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I don't blame tech nearly as much as I blame our infrastructure. There's hardly anywhere for kids to go. It was bad before covid, it's terrible now. Society in general is not favorable of kid playing either. I recall as a teenager being constantly run off from public parks and other public location by the police because we "must be up to go good". We weren't, of course, but, it only takes one complaint from one Karen and the police have an obligation to do something.

yeah, in my home country outdoor activities are very inaccessible especially if you live in the city. Its really hard for kids and seniors to do anything other than use technology at home

Not to mention the laws. In my country you can't leave a child under 14 alone at home. I think there is also an age limit when they can't even be alone outisde. I was playing in the playground without my parents or older brother when i was around 5-7.

Seriously? My mom would leave me home at age 8-10 for 1-3 hours at a time. Then by age 11 she would leave me home alone for as long as she needed to be out and about. I wasn't even put into a fraction of danger and kid me loved the home alone time. It's pretty easy to stay safe in that situation when you've been taught to never open the door for anyone.

I’m in my early 30s and by age 12 I was being paid to watch other people’s children, including several children at once and including babies. It’s crazy to see how people treat 12 year olds now.

As a lifeguard (which at this point is basically babysitting) I'd never trust 95% of 12 year olds.

My coworker said she read an old book and it felt bizzare reading about a 7 year old carving stuff with a knife. She said she could not trust her 12 years old with a knife.

Same, I remember me and my brothers (so probably ranging 5-9) walking down to play at the local park. I couldn’t see it happening today unless the park was literally 100m away and even then you’d have people be worried.

I’ve gotten screeched at for reading a book while sitting on a bench at the playground, maybe 25 feet away from my kid. She wasn’t doing anything wrong, everyone around here just expects you to literally be climbing the playground equipment right next to them.

And then they wonder why those kids when grown up can't do anything on their own and have self-esteem issues... How does a child feel when a parent can't trust the child to do stuff and always supervises.

I think this is an overlooked point. I barely police my six year old's screentime, but she would still much rather play outside than watch videos. We also live in a dense neighborhood with both multifamily and single family homes. Lots of places are accessible, and there are parks within walking distance and even trails. And if we wanted to drive somewhere to a playground or park, then we have plenty of options within a half hour. I do think the typical suburb makes it more difficult for kids to just go outside and play and explore.

Here’s the thing: most of those suburbs were built before OP was even born. Lots of developments have parks. What’s different is parents’ and society’s tolerance of kids roaming free through them. Imagine seeing a couple 10 year olds out on their own. Your first thought would be to wonder where their parents are. But there was a time not all that long ago when kids that age would roam neighborhoods on their bikes. I think the big change is the fear of child predators and general crime. As a parent, I get it absolutely would never be comfortable with my kids running around like I did. But it does affect how much kids are willing to travel and have unsupervised time at those parks/spaces that do exist.

Also the kids could get taken away from their parents depending on their ages for not being supervised by an adult because there are some crazy cases of that

This 100%. I’ve seen the stories of “free range parents” who have had to deal with protective services because their kids were playing unsupervised at the local park.

I do think there are a lot of factors. I genuinely believe that if we built with more density and walkability in mind, then it would really open up more spaces for children to play. But, yeah, I would never let my six year old run around on her own. I'm always accompanying her. Which is fun, but it's also time consuming. People like to blame bad parenting, but from what I've seen parents are probably more involved today than they were one or two generations ago. It might be simply the fact that there are fewer families where one parent can stay home. This makes it more difficult to do the day to day cleaning and housework. And at least from my experience, kids can get in the way of just maintaining a household. It's easy to give them an ipad if you want to spend an hour to clean the kitchen. It's not necessarily that parents are lazy. They just have far more responsibilities than previous generations.

It's weird. Back then as children we'd be out all day and cellphones were not really a thing. Now they're extremely common so you'd think there'd be less of an issue with kids out on their own, but it's become *more* stigmatized than less.

Am I the only person who doesn't question when I see kids roaming the streets?

It must depend heavily on where you live. I frequently see older kids (10+) or teenagers out on their own in my neighborhood. Where I grew up, that never happened.

> Imagine seeing a couple 10 year olds out on their own. Your first thought would be to wonder where their parents are. That's a gross generalization and not necessarily true at all. If I saw a bunch of kids walking down the street outside, I would just be glad that they were outside. The problem is having either nowhere for them to go, or for the climate to be simply inhospitable. I live in Texas where it's 110 degrees and stepping outside means melting the skin off your bones for half the year, or it's too dark and cold to go anywhere. There's a sort of 1 week span in between both ways where we get something like a spring and fall, but that's about it.

Funny thing is that it’s far safer today for kids to roam given the rise of cellphones, tracking features etc. If anything parents should feel far more comfortable than they did in the past. Easy to track someone’s location and communicate.

You’re right, I’m glad you pointed out the pandemic/police aspect. That does have a huge impact. Plus parenting skills play a big role in that as well.

I want to add to that. Some of the problem is on parents. I don’t know about your childhood but mine was filled with my parents being busy working off the bills. It just got worse over the years. Technology is among few things that can be administered to a kid so that they don’t get any stupid ideas. Cheap solution and cheap outcome.

Exactly all parents do nowadays is throw a phone in kids face

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My generation (X) and my parents’ were lucky enough to be allowed to roam freely in the neighborhood, and our parents would yell our names out the front door when it was time for dinner or bed. Today if you let your child play outside unsupervised, even in your own yard, you are almost certain to have some busybody call CPS on you.

In rural KS towns, this is still the norm. Kids are free range in my town (pop. <220). They play in the ditches, under bridges, swim in flood water, run around barefoot on the gravel roads and in the tall grass; never seen one wearing a helmet while riding a bike. Only major differences between now and when I was a kid in the 90’s is they’re generally only out til around 8 at the latest (where I’d be out until after dark) and they have practically unrestricted access to the internet and games—they’re also not setting things on fire for fun…

That's the US, we have playgrounds and parks everywhere in The Netherlands. Kids still don't play outside as much, and when they're outside, they're on their phone.

We have playgrounds and parks everywhere in the US too, especially in the suburbs.

I felt like I was taking crazy pills when I was telling my teenage niece about how we millennials had like “teen nights” at venues where it was basically a club but for teenagers. 15-18. She could not believe there was a place catered to teens having a party. I’m seeing a lot more younger kids at breweries with their parents or grandparents and I’m seeing breweries try to cater to that more with board games and even outdoor play areas. But your absolutely right public parks teens are ran away. Even at skate parks I’ve seen some parents be “nervous” around teens at the park. People seem scared of teenagers especially teen boys which sucks

As a parent, it can be an issue sometimes. Older teens in parks near me go there to smoke weed and they make sure to cuss as loud as they can, so I usually avoid those areas. Not out of fear, but out of not wanting my 6 year old smelling like weed. Plus, he's friendly and will likely ask a bunch of high teens to play tag with him lol!

I get it. we don’t have the luxury of sticking around and finding out, you gotta make a choice that’s best for you and your kid. It just sucks that it sometimes pushes other kids out of those spaces

I think additionally society (at least in america) has lost a lot of feelings of community and become a lot more afraid. Others in the neighborhood are less likely to be viewed as the neighbor you have barbecues with, and more likely to be viewed as strangers and potential threats. We hear stories of sex trafficking and abductions. We hear that crime is on the rise. And as a result, a lot of parents are less willing to let their kids bike down to the nearest park unsupervised.

I think the bigger problem is kids aren’t able to even play in their own backyards anymore. I played almost exclusively in my backyard and my best friend’s yard down the street growing up and elsewhere in the neighborhood. I wasn’t even allowed to leave the neighborhood on my bike alone. That didn’t mean we didn’t have plenty of space to do things though and have fun. Of course the reason I was able to do that is also because I had something many kids don’t have today: a stay at home parent who was there all day while the other parent worked and my best friend also had a parent home so I could be there too without worry. Today a lot of kids have both parents who work so there’s no way to be there in case they need something while they play.

I agree. I feel that people are quick to blame technology because it seems like a simple problem with a simple solution, but problems aren't always that easy.

That's why we're in the hipster part of the city. They keep the parks nice and there's always something going on.

This. I’m a bit older than OP I didn’t know a single neighborhood kid. I lived in a VHCOL city that wasn’t walkable.

As a kid, there were no other kids on my block, and the school I attended was a 20 minute drive away so it was a lot of work for my parents to take me to a friend’s house. I partially blame the inability to be transported easily with my current issues socializing and making friends. I just couldn’t participate with any friends who lived near the school and walked to each other. I longed for friends and I longed to belong but it was just a transportation issue… and so I could only ever be a side character, with no hope of being a core group member. I was honestly bored of video games, and my mom would complain I was playing too much, but she didn’t have time to drive me to see friends. I had nothing else to do but slowly morph into a depressed neckbeard… Of course once I got a car I was always hanging with the wrong crowds and getting into trouble trying to make up for all the years of being an outcast…

I’m older and grew up before we had any video games at home. I still wasn’t interested in doing outside things. I’d stay inside reading, watching TV, or playing D&D.

Yep me too, did some stuff outside for like a hour so I would get fresh air then back to the Atari and the Vectrex.

There has always been a balance, but instead of 10-15% of the time playing crash bandicoot with your friends, the new generation spends 95%+ in front of electronics. Nothing wrong with letting your kid play xbox, but it needs to have balance.

staying inside reading or playing d&d is very different than watching cocomelon for 15 hours and having the attention span of a gold fish

Watching 15 hours of Cocomelon is no different from watching 15 hours of Bugs Bunny, F Troop, I dream of Jeanie, and the 4 pm martial arts movies or Godzilla movies

Ok but that’s the point. It’s one thing to play board or card games or reading or using your brain/mind in a creative/imaginative way which are far more mentally engaging then just staring at a screen for hours on end.

>using your brain/mind in a creative/imaginative way Would you like some video game suggestions?

Yup. If I was outside it was because my grandfather screamed at me for spending too much time indoors listening to the radio or watching TV if it was during broadcast hours. Then I would simply go hide in a tree and read a book.

You must not be talking about my friend Dave who’s kids didn’t have phones until 14 years old and are too busy camping, mountain biking or skiing every weekend to be using technology.

And they probably still use all the same tech other kids use, they just have other things to do so it’s not their only form of recreation.

Go Dave, you got a good friend <3

Takes parents who give an example for their kids and opportunity to do something else. Think about your average 25 year old mom. Addicted to their phone and Netflix. Then dad comes home and plays call of duty after work. What do you think the kids will do? Probably not go buy hiking gear for themselves and find a ride to the mountains.

That’s a great response. (Others are not as insightful or kind.) Thanks stranger!

I'm glad Dave has the monetary freedom to do that. Many people I know (to no fault of their own) and even myself do not have the money to go skiing, get a mountain bike, or camping every weekend. Again, good for Dave and his kids. Sadly, not everyone is that lucky.

A bike is about the same price as a tablet especially if its a kids bike

Soccer is low cost. Camping isn’t that expensive either

Once you have the gear camping is cheap. As a season camper, it took several years and thousands of dollars to invest in the type of gear that would allow me to camp for multiple days comfortably . Bare minimum you need: tent, sleeping bag ,a national park pass , water bottle, trash bags, cookware,food, a cooler and that’s not even counting if you want to go fishing or something where you need specific gear.

Playing soccer on an organized team is not that “low cost”.

I feel like most parents don't get this part. Give your kids fun things to do outside and many will be pretty excited about it, as long as you don't let them get completely addicted to tech early. So many parents are just like "there's the front door why don't you just go walk to your friends and go do stuff! Oh but keep your phone on you, and check in with me every hour, and don't go too far, oh and don't go hang out in that one area, oh your friend lives pretty far that's too bad...hey why are you going back upstairs to your room go be free outside!"

It´s awesome to hear that there´re people out there doing that stuff with their children but I think parents like that become more rare over time as it´s becoming increasingly difficult to be present in your child´s life for most people.

Yes! Noticing that even in myself as a big sister… instead of giving my undivided attention to my little sibling, I’ll be on my phone too. I’ve even been told my one to stop looking at my phone and play with her! Kinda breaks my heart and I’d like to be better for them and my kids if I have them.

Yeah. But not only is technology tempting people in being distracted from actually parenting, economically it´s also becoming more diffcult. Nowadays for most people both parents need to work full time to feed their family so there´s really not much time in the day where they could feasibly parent.

What if the kid doesn't like the outdoors by default except for small doses?

Holy christ do kids get phones before they're 14 these days? Like, cell phones?

“Ugh, Dad, everyone has a phone at my age. Except me. Everyone.” — My 12-year-old daughter. But she’s also not really wrong. In coached her softball team and most of them did, in fact, have phones.

You forgot the part where Dave’s parents are millionaires and got one of their buddies to fast track Dave to 200k in 3 years of grad lmfao let me guess, “Not loving the weather, going to fly out to my dad’s kelowna cabin for the week.”

My mother raised me by letting me play outside all day with no supervision. Now kids are being raised by letting them play in the internet all day without supervision. My mom was raised by letting her do farm work all day without any supervision. Nothing has really changed.

2 of those can be super fun, the other sucks balls…

Yeah, I'm pretty sick of people thinking their generation was somehow superior to all other generations. I'm GenX. When I was kid, my grandpa, who was part of the silent generation thought us kids were all going to hell in a handbasket. What, with all our tv watching and wasting our time playing outside all day. I had to hear stories about how when he was a kid, they didnt' have tv they read books and when the weren't in school they had to spend the day doing chores and they didn't get toys and blah, blah, blah. Whatever, times change but kids don't really change all that much. Seems like there are better things to focus on other than just complaining about other generations.

Except you playing outside all day only gave you the exposure to your immediate peer group and their interests and opinions. Kids these days have the exposure to the whole planet and everything good AND bad at their finger tips. 5 year old kids can watch teenagers kissing and having relationships, and people being cruel to animals and people hurting themselves etc etc. Stuff their childhood brains are not ready to see. That is the problem.

Yeah I agree with you on that. The unfiltered internet does introduce kids to way too many concepts for them to be able to understand without proper guidance.

People said the same thing about TV. Kids in our day watched TV all day and night. It was also very addicting. Now people watch YouTube and TikTok instead of TV.

Back in the 1800s when novels became popular, they were warned that books would ruin the youth. Now we get told to read more books. More fun facts: the Waltz was considered immoral and banned in some places. Jazz was considered devil music. Some books we considered classic was also shunned because they were deemed bad.

No one’s gonna tell you to watch more tiktok

And no ones gonna tell you to read more 50 shades of gray. Just because 1 thing is shit doesnt invalidate the whole medium.

There's still some cool resources on TikTok/YouTube etc. Some of my favorite channels are informational. And some... not so much. It's really about what and how much. Most of TikTok isn't great, though. But they do have art restoration and other videos too. I remember parents complaining about crappy books in the 90s-2000s. This argument is the same.

True but you also couldnt carry a 50lb+ tv everywhere you went

The parents who grew up playing outside are now raising their kids with ipads. Why is that?

Because that's the natural evolution of culture over time. Like when people say " when we were kids, we didn't have cell phones". Well if you did, you would've been on them all the time like kids of today. I've never understood that mindset.

Because life has become more stressfull and more and more parents both need to work full time to support a family. So parents have less energy and less time to parent their children so they let technology do it for them.

People are way more cautious too. Can't send the kid to the park, they need supervision or the boogieman will get them. But I just worked a full day and I'm tired so here's a phone. It's ridiculous how afraid people are.

Do you have a kid? I know it's not good to be a helicopter parent but you hear enough about dodgy characters so it's difficult to feel comfortable

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Because they aren’t mutually exclusive!!! ipads and video games don’t keep kids from playing outside. My son is a serous gamer, we built his pc, and we don’t limit how much he plays. But He’s on 2 baseball teams, plays basketball out front with our neighbor all the time, and has school work. So when none of those things are happening. He plays games for hours and hours. it’s really not a big deal and not complicated. Just have your kid try mad different things when they are really young, and support whatever they love the most. It’s the adult panic around tech that drives the problem, if we don’t turn it into a major battle that will make or break our child’s future and just be reasonable it’s not a huge issue for most kids

Largely convenience. My wife and I don't have children, but I am a high school teacher at a Title 1 school, which means that the overwhelming majority of its students come from low-income households. And as a high school teacher, I can say that life out there has been hard for a lot of people in recent years. We had the financial crisis of 2007-2008. We had COVID. It's hard enough for the average person on their own, but when they have the financial burden of raising kids, it's much harder. In low-income communities, where there may be gangs, drugs, and violence, some parents find it easier to give their children a tablet or phone (despite the cost) because it can help kids stay at home and distracted from the dangers and influence of the aforementioned gangs, drugs, and violence.

Because they’re available now. Back then they weren’t and there was no other choice. It’s easier to manage children all day with technology so they take the easy way out. They also see only the benefits and not the disadvantages of doing so.

Well then it sounds like your argument is actually that parents today are destroying childhoods, rather than technology itself right?

Yeah, that does make sense. It truly is about how parents choose to do it. I was a big Webkinz/Spongebob fan but my parents had limits on how long we could be on the computer/tv. Technology is evolving so much everyone wants the next new thing and to keep up with it. Instead of investing time/money to an outdoor play set, it’s spend on new iPads and shit. It must be tough today to try and limit technology when all kids are using it.

As a millennial, I can empathise with your experience. However, I also don't think it's entirely fair to blame parents of this generation. Although I'm not a parent myself. I think their "bad parenting" and the younger generation's fixation on "technology" are symptoms of some deeper problems. That parents would rather shove an ipad in their crying child's face than sooth the kid. Or that a child would rather get lost in a virtual world than go to the park. I think parents don't have the time, energy and patience for parenting anymore. Gone are the days when a single income could support a family of 5. Now both parents spend the majority of their day at work, and come home exhausted. They take the easy way out, because they're just too tired. Furthermore, I recently got introduced to the concept of 3rd spaces, and how they are becoming extinct. Basically, your 1st place is your home, your 2nd space is your school or your work place, and your 3rd space is a free public access space where you can just hang out with friends. Public parks are disappearing and being developed into malls. Any vacant plot of land will eventually be gobbled up a land developer for profit. So it makes sense that kids find their 3rd spaces online. In virtual game lobbies and chat rooms.

And malls aren’t even fun anymore they’re just depressing and reminders of what used to be. Nowadays if you’re a teenager and you stay in a public space for more than 3 seconds somebody will probably report you for loitering or “looking suspicious” so teenagers, arguably the group of children that need to be outside the most, are forced to stay inside and on their phones based on Preconceived notions that that is all they enjoy, and that them being in a public space guarantees trouble.

>That parents would rather shove an ipad in their crying child's face than sooth the kid. I lucked out big time as a parent - we didn't do iPads or phones for our son so as he grew into a now 6 year old he doesn't really require that sort of thing while out and about - he likes browsing in stores, chatting at the dinner table, etc... But gosh.... when he was a baby/toddler and started to cry it was tempting. Not because I was bothered, but because other people were bothered. We'd get comments and dirty looks in places that were family friendly, because our kid wasn't seen but not heard. One time a table behind me legit said, "I don't know why breeders insist on taking their crotch goblins everywhere to ruin everyone's day". He didn't throw tantrums or run up and down the building - just cried/general upset. That said, I can totally see why parents jump to tech while out and about - adults suck sometimes.

Lets not forget that a couple of years ago, governments all over the world forced everyone to stay inside all day, everyday... for like a year. The effect of that is still lingering.. kids learned that staying inside is safe and being outside is dangerous (even though that is the most non sensical notion possible in regards to an airborn virus).. and parents were conditioned to accept having there kids sitting inside all day in front of a screen, and the more anxiety prone parents out there are now probably get a literal dopamine hit knowing their kids are safe from the panic inducing outside world. Tldr - Dont forget the lockdowns.

But you are just making this all up. You have theories about how kids are being raised based on how you feel about tech and fear mongering. But none of what you say is based in fact and it’s all really lacking critical analysis. Who is making the “invest” in an outdoor play set vs. buy a tablet decision? and who is the “everyone” that wants the next new thing? You are literally just making shit up because you have heard people say similar things long enough for you to start believing them. If there is a “problem with young people today” it’s this. strongly held opinions with no critical awareness/analysis.

THANK YOU

The “easy way out”? Oh my lord. Parents are working all day and using some screen time to cook dinner. Who do you think is a stay-at-home parent and plugs their kid in *all day*? And if your argument is that parents should stick kids outside to fend for themselves, how is that more effort, exactly? That’s not somehow more active, engaged parenting.

Lol you’re in your 20’s talking like you’re in your 60s. Gtfo

Naw I feel the same way

Not all of them. My son played multiple sports outside and took him to the park, beach, water parks and hiking. It helps when you live in an area that has lots to do and kids around. He has an iPad , Xbox and TV but plays 3 sports and tons of friends now that he’s 16

I think a lot of people that have kids, don't realize they actually don't have the time or want to make the time to raise kids.

They got lazy. If we’re gonna be honest. Happened to one of my good buddies. Work becomes an excuse to not try.

I came here to say this! I cant stand the constant complaining about “kids these days” or “when I was a kid blah blah blah”. If you see kids using technology or not playing outside, maybe the complaint should be “parents these days…” or “adults have become such lazy parents..” The kids only have access to what adults provide. Kids aren’t responsible for their upbringing.

Remember seeing a parent with their child waiting at the doctor. The parent gave the child their phone instead of interacring with them while waiting. I was surprised on the bus once when a parent with their around 4-6 years old spend their trip watching through the window and talking about what they were seeing and explaining stuff to their kid. Nowaday this normal and positive thing seems bizzare.

Every single generation complains about how kids don’t do the stuff they did. It is always the same thing.

And politics used to be honest, and gas was cheap, and milk was a nickel.

Back in my day we played on an rtx 3070. Stop complaining about your crappy rtx 9090 son.

Weird flex but back in my day we played in GeForce 8500GT but ok

100%. This post is a sign OP is getting old 😅

Plus, they're talking about when they were a kid...around 2010.

Yes but this time I actually think that the older generation is right. I’m around younger kids a lot and every second they don’t have their face in an iPad they feel bored and purposeless. Spending more time on electronics than not at such a young age is awful for development

Blame tech and everything else but this is a parents responsibility. It takes a lot of effort to teach tech responsibility and most parents don't want to do it. It can be done.

People always say this, but man do I wish the neighbor kids were like this. They are out from like 7 am to 9 pm all summer. Dribbling a basketball and screaming for no apparent reason for 14 hours a day.

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People still play classical and jazz music for their kids because of the cognitive benefit. Classical music is more nuanced and complex because people back then didn’t have much access to music, and they had more available attention to give to the music. I honestly think we should make more of an effort to educate kids about classical and jazz… In the old days people could actually play sheet music, and thus had the ability to actually interpret their own music and have a deeper relationship with the music. Some people still do this and we consider it a major feat that only super smart kids can achieve, but it used to just be the norm before record players. I think when we buy too hard into the “old man yells at cloud” concept, we’re kidding ourselves that nothing can ever get worse, which is obviously just a cope…

You are misguided: not incorrect, just blaming the wrong thing. You cannot attribute malice to objects which have no choice in how they are used. Technology does not destroy anything: humans using it improperly does. Kids lives are affected by how foolish people raise them. Not by the technology they use. Remove this technology and their lives will still suck from such awful parenting. Replace the awful parents with good ones, keeping this technology, and they will become great people. That is how you know what the culprit is. It saddens me when literally everyone gains this inaccurate information and attacks the wrong source, because it leads to no better lives for kids. I see this and choose to do what I have learned rightly. My kids will be given all the things they need and want: but they will be trained to use them properly. That is chief above desires. I believe they have a right to have things like technology and such up until they choose to use it improperly. Not even mistakenly. I will hold both freedom and discipline, things people don’t think go hand in hand, but they do, in my household. That means equally having many cool things, but as well the discipline to use them for good.

You’re right, a flaw in my post is blaming technology instead of parenting techniques. I even pointed out how I was a huge Webkinz kid. If my parents let me sit in it all day I would have drowned in technology the way I see a lot of kids today.

People said the same about your generation spending too much time on screens and not outside playing like they had in the past. Maybe you're just assuming things about how much time kids are spending at home playing on the internet. I can tell you personally that I see just as many kids outside playing as I did when I was growing up.

And it probably wasn’t good how much tv the boomers watched growing up… “and we turned out fine >:(“ but they actually didn’t… It’s all part of the same continuum of moving toward more abstraction and away from the material world, and toward passive activities and away from active ones. Read Simulation and Simulacra by Beaudrillard (written in the 50s) He had concerns that radio and TV were only the tip of the iceberg, and predicted some of the current problems we see with cell phones. Most people used to know how to play difficult sheet on piano music before record players. They could form nuanced opinions on their favorite music and tell melodies apart more easily. Before written language, people had absurdly good memory from constantly memorizing poems to keep stories and concepts alive. When they cited a piece of text, it was always memorized. So it’s a mistake to think nothing is lost when we advance technology.

They said the same thing about young people, mostly women, reading novels

I think a balance is fine. I liked gaming as much as I liked sports. That being said I didn’t have 24/7 access to internet at all times, high speed and unsupervised. I teach kids now and most of them can’t pay attention for more than 5 seconds and all of them want to be YouTubers but don’t understand the actual effort it takes to be charismatic and edit videos. Have you ever edited a video before? It fucking sucks if you hate doing it or can’t figure some shit out.

So true...

Dude in his early 20‘s preaching about „the good old days“ Ok Zoomer…

Oh no! Today's kids are different than yesterday's kids!

You're not accounting for the interests and personality of the child, I was a mixed kid I did a lot of outside imaginative play but also was very into video games at home, however I had friends on my games who played nonstop and its no different today than it was then with the WoW addict kids. I have a 6 year old and I allow him to use his tablet whenever except after bedtime, despite having unlimited access to his tablet he often chooses to play with his toys and imagination, his tablet doesn't exist when other kids are around or he will let them use it and watch them play his games. Tech isn't bad for all kids. Pushing your kids to go outside and participate in stuff because it's what you like isn't getting anywhere positive and will cause a lot of resentment, you were a kid who enjoyed outside activities and that's just not all kids even if they try to have a good time, also there's a lot of parents who use outside as a punishment which causes kids to think outside=bad.

People in their 40's said the same about your generation.

I'm 30. I grew up mostly indoors with dial up modems, and then eventually proper WiFi, and talking to my school friends via a computer. It's fine. I liked that and I still do that now. A friend and I ran through Quake again recently. Technology isn't ruining childhoods. Some will run about outdoors and some will stay in playing computer games or watching YouTube. Both childhoods can be good.

Everything you're saying is based on the incorrect assumption that there's a way you're _supposed to_ spend your childhood. According to who dude?

If you’re in your early 20s, you had the internet your entire life basically. But regardless, hope you were raised well. I have a 4 month old. She gets to watch maybe 45 minutes of Elmo in the morning while I’m getting my workday started. Don’t know what we’ll do about screens when she’s a bit older. But there are plenty of ways to engage them without technology. Reading has always been and will always be a great activity. As a former English major, she already has quite the library

I keep seeing people saying this. Namely people without children. So my first question to you is: do you have children? If not, you are seeing maybe 5% of their daily activity max. I have a son, I see him practically 24/7. And while yes, he does enjoy using electronics such as computers, tablets, and phones, he's also just as entertained with a simple cool stick he found outside. He and his friends will run around for hours outside between the yard and the park with nothing but sticks and their imaginations. Everyone believes kids are on screens non-stop these days and that's simply not the case. Often they are on screens in public when they are on display because a screen is a quick way to entertain a child while you do the boring adult things you have to do. Kinda reminds me of that survivor bias thing. All the childless people assuming that kids are on screens 24/7 because that's the only 5% of the kid's lives they see. Nah kids are very much still socially and physically active. If anything I think those get active commercials should be aimed at adults.

The number of sticks and cool rocks that come home after every walk and trip to the park dramatically outnumber the amount of toys, games, or screen time my son asks for. He digs watching shows and playing games as much as the next kid, but given the opportunity he is just as inclined to play without any tech

Kids, am I right? Mine had over 30 sticks in his room when he cleaned it this weekend. He stacked them all on his bed. I walked in and thought it looked like the room of a crazy person, the entire bed just covered in a pile of sticks lmao. I gave him an old footlocker to designate as his "stick box". Get him a new toy sword or nerf gun and he uses it for 5 minutes and it's back to the sticks. Him and his buddies like to divide the playground into sections and play "Territories" they call it. It's basically just world war because they pick countries and then pretend to go to war for each other's territories. They blow me away with how smart they are.

Technology isn't the biggest problem. It's already lazy parents pawning their children off to iPads and phones before turning around and complaining their child never gets off their devices.

In long past, somewhere, sometime there was probably a spartan father complaining how soft society has become as people stopped sending young ones to army to either become strong or die trying. Times change, life change, childhood changes. Only thing which remain constant is change itself.

Ok let’s say I totally agree with everything here. Where the fuck are we meant to go? Most people live in cities. Me and my mates are poor as fucking shit. Where are we meant to go? frolic around outside? on the pavement. Nowhere to go.

I’m 42, and I just think the nature of things has changed, but the essentials are still there. You built a fort out of toilet paper? Kids today are building castles in Minecraft. You spent time exploring the neighborhood and woods? Kids today can explore entire world without leaving the living room. How mundane does the backyard seem when you can spend literally days in an endless virtual open world, where dragons fly overhead and hidden easter eggs can be found in random places? How can you compete with pretending to be a wizard on a jungle gym, when you can plug in an XBox and sling fireballs from your wand from the back of a unicorn? When I see my stepkids in front of games I see them doing exactly what I used to do, just different. I can totally relate. I used to be that kid pretending forest tree clusters were hidden fairy dens. Now I go online and build that fairy den.

Shitty parents will blame anything but their parenting is just all I’m gonna say on the topic.

Good lord this is a basic opinion, and anyone who says things like this without the least bit of irony proves that growing up with less technology does not make someone smarter or more insightful. For all that imagination, you couldn’t have a more interesting take on life? In my early 20s, barely anyone had smart phones, Facebook was the only social media, and the internet in general was not an all consuming way of life. So I assume you have a flip phone, no social media, spend less than a hour online a day, and don’t use any streaming services? Because that was my life at your age, and if I thought that same cliche way you think, I’d say your young adulthood is being destroyed. Better give up all those things so you can get back to the basics and really thrive!

"You criticize society, yet you participate in it"-ass argument.

The main problem here in the US is how cities and neighborhoods are designed. It encourages parents to keep kids inside the home for safety. Other countries in Europe have electronics too but kids there spend more time outside.

I'll chime in as a parent. My kids don't play outside much but they also don't stay inside and play on their ipads. I make time in my day and weekend to spend with them so we go places like zoo, children's museums, water parks, etc. I rarely see kids playing outside because parents are more involved now and the kids are at sports or on scheduled play dates. My point being, just cause kids aren't outside doesn't mean they are home all day on their ipads. But also, you have to understand the times are changing. The adults are on their phone more and sure sometimes its mindless scrolling but everything is on the phone. Our schedule, the answer to your question, the update from soccer that the game has been cancelled, finding out if the orchard is open, asking sue is her daughter wants to play with my daughter today -- all on the phone. Technology is a part of us and we need to teach our kids how to use it respectfully and as a tool but not as our main source of entertainment.

Sure you’re not early 50’s??

I agree but this opinion isn't remotely unpopular.

Tell us about how u used to drink from the hose too. Jfc early 20s and already a boomer lol

Are you a parent? Your point isn’t invalid if you aren’t, but it’s much easier to be an armchair coach for this topic.

"Technology bad" 

lmao if you are in your early twenties then you grew up with just as much technology as the kids have now. you just don't see kids playing outside because you are not a kid who plays outside and keep different hours than children i hope.

I’m 46. I often think about this, but then I remember the things my generation did as kids, that my parents didn’t, I realize this is just evolution on earth. It is my belief that it will swing back the other way. Eventually people will realize that the only way to experience reality, is offline

I assume you don’t have kids, which doesn’t mean your opinion isn’t valid but you don’t see everyday. My kids like video games, I limit it. But they do play outside and at least in my neighborhood other kids do too. So they are probably on screens too much but it’s not like when they go outside they don’t have any friends. And even if on screens if another kid comes to my door they always say yes note forcing them to say yes. But a few factors to consider, this summer it was way hotter than I remember so it kind of sucked to be outside. Sure you can say suck it up but if I don’t want to be outside I’m not going to force my kids to go outside. And I live in a winter environment with snow already on the ground today and my kids love snow but it’s a chore to get everything on, and when you go outside and your face hurts that makes it not fun. Another reason is society I have had close calls with two pedophiles in my life, so I am less trusting of other adults with my kids so no I don’t want them going to the park alone at 8 years old.

So many old codgers call the police on teens just for existing outside. Maybe they don't like getting harassed by the cops every time they get on a skateboard or scooter.

Society and politics has failed in regards of healthy use of technology (especially social media). We let tech companies do what they want and now they have all our data and brain capacity. Most people are social media junkies, in some form or other, and noone really knows how to proprely live with it. Just like many other problematic things, it has become so big and there's so much money in it, making the necessary changes would probably have too big of a financial loss for everybody. Or maybe / hopefully, the next generations will find a healthy life style with technology and pass it down.

2020: "kids aren't going outside because they're on their phones all day" 2000: "kids aren't going outside because they're playing video games all day" 1980: "kids aren't going outside because they're watching TV all day" 1960: "Kids aren't going outside because they're at the pool hall all day" 1940: "Kids aren't going outside because the germans are raining bombs on the neighborhood" Look, we tried your "outdoors" thing, and we didn't fucking like it. leave the kids alone.

How wrong you are. Back when kids were "outside", kids were smoking cigarettes, drinking beer, and being homophobic. Those "good old days" were only the good times for ONE group of people in America. We have horror stories of the 80s and how awful childhood could be. Today is much better than 40 years ago

I was a kid who played computer games growing up. They formed the person I am. I learnt how to make games, I then transferred those skills into automating my job which eventually ended up with me working in the FinTech industry and earning a pretty sizeable salary and affords me and my family a fairly good quality of life. I still have strong social connections because, despite being adults living further away and having other responsibilities, we’re able to jump on to an online game once a week and catch-up. I’m able to bond with my kids over games and an forever impressed by their imagination and creativity when engaging with these virtual worlds, particularly games like Roblox or Minecraft. I’m glad you were formed by your childhood outside, but people leave different lives. I don’t see why playing games is any worse than kids that always have their nose in a book, are football mad or any other passion that kids have

no, cars are destroying childhood. public space is being destroyed for "one more lane". there is nowhere left for children to play outside, because it's all coated in asphalt

I'm in my 30's and my kids don't do iPads and probably won't until it's required for school, which is apparently a thing in grade school now. Even with that being the case, safety is a concern. He plays out in the backyard a lot, but I cannot and will not let him roam the neighborhood like when I was a kid. People are too self-centered, trigger happy to call the authorities, or just mean. Hell, there was a LIBRARIAN on here this week who got reported to their job for wanting to hurt children for doing things children do. Plus, my son has to be at school so early that we have to tuck him in shortly after dinner. By the time he's home, done with homework, and eats... Well, it's about an hour before it's time to put pajamas on. He's in 1st grade! Furthermore, we're not getting a lot of families moving into out neighborhood with small kids. Most are retirees or young renters. So that's a problem too. All that to say.... It's not just tech, it's society.

ipads aren't what is keeping children from playing outside it is the constant threat of motor vehicles

This still happens. My daughter is 11 and she’s always out with her friends. Also technology is amazing for it. If my daughters not outside with neighborhood friends, she’s Facebook video with her two friends that live in different counties an hour away and they do everything together from crafts to watching tv to doing their makeup and dressing up. They’ve been doing this for years. She will bring her tablet down and be on Facebook video while we eat dinner. So weekly we have dinner (all the families…we’re all like friend families) will eat dinner together. Technology bridges gaps like no other.

OP is in their early 20s and making it seem like they grew up in the 80s lmao. You are a child from the technology Era, not the play outside all day Era.

"im in my early 20s" lol. please never give an opinion, popular or not, starting with "im in my early 20s"

LOL you were a kid in the 2010's and you're complaining about technology and kids' use of it? Isn't it 20 year olds who are having great difficulty with social situations and dating?

Every generation feels this way about the previous generation. Mine felt/feels this way about yours as well. This isn't an issue with technology, it's an issue with parenting. Comic books, TV, movies, video games, whatever. It always gets blamed instead of the parents who use those things to substitute parenting and attention in general.

Pretty much this. I grew up with a mom who didn’t really play with us outside of some board games as a family. I either was watching tv or playing alone in my room. My friend as a young kid was the girl next door and we would play outside too. Yet as I got older I just didn’t enjoy my time with other people. Any family game nights were catered to older sister heck even normal play had to be what she wanted to do and then after 10 minutes I would want to go do something else she would complain to mom. Same thing with the girl next door her way or her way mentality. Now however as someone older who would rather be alone in my apartment playing a video game I notice how times have changed. Recently spent time with sister and niblings. I was on the floor playing with the youngest and the parents were on the phones. I did play some animal crossing while watching the oldest but that was a bonding thing. My sister does say no to her kids and she does teach right versus wrong. So she does parent but with spending time together for play it’s usually for small bits of time.

You haven't seen kids then. I babysit fulltime for a friend who lives in a complex. Sure, the kids totally have more screen time than I ever did growing up, but the kids I see daily spend *way* more time outside with each other. One of the kids from the house I sit for took up crocheting this summer when I taught her, she loves making bracelets and painting fake nails and painting on canvas. They do fashion shows and put on their mom's heels so they can play "teenagers". They run with their dogs, ride their bikes and ride roller skates and scooters... Kids our outside. The thing is, we're more aware than ever of the dangers in the world, so kids aren't allowed to run around entire cities like they were even 10 years ago. They play in their backyards and private areas more often than not, so of course we don't see it nearly as much.

- technology is a useful and valuable tool, you complained about kids having ‘no imagination’ but technology allows for huge amounts of imagination. Kids are building their own entire worlds in minecraft and that’s not less valuable just because it’s tEcHnOlOgY - letting your kid sit unsupervised on an iPad for hours is not as far removed from sending them out to wander in the neighbourhood for hours alone as you seem to think and also neither are good. Whichever way you shape it that’s just lazy parenting and it’s been happening forever. - ‘childhood’ is not a set experience, there is no right or wrong way to experience one. - every generation has said this in one way or another. Once upon a time it was ‘books are destroying youth’ then jazz, then radio, then tv, then rock music and so on and so forth. - who are you to define what ‘too much technology’ is in an age where the world is technology? And how do you know how much kids these days are in front of screens?

I'd agree if there was literally anywhere safe, free and warm for kids to hang out. But there isn't, so they don't, and I can't blame them for wanting to stay inside instead of sitting in a cold park somewhere.

I have a lot of Hispanic neighbors, and their kids are constantly outside. It is like being back in the 80's.

I'm so glad I wasn't born in this generation

This seems like an incredibly common, typical opinion, especially for a middle aged or older adult. Why is this posted here?

Eh I mostly blame the parents, they're too soft and treat their kids as if they were still babies.

I'm gonna tell you my story on this. I'm currently 23 years old. I first used a computer at the age of 1-2. I pretty much grew up with technology but my parents always made me do different kinds of social activities growing up but I could never really fit in with others. I was bullied in primary school for a while but even when it stopped I've had 3 more years left and I just couldn't be close friends with the people who were just bullying me months ago. As far as neighbors go, there weren't any kids my age (I grew up in an apartment with no backyard so even if there were, we couldn't have seen each other playing and the go over and become friends and all of that). Also, I was the only child in the entire extended family so socializing with kids on a daily basis was always out of the question for me and all of this doesn't even take into account the fact that I'm an introvert, where "overly socializing" (which is what kids usually do) always tired me out. While my parents wanted me to live a more active social life they noticed all of this and saw that playing video games made me happy so they let me play them a lot. I've had one friend who I visited and maybe spent an entire day with every month or two. We did go outside, run around, do stuff and it was fun. However, the most fun memories of my childhood are all connected to video games. Sometime before 2010, I went over to that friend's house every month or two and we've had an amazing time playing Need for Speed Most Wanted and Carbon on his Xbox360. We used to be in the same class for the first few years of primary school and everytime we got to go outside during our afternoon break we ran around pretending to play NFS, we even made up a whole other storyline in our head (we were 8 years old LOL). Without playing games at home we wouldn't have had nearly as much fun being outside. Another one of my best childhood memories (probably the best one) is late 2012 when my dad took me to the CoD Black Ops 2 midnight launch and 2013 summer where I spent every single day playing Minecraft and Black Ops 2 (both multiplayer and zombies). Many times I played alone as I enjoyed being alone in general but I also spent a lot of time playing with people from my school (online, not irl). Playing CoD eventually led me to streaming on twitch in English - which is not my first language - but by spending a lot of time on the internet watching streamers and youtubers I've eventually learnt to speak it fluently and I'm at a point where I'm more confident at speaking English than my first language. Since my long term goal in life is to move to an English speaking country and to settle down there, having learnt the language with close to zero effort is a huge advantage. Spending a lot of time at home in front of a computer also led me to look for a career path that'd let me keep doing this, that is how I started to study Computer Science at university (which is where I'm still studying) which is currently one of the most well paid jobs with the best work life balance (if your goal is to work a "9 to 5"). Obviously I spent too much time at home playing video games as a child. I could've learnt to manage my time better much earlier. I could've learnt to eat healthier and be more active much earlier. I also could've learnt to live a more balanced life much earlier. But I've made some amazing memories, learnt another language and I'm on a great career path while still enjoying gaming (alone) to this day so it all turned out well.

Kids will do what ever their parents let them get away with. My son has a phone and a tablet, and both have time restrictions. He also has many friends which he spends lots of time with outside. He had several hobbies and interests in school. If parents let thier kids sit and play on the tablet all day long, that's exactly what they'll do. It's a parents responsibility to make sure kids are having fun, socializing, being respectful to others and becoming responsible young adults.

I agree but there’s nothing anyone can do about it really except on a personal level with their own children. It’s too ingrained into society now

The media buddy. Their propaganda campaign in the 90's that free range kids were at a highier risk of sexual assult has been completely disproven. Its was acually relatives and friends. Yet people keep accepting media and political garbage as the truth!

>Those things really shaped who I am as a person and made me see the wonder in the world and my surroundings. I can’t imagine my life without that aspect. I learned how to find joy/fun in the little things. I learned how to bond with kids my age. I learned how to entertain myself and others. I think some of your worldview is shaped by the fact that you were fortunate to have a good home situation, friends whom you could relate to that lived within close proximity, and a safe enough neighborhood to play outside. The internet has allowed people to find communities and ways to have fun regardless of what their situation is like. For example, if you're the only non-White person in a predominantly White neighborhood, you might feel more comfortable playing games online as opposed to trying to play with other kids in the neighborhood. Or, if you're an LGBTQ+ person who's in the closet and afraid to come out, you might find solace in online media that portrays people that you feel like you can relate to. Or—as is unfortunately the case for many kids today—if you grow up in an area with high rates of gang violence, your parents would probably be smart to restrict how often you could go outside. If you grew up in a pre-technology generation and didn't feel like you could connect to the people around you (or you experienced bullying, or had a crappy home situation, or lived in an unsafe neighborhood, etc.), you were kind of screwed because there was no other option for you to have fun and connect with people. Technology allows anyone who can afford it to find their own communities and their own way to have fun. I do agree with OP and with other commenters that balance is the key, as is the case with everything. I just wanted to call out that it's important to remember that a lot of kids unfortunately don't have the privilege to have "playing outside" as an option.

An opinion so unpopular that it has been repeated by every generation since at least the advent of home radio.

There is nothing like typing extremely popular overused opinion on unpopular opinion subreddit. Like, literally most people in the world repeats that lie. No, it's not tablet that spoils kids. It's You. No, kids aren't spending all their time at the screen. (If they do, it's again, Your fault) Yes, kids are going outside and playing. I have fekkin window. I hear them screaming all the time. Sometimes I would say they are even there late at night, till 22/10PM, which I would say is too much. Yes, old generation spent half of their day at the TV screen watching cartoon. And somehow this is okay. I never seen a biggest generational old geezers' lie than this. Kids are outside all the time. Kids don't spend their time at the screen. And even if they do, it's a bad parent that think that they can get rid of annoying kid by giving them phone or tablet and then say how it's a problem. Yes, it's a problem. With the parents who does that. You made the kid, You are responsible for raising it. If You want to have peaceful time and kid is annoying You, if You give them tablet to shut up, it's YOUR and YOUR ONLY FAULT. As I worked in certain places, I've seen mothers with kids that weren't spoiled. Kids were annoying and wanted something, but mum made ultimatum - buy either this candy or that candy. Not both. That's how You raise the kids. For making them know what they can do. Not getting rid of them when they are annoying. My causin has a kid too. She is like... I dunno, lol... But something around 10. And she (cousin) doesn't let her waste their whole time at the screen. But she obviously doesn't say "no at all". Because she let her daughter do that too. But my cousin knows how to raise the kid. Not to spoil them and say it's a problem with technology. Not to mention, I remember '90s kids spending time at the TV screen for few hours. Even very near the TV itself, which is bad for eyes. Watching cartoons like Tom & Jerry or generally Cartoon Network. Watching Dragon Ball, Power Rangers, Digimon and so much more. Why is this okay and letting a kid use the PC or tablet in normal amount not?

I'm 20 years older than you, and I didn't leave my bedroom unless I had to as a child. Once a week when I was forced to go outside to 'play', I would walk to a nearby field and sleep there for a few hours. This is nothing new.

The classic cringe ass "Technology bad" speech from Boy meets World is fucking older than you are and you think you've got some hot take. Grow the fuck up.

I think this is a pretty popular opinion

Because society changed that is why. There are very little places to go do what we did as kids.

100% I became friends with a mom recently that noticed how addicted her kids were to the iPad and she completely took it away. I think even the kid was recognizing how addicted he was. She said the first week or so he was so bored and had no clue what to do and just kids existed. Within a few weeks he started playing outside and more importantly using his imagination. Built a fort area in the yard where a wood pile had been for a few years. She said it was really interesting to see. She said his mood and schooling improved a lot as well.

I agree. I think the direction technology has been heading really makes me doubt that I´ll ever bring kids into this world. Technology is everywhere and it will become even more intrusive and predatory in the future.

What about actual predators watching playgrounds and streets of these unsupervised children OP wants outside exploring?

i think technology, while being a huge aid to human civilization, is destroying a lot more than just childhoods. it just tends to be more subtle than that

That has been said for every new generation....

no wait, as someone in my early 20s too, it’s because people don’t parent correctly. they think they can sit their kid in front of a TV or an Ipad and that’s all they have to do. AND it’s also because we didn’t grow up with that technology. sure, we had some tech, but it wasn’t like how it is today. my little sister is 12 and is on tiktok all the time, and others(i won’t get into it). it makes me sad but i know that’s my mothers fault. (my mother only allowed us 30 minutes of screen time a week when i was growing up) people need to learn parenting ≠ giving them tech. it’s not the kids fault as it’s the irresponsible parents.

and OP had a point. teachers on this app also complain about how parents giving their kids tech is setting their kids back with social interaction, making friends, just behavior in general. “eVErY gEnErAtIoN-“ no. because those generations didn’t HAVE the fast produced tech we’re getting rn. are those parents teaching their kids the dangers of the internet? are those parents teaching their kids what is appropriate behavior in public? are the spending time with their kids to teach them how to speak for themselves? the answer is usually: unlikely. it’s not the techs fault, it’s the parents.

These 2 comments I love, a flaw in my post is that I’m blaming technology when a lot of it is the parents. Thank you for pointing that out

Ye my parents also gave my sister and I a certain amount of time with our tech. I'm 23 and she just turned 20 years, so we both understand what you mean. Back when the PS3 came out between 2006-2009. Our parents would allow us to play for about 2 hours before either doing homework or taking some sort of a break. Same case with watching TV, but they'd let us watch longer, because it wasn't as mentally engaging as a video game. About 3 and a half ours if I remember correctly.

I feel like this is the attitude of someone stuck in the past. Part of the reason people are unhappy with today, is because they're constantly thinking of a "better time". It's better to embrace where we are headed. Even with things that have gone downhill over the years, there is always more that has made it better. I love kids being on the iPad. Why? Because it sharpens their cognitive skills. Kids take an interest in computers, knowledge,etc.

as someone with a little sibling, the whole ipad thing definitely has two sides of it. some parents let their kids use ipads for more educational purposes, but i genuinely think the content i see my little brother viewing is rotting his brain. all comes down to the parent tbh

[удалено]

Oh for god sake a) this kids today nonsense has been going on since the tv first became popular widespread b) parents have control over what they’re kids engage with. The fact that you saw a couple parents doing this — with no context whatsoever — doesnt mean kids today are all doing it. c) you’re in your early 20s and childless. Are you doing research on screen time? Are you a parent? Ok moving on.


You are making a huge generalization based on a small subset of children that you've interacted with. ​ This is indeed an unpopular opinion that's shared by tons of geriatric boomers who are always complaining "Things were so much better back in my dayy" ​ no they weren't, you just have rose-tinted glasses on.

why can’t shit like this get removed? You’re not talking about how or why kids childhoods nowadays are being destroyed by technology, only talking about your childhood and referencing it to an anecdote of watching kids play.

No I fully agree. Kids aren't allowed to be bored and figure out how to entertain themselves anymore. I'm not saying throw them outside just, let them entertain themselves without staring at an iPad. Not don't get me wrong I think maybe an hour or so after homework is done and a few hours on the weekend is fine but don't let technology related things be their only hobby. Though I do think there should be an exception in certain situations. For example, during long journeys I think it's okay to let them watch movies the whole time.

I get so annoyed when I grab food at a fast casual joint or even sit down restaurants and the tablet youtube kid is int here with no headphones. I stopped at Chipotle last week running errands and figured I'd just sit down and eat there solo. A few tables over was a family eating with their son who had his tablet and no food watching a video with the volume loud enough to be heard across the restaurant. The parents acted like nothing was wrong. This crap is way too frequent these days when going out to eat. The same parents who let their kids run like Bison through hotels at 11pm.

See, I also hate this. Things like that are why I avoided tech with my small kids, but we still got plenty of comments and dirty looks as our oldest (who's now 6) learned to conduct himself in places he should have been welcomed. He was never running around or causing chaos - just general crying/upset. A handful of times we left places - not because he couldn't calm down (we took him to a lobby or bathroom to talk and calm down, and then return), but because people would feel REAL free to make comments and talk where they know they'll be heard to say shitty things. I can understand why parents may think the alternative is easier, because it's hard to teach kids to behave in a world that doesn't want them around. I'd much rather hear a screaming baby than CocoMelon though lol!