Calls for smartphone-free childhood grow in Britain

fne8w2ah@lemmy.world to Technology@lemmy.world – 377 points –
Calls for smartphone-free childhood grow in Britain
straitstimes.com
101

You are viewing a single comment

My family doesn't get smartphones until age 12. That seems to work well

I'm probably going to make it a rule that my kids don't get them until 15. I'm 28 and have definitely been ruined by smartphones. My attention span is shit and motivation is hard to maintain when the internet is just right there.

I wish there was a device that only did the bare minimum of email, phone, texting, navigation, and music.

Minimalist productivity-first Android launchers might be what you're looking for.

Those exist, there are a few products intended to provide that minimalist experience.

I remember getting mine at like 15.

Dumbphones still exist. The only reason a child needs a phone is to place a call during an emergency, so as far as I'm concerned, they should get them whenever they can be trusted not to use them in class.

I didn't use mine in class because it wasn't allowed and teachers would take it away if I did. Is that not a thing anymore? Or maybe just a german thing in the first place.

That being said, don't need a smartphone to play games in class. I was a god at snake on my graphing calculator...

No, it isn't universal. Teachers here quit trying basically as soon as smartphones became common.

For me it is equal parts paying attention in class, developing attention spans away from video crack tiktok/shorts/whatever, and generally encouraging them to do other things.