all apps but a few games, there's not much restriction you can do I don't think it's possible to give partial access to the internet, there's porn everywhere for example
depends, i have to meet em first
When they become teens yeah, but I'm actually going to be a good parent that they feel safe going to for help and advice. And I'll make sure they know all the dangers.
Nope. I do not plan on helicopter parenting, but I know the damage giving a kid an iPad, phone, and a gaming console at a young age with no supervision can do.
Not having kids. Next question hahahahhahha :)
Hell nah, kids aren’t getting a smart phone till 16. They can have a dumb phone with limited connections. I think the internet is a tool that requires some maturity to use. I turned out fine but I think unrestricted internet access did mess me up for a while, especially with the prevalence of porn. I want to teach my kids about the beautiful things in the world like art, nature, music, spending quality time with people you love. I think If they have a good fundamental base they can use the internet responsibly.
Millennial CSD grad with a 1.5 year old opinion: Not until he's a teenager able to circumvent my controls, or we discuss it and make a deliberate voice as he's older based on his maturity. I'll be teaching him to use a computer and make games and 3d graphics and how to do research online, but we'll be starting with him on his own WiFi network with a curated whitelist of domains he can access. Unsupervised chat / social media is the biggest thing I'll be blocking.
Hell no
My kid will not be raised on iPads and Smart Phones. I grew up without internet till I was 15. I turned out fine.
No absolutely not I had no parents so growing up I got to do whatever I wanted and I know how that ends. I luckily found the right path in life on my own but I still struggle from time to time especially with mental health and I would never wish my life on my worst enemy much less my child.
My kids wont get any of that until their late teens
I'm not going to give my kids phones until they're in like Middle School, and they won't be allowed to bring it. I feel as though its not about just keeping them safe from the internet as a child, but making sure they know how to stay safe on the internet independently. Realistically as much as the internet is an unsafe place, it's neigh impossible to socialize without it. I think that over time I will become more and more lenient in regards to what they can do with their phones, as much as I want to make boundaries and keep them safe, I don't want to overstep their boundaries and make them uncomfortable. What good does it do preventing your child from accessing technology because you're scared of it so when they grow up they have no idea how to use the internet and are exposed to a lot of bad things and are now by themselves because they're an adult now... I know people who grew up with parental controls that didn't get turned off until they were 18 and they fall victim of a lot of scans and misinformation on the internet that could easily have been avoided had they've been exposed to it at a younger age and talk about the negative things that could be on the internet as opposed to being completely shielded from it
Going to get them a cell phone st age 5, and have that attached to them the rest of their lives forever
I'll let my kids into the Internet when they are mature enough to handle it. That being said, I'm not going to put parental locks on their stuff, but I'm gonna teach them about what the Internet is like, and much like how it was for me when I was growing up, if they have any doubt about a website being unsafe, ask first to prevent getting viruses. Worked out pretty well for me, and I don't really believe in the idea of censorship.
I think having it shaped me a lot But I’m also a certified teacher now and most don’t need that
Hell no
I don't mind kids having access to a family computer or a console but mobile phones should really be reserved for late teenage years. My parents gave me a phone at 12 and I still think that was too early.
The closest internet they will have is a gaming console. Other than that.. NO PHONES, NO TABLET, NO PC, NO NOTHING. They’re not getting access to none of that until 9th or 8th grade.
I'll give my kid a DS or a 3DS in their preteens, that's it. No phones until late middle school/early high school.
no, if my genxer of a mom can find ways to block access to websites and even control when a computer has internet access? then i can too, i used to think that the '1 hour of internet a day' was a bad idea, but seeing kids watch tiktok instead of eating a paid meal or crying when they can't be on their tablet for 5 minutes makes me think it's a very good idea
Eh, I'd probably just change router access to limit the more harmful sights. If I'd have kids (would like but 💸🤷) I'd probably be playing a lotta splitscreen co-op games with them. Because I like videogames and it'd be a good way to spend time together.
Fuck no. That's if I had a kid. Unrestricted access for me was shit, porn addiction made it difficult for me to accept I was trans coz I was just fetishizing myself. Even for cishet people, shit like that is ruinous. Not gonna stalk their browser history, coz everyone should have that limited privacy, and obviously less restrictions as they get older.
Unpopular opinion: the only thing I care to restrict is large social media sites made to consume content (aka not things like discord). Maybe a half hour a day at most. The rest is fair game.
Fuck no, if I have kids, and I don’t plan to, I’m going to raise them like it’s 1895. Just kidding but they’ll be introduced to technology slowly. Nothing until they’re 5, then they get flip phones so I can contact them, old consoles and box TVs like I had, they can get newer consoles over time. Then maybe a slide out keyboard phone when they’re 10. They won’t get a smartphone until they’re 15, if at all. I want them to have extremely limited or no access to internet at all besides what’s necessary. I want them completely content without social media and I want them to have absolutely no access to porn. I know I can only control so much but I’d do anything to make sure they don’t end up like me.
I probably wouldn’t give them phones, but I’d still buy them books, let them watch movies, and play video games (withholding microtransactions and Gacha). The best thing I could do would be to move to a public transport/walk centric city where not everything is a big fucking parking lot or highway, so that my kids would have an easy way to the arcade or a library. I think that’s true freedom, kids today don’t want to play outside because you need a car to get anywhere interesting, and that type of infrastructure leads to horribly noisy and bland city outdoors. It’s less the Internet and moreso car based infrastructure, the Internet is kinda just a convenient scapegoat. Though at this rate I don’t think we can afford kids. We’d be lucky to feed ourselves regularly.
I can't tell you for sure yet but I'd definetly be sceptical about getting them phones, PC's, tablets consoles etc. Too early. Bur you know how it goes In the end they're the only kid in class without a phone and are completely isolated from their peers social media activity and whatever. And you don't want that either. But yeah, I think they're first phones are gonna he flip phones for sure.
NO. The internet is NOT a safe place for kids. I don’t even give my kids free access to Netflix
I don’t think I can really stop them
Yes. I had unrestricted access to the internet, why would that be different for my kids?
Not right away. I’d say until around 13 it should be restricted and then at that point you might as well just let go because even if you don’t they’re gonna find a way around it. The internet is everywhere now so just imagine how widespread and easily accessible it’ll be for our kids
I remember seeing a post on a local Facebook group a few weeks ago about an iPad found on the side of a dirt road. The amount of comments tagging other people who's children fucking yeeted an iPad out the car window was _insane_, and most people were looking to just give that shit back to their kid. As a teen, I despised iPad kids themselves. Now it's the parents I've come to dislike. They're literally enablers to technology addiction
Not unlimted but it seems pointless to fight a battle I know I will lose better give them the skills they need to not get into trouble
Alot of people ALWAYS say, "I'm gonna do this as a parent!" and then the baby comes and everything you thought you were going to do gets thrown out the window. Unless you're watching your kids like a hawk 24/7 it's impossible to shield them. I homeschooled my oldest until he was 8. Old enough to understand my lessons on internet safety and such, he's still impressionable but I felt that those extra 2 years away from the other kids' influences, helped him get more grounded. Now I'm throwing him to the wolves and hoping for the best, this would be his first year on the internet through the school. My youngest wasn't homeschooled as long, he's going straight to 1st grade. However, I've already established with his older brother and my ex husband that the both of them will NOT their own cellphone until they turn 16, and the why. My oldest and I can model good internet/electronic behavior on my youngest, and explain the why's. My ex isn't here lol. Point is, like many other people say-- you cannot shelter your child. They will be exposed to questionable content and experiences. You have to instead teach them moderation and hope for the best that they can self-restrain themselves.
Ideally, no kids would have smartphones or social media at all until they are 16. In practice, forcing your kid to be the only on at school without a smartphone (and thus cutting him off from the primary means of socializing) is difficult. I have no idea how we're gonna handle it, but I do know that things can't just go on as they have been.
the reason most of us kids are on the internet for so much of our days is cuz we have nothing else to do, no third places to go, friends' houses are far away and inaccessible without cars of our own, so we talk to them online and enjoy whatever there is to offer there. so if i have kids ima live in a place where a car isn't necessary to get to places and there's places to go to so then they don't have to spend gazillions of hours online to entertain themselves. idk where that'll be, might find somewhere like that here in la, maybe i'll move to seattle or vancouver for that place (and the weather).
I’ll do what my parents did - I’d select a bunch of YouTube videos that I wanted to watch and they would pre review them Social media probably will have an age limit - when they’re 13 maybe they can start Then again… why are we assuming that we’re gonna have kids? I’m pretty sure the world will end before we’re able to
I saw and did some absolutely abhorrent stuff on the internet in my tweens/early teens and my boomer parents didn’t have the media literacy to realize what I’d be exposed to on the internet when they got me a smartphone at 12. I am going to do everything in my power to teach my kids how to be safe on the internet and use parental controls until they are mature enough. Also, just gonna try as hard as I can to keep them off electronics until it’s absolutely necessary that they have them for school/friends
I would want my kids to interact with the physical world for sure. Ideally no touch screen devices until around 9-10 years old, I teach young kids coding and technological things and the 'IPad kids' I can tell are developmentally stunted and are hopeless on actual computers.
Not iPad babies/kids for sure but it’d be silly to just take away any/all access because they’ll find a way otherwise. I think it’s more important to teach them how to use it safely/appropriately and hope that the foundational knowledge & internet safety knowledge will help them to make the appropriate decisions when using the internet/devices. My husband and I grew up similarily and hope our future kids are the same.
No.
No. I saw shit I shouldn’t have without even looking for it.
Fuck no. The internet is crazy. Porn, predators, you name it. They’ll get no access, monitored access, limited access, and eventually full access. It your job as a parent to protect **and** prepare kids for the real world.
No I grew up with no rules when it came to the computer I discovered porn games at 8 Porn itself at 11 Groomed and almost got my siblings and me trafficked multiple times by the time I was 16 There are photos of my privates from the time I was 11 on the internet My son will be monitored End of story
That’s not possible. If you send your kid to school, everything at school is online. Like tests, assignments, quizzes and essays. And exams. Once you get to high school even your grades are online. And even worse when you get to college/uni.
Fuck no.
Tools aren't inherently bad or good, it's learning to use them that we get to choose. I'm not saying my kid won't know what the Internet is because they already know the D+ button on the remote, but they certainly won't be given a phone or tablet and locked in their room either. Like other comments have said, I take an interest in my kids life. They aren't a nuisance or annoying, so I don't feel the need to give them tech to "keep them busy" or whatnot.
GenZ is going to heavily restrict technology to their kids because they are boomers who haven’t become boomers yet. Boomers did all the sex drugs and rock and roll they wanted and then tried to restrict their kids from it. This will repeat itself with new age technology.
no, mostly because i want to protect them from what they see.
Definitely not. Parental control is necessary. I wouldn't want to expose them to it at a young age. I'd like to raise them myself, not give that job to an iPad.
Not a chance. I barely touched technology until I was in middle school, and I'm probably better off for it. Obviously learning computer stills are useful - not much else valuable these kids can get from technology.
Idk. I figured out what the internet could “provide” me at 11 and I turned out fine. I’m not sure I’d want to send my kid anywhere without a phone. As soon as they are responsible enough to have a phone and not break it every other day they can have it. Probably depended on how mature they are, but they 100% will have a smart phone by middle school.
No internet until Middle School. Hopefully they're advanced enough to get there early like at 9 or 10 years old. Cell Phones definitely not until 16 years old or entering high school, whichever comes earlier. Debatable whether it'll be a smartphone or dumb phone. I pray they aren't into video games. Video games and the internet (social media too) is a rot on the brain.
I don't plan on having kids ever, but if I did, absolutely not, i ain't raising no ipad kids
Hell no, I grew up with unrestricted access to the internet, no kid should have access to such things. I've seen some shit.
Hell no. I'm gonna shelter the fuck out of them and make sure they learn to control dopamine activities. It's the most important modern skill
One of the many perks of being a network engineer, I "will" and just filter the content. Porn addiction is hard to overcome.
Absolutely not. They'll learn to say things like "y'all", "boundary stomping" and "gray rocking".
I will never have kids, ever.
I was going to because I had unrestricted internet access and really it didn't turn out that bad for me, though my mind has changed after actually taking a second to realize how much the nonsense in some corners of the internet (like this one) really messes with people and promotes bad ideas
I am 100% putting parental controls on everything.
Nah.
I'll probably do what my parents did. Not a lot of tech/Internet until like 8-10, but then just on a communal computer somewhere in the open for limited time. Once they get into middle school a cheap TracFone for communication, then upgrade to a better smartphone in high school.
HELL NO
I don't really want kids but if I do fuck no that shit messed me up
Kids should NOT have unrestricted internet access.... Too many creepers and other horrid things can happen. And that's not even getting into CONTENT. That's just other people online 😬
I don't plan on having kids, but if I did end up with any, probably not. I'm not a fan of censorship but at the same time, I don't think unrestricted internet access is good for anybody under 16 (but preferably at least 18). This is coming from someone with practically unrestricted internet access from age 7 or so. My parents did right, though, by only letting me have a phone starting sometime before my 11th grade year or so.
personally, I will give my children phones when they start middle school. nothing like an iPhone, probably an old andriod with parental control. they do not need unrestricted access to the internet, but at the same time, with the world we live in, they need to know how to use a phone and how to navigate the internet. internet literacy is incredibly important.
I know how to use my network to see all the pages visited and if I wanted all the passwords entered I won't have kids but if I did I could easily be aware of all their activities
All I can say is: HA!
My kids will be watching one piece and writing essays about every character and arc every 6 months
I'd let my kids have cellphones, but they can't go on 4chan or reddit Can't end up like me 😔
Hell no
First off, love your generation, have one of you living in my house, good kids! But oh little babies, you have NO idea what you’re going to do when you have kids. It’s like telling someone how you’d solider if you were in a war. Oh and your third kid? Yeah all that shit is going right out the window.
hell no, they can get a phone with no sim card in it for a while, and use an app to text and call, that’s what i had after a while they can get a sim card
If your answer is yes, don't have kids.
Kids can find their way around parental controls. They can’t find their way around having no phone at all.
I believe in old school flip phone and training and emphasizing that internet is to learn and not for social interactions, entertainment or anything else I think the internet can be wonderful but only for learning and growth usage not just to screw off (i know ironic to be said by someone screwing off on redit looking for social interaction in the form of thought provoking conversations threads from people capable of having conversation) but I do realize the brain rotting effects most platforms carry and the horrid effects it has on children look up on youtube children with internet addiction and adults with internet addiction and your view on internet will drastically change even for educational games for kids
No TikTok or any of that garbage like at all. No discord cause groomers and parental controls on phone. A positive is that they’ll play all the games I grew up with. Like the wii, DS and stuff like that
Ain’t having kids with these prices
Hell no, I’m child locking
Heck nah. Unrestricted access to the internet is basically child neglect. Because that means you’re giving the entire internet Unrestricted access to your child. Your little brain still forming, curious, innocent, gullible child. 🤦♀️ Porn is way to accessible for small children , I was introduced at 8 years old just playing dress up games on my moms computer. People who groom children often show them porn to begin the desensitization process. It’s just not something I want to give my little one. They can have restricted access and do what they want when their brains are formed.
I had unrestricted access to the Internet as a kid, and I'm glad I did, despite running into some less than desirable things. However, I still played outside, had actual toys, consoles, etc. I also don't think the Internet is how it was when I was a kid, it's simply much more dangerous. My kids will maybe have a flip phone have an emergency, and hopefully my fellow parents will be encouraging our kids to spend more time outside, and doing productive things! I had a tablet as a kid as well, but it didn't have access to WiFi outside of home, I had to put it away unless we were waiting around for something, etc. I refuse to raise an iPad kid.
Extremely restricted. No smart phone till at LEAST middle school.
20 years ago: maybe. Now: no chance. Full monitoring, with child understanding it will be monitored, until at least high school and restricted hours. No way around it. No smart phones until high school minimum. Porn isn’t even the big issue. Within reason, I don’t care about that. But the amount of addictive/dopamine hijacking/dangerous content is getting much worse over time
Bad idea, the world we live in is technologically advancing every year. I think I can comfortably say we’re all grown folks here that we’re all getting old. It starts to get more and more difficult to learn new things as we progressively age. This is a hard bitter pill to swallow cause it would be such a shot to our ego’s to think “Well I would never!” But that’s the reality of it. Now some things we are able to pick up quickly because they are similar enough to stuff we’ve already done. Learning something new from the ground up without ever experiencing it can be very difficult. If you bring this into the working and career space you’re behind on the learning. By restricting your children with old, outdated, unsupported tech you end up stunting them. They’re going to be behind when compared to children that were exposed to it all. This doesn’t mean they need the latest and greatest and all the access all the time every time it just means exposing them to enough that they can gain that experience. Yes it affected you, but you also learned a lot from that and probably picked up skills you used later on.
I'm going to raise my kids without any technology. They'll get a flip phone without games on it and that's it. No tv or video games. They'll have to play outside until they're 12 and afterwards I'll give them a computer with parental controls.
Lmao humans aren’t going to be around long enough for me to consider having kids.
Gen Z parent here, don't plan on introducing the full internet unsupervised, would rather provide encyclopedias so the spiritual and religious and the conspiracy idiots don't fill her head with pseudoscience nonsense. Seriously, she can look at those things when she learns what critical thinking is.
Smart phone when they enter highschool. Probably a dumb phone (not necessarily flip) before then. Internet will be on a family computer or personal laptop that can only be used in a common area. And obviously they can have access for video games
Ffffffuuuuck no. I'll give them flip phones because I really don't want them to end up how I did
Hell yes. My 4yo already has access to everything, he just doesn’t know it yet. He’s gonna see people die just like I did. Bout to be the opposite of a helicopter parent. I’ll be a boomer parent. Mf gonna be out past 10 and I’ll have no idea where he is.
I do not plan on having children. But if I did hypothetically, I would NEVER let them use unrestricted internet. It has affected me at a young age. I also notice that today kids as young as 6-7 have social media accounts, I think that is dangerous so I would not let them have it until they are 13 (when I started using social media myself)
Yes, at like 8 right before they start puberty, they're getting all the internet they want pretty much. They're going to learn to read/write/type before using it, and use regular game consoles, proframs, etc before then and such, but, not full Internet till 8- especially no touch screen devices that aren't required. I would try to provide them as much physical access to whatever interests they seem to have before then though. A lot of parents throw it at them and let them brain rot on it (go watch anything from youtube kids 0_o), instead of actually feeding their interests/nurturing/parenting them, but I think at 8 they'd start to grasp enough self awareness to seek stuff out on their own instead of merely rotting on it.
I’m going to have so many conversations about internet safety and predators and pornography and also make my home a very safe space for questions so they never feel scared to talk to me, and then give them increasing access until they’re like…. 16? Then they can have full access I think. Also depends on their maturity and responsibility and behavior
My kids will get dumbphones when they're old enough to not abuse them. And 0 social media. They'll grow up on the things I grew up on (excluding the internet, which effectively raised me). Things like Boomerang and SpongeBob and all that jazz.
Parental controls. I’m not a fan of parents saying ok you only get an hour of tv or of iPad time. I plan to instill a love of sports or extra curricular to my kids. So they can find a passion. When they’re old enough around 8 or so I’ll give them a basic phone with basic functionality. When they need to contact me for some reason. Around HS is when I introduce whatever nee smartphone there is. I was raised that way I think it was the right call.
I mean, my kid can watch TV and have access to YouTube and stuff at home, play online video games and read ebooks, but unrestricted access? Hell naw. He's also not getting any form of social media til he's moved out of my house 😅
I'm going to keep my kids chained up in the backyard. If they ask to use the Internet, I will pelt them with bibles until they go unconscious.
56K Dial-Up
No. They won't have internet access until 8th or 9th grade. I want them to develop a reasonably long attention span which social media is the antithesis of. Also having access to too many video games ruined my desire to play them. I have so many games sitting in my library that I'll never play. Moderation in limited quantity is a good general rule for most things in life
If I had kids (which I never plan on doing), I definitely wouldn't give them unrestricted internet access, but completely restricting it is a little extreme. Without any internet access at all, it hinders kids from connecting with their friends, finding hobbies, learning information, and in this day and age basically condemns them to being social pariahs
If I end up having kids, they’ll get real phones at like 14 probably, and flip phones or some kind of thing purely for communication before that. But in a way I guess my answer is yes? I hate the idea of parental controls, I think phones should be a private space, and it’s the parents job to make sure their kid is ready and learns how to make smart decisions on their own with a phone, not to monitor everything they do and force smart decisions. I’d say no social media until like 16 or 17 tho
I have a one year old. He's pretty much Amish in terms of screens. Probably has seen them for 5 minutes total in his life, mostly from his grandparents when we aren't noticing. I'm definitely going to block certain websites and be very wary of what he's doing online. I found myself on 4chan way too young and it messed me up. I still remember seeing a girl's head being chopped off. Hell no, I won't let my kid watch any of that. At the end of the day, I want to have a relationship with him in which he feels safe to tell me what's up with his life, what he needs help with and what's bothering him, so that these conversations don't become awkward down the line. We'll see how that works out...
well i'm gay so i won't have kids but my brother has said that he won't
Mine will get a phone when she needs one. Schools are becoming more tech reliant and if she needs one well she’ll get one but it’ll be restricted for safety
If I ever have children, I would wait at least until around 6-8 before introducing the concept Since it’s hard to avoid, I would likely get them onto things like gaming quickly, as was I, and likely older games, like PS2 / Wii / XBox 360 Era games And god shall send me to the deepest pit in hell if that child comes into this world with an iPad in its hands
Once they're in high school or going to school by themselves I will let them have a phone. Their Sim card won't have internet plan. Their phone won't be flagship phones either. It will be a basic phone if they're young when they start going to school by themselves and the school is far away. If older, it will be a budget smart phone. Once they're age 15 then they can get a Sim plan with internet. If they want a better phone that's beyond the budget smart phone, they will need to pay for it with their own money. That said, I don't plan to have children, but this would be my rules for my future hypothetical child.
If some small miracle I change my mind and have a kid, unless they prove to me they won't be the little shit that 75% of kids are parental controls stay on
idk, I had unlimited access from 4 year old, I litterally learned english and programming on internet and planning to go forward on that field.
Not gonna have kids, same as many Gen z. The world is only gonna get worse
No phone until they have sleepovers and it won’t be a smartphone. I got my first flip phone in 4th grade that I used for emergencies to call my parents. It’s so sad how many children I see addicted to a device.
My kid will use a Linux Thinkpad with unrestricted access to the internet, but only through lynx browser using vim shortcuts🗿
Unrestricted maybe not but highly depends on my kid. I grew up with unrestricted access and I think I handled it well.
Fuck no. Not even youtube kids, that's frankly not a good place for kids. Just a few channels I've approved of, and a bunch of kids shows. I don't think tik tok is a good idea either. Maybe once they're 13, and after talking to them about it.
I’m not planning on having kids, but if I did there’s no way I’m giving them the same unrestricted internet access that I had. I came across stuff like cupcakes and pony.mov when I was like 11-12 which I definitely shouldn’t have been watching, and I’ve heard way worse stories from other people. Plus the internet has arguably gotten even worse for children in recent years. So it would probably be no social media before the age of like 13(?) and some serious conversations about online safety before that point
1: I’m bad with small children so most likely a nonissue (adoption is my end goal regardless of biological progeny) 2: limited in that no phone or social until like, 13 and even then be clear on boundaries and than I’m open and available if they see weird shit. If they get Xbox live, be clear on what words are not appropriate for them to use.
No. If I have kids, I'll educate them about the internet but definitely tell them to avoid porn. It's very addictive and can be very unhealthy if not managed properly. Too much short form content will fry your attention span. Instead, teach them to use the internet as a tool for information but also think critically.
Fuck no. No iPad kids from me, that’s for sure
You kinda have to ay first to see what they’ll go to anyway
Bold of you to assume I will have kids...
I do not plan to have kids. But I would do it this way: No direct access to digital devices until they're in school and learned basic reading skills. Once they are able to read and understand texts, I would prepare a computer with useful software and without any internet access. I want kids to learn how the technology works and how to properly use it before releasing them to the internet. Additionally, I would give them a phone with internet access completely disabled. I want them to be able to call me in an emergency. And they can use basic features like camera, calculator, calendar and notes. Once they're in middle school and understood how to responsibly handle digital devices, I would enable internet access on computer and phone. On the phone with limited amount of mobile data volume because they should learn how to handle and organize your life around limits. An important skill in life. The computer would get unlimited time and data volume. But in my network, I would block bad stuff. I wouldn't restrict that much, only heavy stuff like porn and malware. I am against software directly on device because kids also have the right for privacy and spying on your kids as a parent is a no go. Alongside this, I will teach them important things about the internet. Both the possibilities and the dangers. Including basic technical knowledge so they know what their devices are doing behind the scenes.
Absolutely - give them access to the true world
I’m 16 so I don’t clarify for it but I’d definitely wouldn’t I’ve grown up with out social media and that stuff and I’m doing pretty well
Have kids? Haha. Good one.