15 years ago it was called "VCR parenting" now we call it "tablet parenting" - People live hard and complex lives, so I'm not going to make judgment on a single parent trying to provide for their kids being unable to be a full-time entertainer as well. The good news is technology and apps are making it easier for parents to be better with less effort (which may sound harsh but is how life gets better overall)
I agree that I rather hand my kids a tablet or smartphone then putting them in front of a TV or game console.
What I sometimes miss from the conversation is that there is a lot of good things one can do with such device...and yes, also some bad ones...just like with a scissors or a lighter.
It’s on parents to teach their kids how the world functions and how to integrate into it...always has, always will!
And the latest craze (is this case smartphones) is simply that...the latest thing a contemporary human has to learn how to use.
And our kids will have to teach their kids one day how to use (and moderate personal use of) whatever the latest craze they have then.
I generally agree about tablets vs. TV -- except it's easy to find some terrible content on YouTube very quickly. Don't underestimate how impressionable kids are--even teens--by some cool YouTube stars who set bad examples.
Which begs the question: If the interactions with the tablet boil down to just passively consuming content, like on YouTube, are they really that different to TVs?
As enjoyable as YouTube and similar streaming services are, they are pretty much still TVs, just with millions upon millions of different channels to chose from.
I think TV is higher quality than what kids watch on YouTube. I know, there's plenty of trash on TV but at least there isn't "Elsagate-type content," surprise egg openings, toy reviews, and other generally "unsettling/shocking/scary" content.
YouTube also caters to a shorter-attention-span viewer than TV. After getting hooked on YouTube, it's hard(er) for kids to sit through a 22 or 45 minute TV show.
Yeah...I think the generalization of smart phones being bad is the issue here.
As I pointed out in another comment I think we need to be more nuanced...I agree that YouTube is mostly just like TV with infinite channels...luckily it’s not the only App though...just think of the fun kids can have with google search or Wikipedia.
Big difference. VCRs aren't portable. Tablets allow a kid watching a low quality YouTube video at full volume while eating at a restaurant(!) - I've seen this multiple times. You can't pull a VCR out of your pocket mid conversation.
at a restaurant, in a plane, in the train... it's so freagin annoying. The implied social contract that you use such devices with headphones go out of the way the moment there's "omg a kid so cute" involved.
And you know you can't ask them politely to turn off the sound, the kind of parent that allows their kid to do that won't take kindly to such requests because Jonny is special and he just NEEDS to watch YouTube right now.
