Calls for smartphone-free childhood grow in Britain

fne8w2ah@lemmy.world to Technology@lemmy.world – 378 points –
Calls for smartphone-free childhood grow in Britain
straitstimes.com
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The post in February triggered a tidal wave of reaction from parents similarly gripped by anxiety about providing their children with a device they fear will open them up to predators, online bullying, social pressure and harmful content.

Can you imagine having to teach your kids about these risks, help them to deal with them and prepare them for adulthood?

That would be so much work.

To be fair, the smartphone market kinda sucks. There's not a great way to limit what the device can do without setting up privacy-violating controls.

So I'm looking into Linux phones like the Pinephone so I can completely remove access to certain features. I'll probably start with disabling WiFi and data (except access to the carrier for calls and texts), then slowly open things up from there. That way I don't need to monitor what they're doing, since I know the boundaries I've set, and I can loosen it up slowly as they earn my trust.

In the meantime, they can still access the Internet and whatnot on family owned devices, but only during times my wife and I set. That, too, will be loosened as they earn trust. I'm mostly concerned about time spent, not what they end up actually doing.

no matter what you tell your kid, if left unrestricted they will end up on some bad places. Its just a fact

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