If nobody can use it at school, then overall it makes it probably less likely they will be owned or used at all. Then your kids risk falling behind and becoming as adept with technology as "old people" today. Not saying that this trade-off means that everyone should use smart phones all the time, but let's not act like this isn't a potential downside when they are a part of everyday life for French adults.
This is that digital natives fallacy again. Being familiar with the latest tiktok trends is as important as being up to date on the latest Jersey Shore was 15 years ago; which is to say not important at all really. These kids are consumers of entertainment. They aren't automatically developing any skills just because the vehicle of consumption is the pinnacle of computing evolution.
Most people never understand technology, but most young people do understand the zeitgeist of their age because they have a lot of free time and a strong desire to fit in. It's just their social world and pop culture are on a phone now.
Fully with you. All these kids do is play games, scroll tiktok and chat on snapchat. What possible "skill" are we talking about?
If anything, they have very low tech skills. They are consumers of apps highly optimized for convenience. They're never challenged, need to fix anything, solve a problem.
Getting over the fear of using these kinds of devices. Look at old people. At least around here there are plenty of them that are incapable of using basically anything more complicated than a TV. Some might be able to use computers, but can't really operate smartphones etc. And it's largely because they don't have experience and constantly avoid it.
When you momentarily pause your Tiktok addiction for a few hours during school hours and then happily continue afterwards, no potential new learning was missed.
> then overall it makes it probably less likely they will be owned or used at all
Sorry, but this is ridiculous. If it is useful, they will pick it up. I mean, most people alive did not have a smartphone before growing up, and yet most of us are using one without issue right now. You’re setting a child up for failure if he does not learn things like how to handle frustration or behave with other people when he grows up. Not how to operate a trivial device.
> Then your kids risk falling behind and becoming as adept with technology as "old people" today.
By the time they’re old, they will be as useless with the new technologies of the time as elderly are with computers now. Not because they did not learn it at school, just because you lose mental agility and adaptability as you age. Smartphones most likely will be a prehistoric anachronism by the time they get old.
> but let's not act like this isn't a potential downside when they are a part of everyday life for French adults.
Most French adults right now did not have a smartphone before they turned 20. They are managing just fine.
>I mean, most people alive did not have a smartphone before growing up, and yet most of us are using one without issue right now.
I know plenty of people that do not. They have a smartphone and they use some of the features like taking pictures, text messaging apps and calling, but doing other things is unlikely. When my mom gets a new phone she has someone else set it up for her, because she can't. My grandparents have probably never used a computer either.
