No, this is why it worries him: his salary depends on it.
Frankly, I have never seen a good reason why kids need to use computers or the internet aside from peer pressure, especially in elementary school. There's nothing that requires it until at least high school, at least as much as they should learn to frame a house because they might be a construction worker some day.
I agree. Kids don't need these types of concerns and distractions in their formative years. And computers are inherently distracting—as the intrinsic design of modern computers ensures that's the case.
Thankfully, my primary education was before computer tech in schools or I'd have been sidetracked by the technology and it's pretty certain I'd have learned much less. Even by that age I was fascinated by electronic stuff and invariably I'd have pull it apart or tested it to destruction.
Right, had I had the tech I'd have lost out on two accounts, not only would I have been distracted by it but I'd have likely lost it or rendered it useless by the time exams came around. Not having the compulsory tech necessary for exams would have added further unecessary stress and distraction.
I’ve been using computers since I was 10 and I can agree with you. However I think it strongly depends on what you do online. I don’t use a lot of social media and I think that’s where most kids end up spending their time. If I had to guess you don’t use too much social media either?
Counterpoint, if your child grows up and isn't "internet native" they will be like people who "don't get computers" over the last decade. It's very limiting.
I don't think so. Resources, yes. But not necessarily parent-talk. And I think if he was this smart (which I do), that he'd be able to do this on his own..not this early, but eventually, somehow.
Also, some parents do the opposite, some don't. Some misunderstand the purpose of the internet, which I think is the real problem. My parents attempted to and eventually stopped trying to filter what I did on the computer after I circumvented everything they tried and turned the tables on them (I was a complete brat :D), but they also spent a fortune of their then-pitiful earnings on books and toys and hardware I wanted. They felt that was more important than indulging their own desires (typical asian parents).
Now I'm paying that back in various ways, and I thank them for all of that. I don't think I would have been the big geek I am now if it wasn't for them putting up with me tearing apart half the electronics they owned.
I wonder what he'll turn out to be like 10 years later.
I don't buy that. Once kids are around 10 or maybe even as late as 12 or so, sure, if they aren't connected via whatever social media or messaging platform their peers are using, there will be severe social consequences. But a 3-year-old doesn't need to be watching things on a tablet at the dinner table. A 7-year-old doesn't need "access to modern tools", at least not unfettered, whenever-they-want access.
I also don't buy the argument that they'll be behind in digital skills or whatever. I was born in the 80s and didn't have access to a computer until I was 8 or 9, (intermittent dial-up) internet access until I was in my teens, and a smartphone until I was nearly 30. I had no problem acquiring all these "digital skills".
Yeah but why do kids need to be online at all? For millions of years kids never had computers and they grew up just fine. In fact they grew up with fewer cases of depression etc. I’ve got a kid and I don’t let them online unless I’m there interacting with them, doing stuff together. Maybe I’ll let them watch for 15min for a job well done but not for hours on end
Obligatory: I am not Mr. Lague, just a fellow zoomer.
There was a post yesterday "Ask HN: How do you protect your children from internet addiction?" [1]
As a Gen Z in university who has grown up with YouTube etc., I saw a lot misconceptions of our experience. I have one piece of advice: Please, please, Give your child a personal computer. And nothing else. As early as possible.
Computers are not dopamine machines. TikTok and Snapchat barely exist for the computer, and only in web apps. Elementary schoolers, the hacker news hivemeind often complains, don't understand the concept of file folders––it's because files don't exist on iPads.
7.6 billion people own smartphones [2], 3.5 billion people own computers [3]. Personal Computers are a specialized developer tool! If you don't think that, it's because all your friends are one (or a couple) standard deviation(s) more technical than Joe Average. Gen Z is not computer native, we're iPad natives.
We grew up in a walled garden. You grew up in the Wild West. Computers are work tools for us. Actually, it's worse than that, schools have these walls too. Thanks for making Chrome OS, the cloud, and online exams. We don't need computer labs anymore! /s And so we are natives to a higher level in the tech stack.
Smart kids will figure out how to do stuff if they are on a tool that does stuff––especially if they can't use a phone. Want to use a phone game? Learn how to run an emulator. Ask mom or dad (an expert from hacker news) if you get a virus. But kids aren't using these devices.
There will never be a shortage of developers because one developer can serve so many people, and there will always be enough geeks who stumble onto a computer. Giving your kid a computer (and just a computer) will not make them the next Aaron Swartz. But give her a fighting chance! At the very least he will be computer literate. And the literati have always been an elite class.
Coding today is what literacy was in the Middle Ages: expensive and powerful. Personal computers are what books were in the Middle Ages: expensive and powerful. Martin Luther disrupted the Catholic Church's stranglehold over Europe by telling laypeople to read the Bible. Social media preaches. You can let your children read the source. Buy them the tools
My kids don't get the password/pin to any machine that has internet access. When we log them in, they must be within view of others at all times. They don't use computers recreationaly most days a week.
Kids don't need computers. The internet is a cesspool filled with dysentary. They'll have to learn to navigate the cesspool someday, just like they need to learn to avoid heroin, but you don't need to teach your 4 year old not to seek out good fruit of the opium poppy. Some lessons can and should be delayed.
Yes, because every kid (at least in the 'developed' world) nowadays has web access but not every kid can install software on the machines they are allowed to use (for instance in school, the library or their parents' machine).
Implicit in your objection are two assumptions I suspect are false:
• That not having access to technology at home for one year will have a meaningful impact on digital fluency 10+ years later.
• That in the technology vacuum no other skills or furtherment will develop which outweigh any minor delay in digital fluency.
I'm far more worried about what kids miss out on by being immersed in (distracting) technology than the negative consequences of them having a little less of it.
From my experience, depends on the kid. Some kids have all the access in the world and are even "skilled" with the TV and YouTube (tablets) but don't care. They prefer playing with cats, dogs and birds outside, mess up the garage, get dirty playing in the mud, etc.
There are other kids that won't see a computer until the age of 18. But when they do, they're gonna install linux and end up leading SRE teams without a degree in CS.
There are high level patterns, but humans are unique and require different amounts of supervision.
I'm thinking about introducing our eight year old to basic computational literacy, but I'm planning to have that be without any internet access at all. He can learn to type, write, program, do digital painting / photo editing, movie editing, sound editing, and 3D animation without general internet access.
How is playing online multiplayer video games a need for a child?
Even if you think it is for some reason I'm not seeing, why not have het play games where you can run a private server, so you have control over exactly who can log in and can keep an eye on things like chat logs?
As the parent of a twelve year old, I can tell you that it's not so simple.
I gave my son an old computer a couple of years ago because he expressed a vague interest in learning to code like his daddy. That really didn't work out. But he discovered a great big world out there, and the computer was his window to it. And yes, the effects on his creativity were the same as for the child in the article.
So we tried, and partly succeeded, in limiting his time on it. But the truth is, there is a great deal for him to learn on YouTube, and we often do it together. His Minecraft creations are incredible. He maintains relationships with friends, including a distant cousin, through Discord and gaming. He sets up offline playdates the same way. These are not bad things.
Plus, with the pandemic, his schooling is all remote now. He has to log on in the morning and jump from Zoom class to class until early afternoon, and then all of his homework and reading is on Google Classroom. No, I can't limit access if we want him to attend school.
The problem here is not one of addiction and weak parenting. It's that screen time is genuinely valuable, and figuring out how to balance on-screen and off-screen activities isn't easy.
I think the end of the argument is a bit short-sighted.
[edit: not "argument" - "article"]
If your child has potentially powerful skill with computers, you should not simply make sure they aren't DDoS'ing and staying in chat rooms.
You should be spending time, resources, or another kind of energy giving them problems to solve and challenges to approach with their talents. Don't just avoid court - give your child space to be who they are.
Teach them about whitehat. Help them creatively wield their strengths. Don't be selfish - be a parent.
Children's minds are built to soak in information. You could wait until a kid was 10 to introduce them to computers and they would still blow your mind with what they could figure out and do.
I highly doubt that holding off on video games and computers will be a detriment in the long run.
Geesh! How out of touch with reality are you?!? Do you have any idea how many families in the US can't afford $40 bucks a month? That's assuming that the parents are supportive of buying a computer and an internet connection. If not, the kid on his own is fucked if he's gonna need a computer and 40 dollar a month internet connection to get access to the library.
My child (now sixteen) has had unfettered access to technology and the internet since he was about four years old. He's had old tablets and laptops, and a mobile phone (since about the age of nine). I don't monitor his use, or use parental controls. He's familiar with macOS, Windows and Linux, and can build his own PC. I fail to see any negative effects with my attitude towards his use of tech.
Frankly, I have never seen a good reason why kids need to use computers or the internet aside from peer pressure, especially in elementary school. There's nothing that requires it until at least high school, at least as much as they should learn to frame a house because they might be a construction worker some day.
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