I'm wary of the proposed solutions.

I spent very significant time during my childhood using computers. At the time, I would have had scarcely anything to prove that time was in any way "useful". I would have been hard pressed to convince others that my behavior was not detrimental.

Because I did spend so much time freely using computers, I learned how to use them. I learned about Linux, partitioning, bootloaders, programming, 3D modeling, etc.

My childhood learning experience happened over the course of more than a decade. It was full of totally pointless endeavors, a very significant part of it was just paying video games (which evolved into modding video games years later), and none of it would have happened with overbearing parents obsessed with the merits of my interests.

I would imagine a lot of us here who grew up in 90s would have the same experience. However, I do not see the same parallel to using a mobile device dominated by facebook, Snapchat, emojis and games. There is nothing to tinker with. I also don’t believe that mobile device use bridges to computer use — which could possibly cause a child to show interest in ‘how are these apps made?’

That's the problem with locked down devices.

It seems like no one cared that when we got powerful supercomputers that fit in our pockets, we couldn't use them like real computers.

These arbitrary limitations are the real problem. I don't think adding to the collective fear of children using computers will help change that. It's more likely to convince parents to choose more control and censorship.

I've got to say that I agree. We've been caring for three of our sisters kids recently. They are absolutely mesmerized by the ipads. To the point that you could drop a stack of dishes next to them and they would barely register.

Taking them to the museum is a exercise in frustration when you find that they ignore any chance to play with the dinosaur bones or look at the solar system models. Present them with a screen and they are captured. I was shocked to see them staring at a monitor that had a scrolling error message on it.. I don't think they are brain damaged, but you would not know it to see them anyware near a tv or monitor. It seems that they have little ability to process the world if it is not presented on a screen.

Do you believe that your experience is typical?

Even if I am in a slim minority, I think it is impossible to tell what children will find similar interests. A culture that keeps children away from those experiences affects everyone.

Is an (Android or Apple) tablet a computer though?

I fail to see how the technical minutia that differentiate desktop PCs, laptops, tablets and phones affects their ability to create dopamine-producing feedback loops on demand. Everything past that is just semantics between platforms and interaction styles.

They are severely arbitrarily limited ones.

That's a very related problem.

Even if we change nothing else, what needs to be done is we need to put serious time and money into addiction treatments. We have so many companies and scientists of varying stripe all researching exactly how to punch dopamine out of people's brains in the most efficient way, starting early on with food sciences and the tobacco industry, into today with social networks and casual games. We now know how to trick people into thinking literally ANYTHING is fun and to do it compulsively, but we haven't the slightest goddamn idea how to reverse that process for those who need it.

Don't forget porn. It's really new that everyone can find decades worth of porn, anytime. It's causing serious issues like erectile dysfunction and social problems. It's really taboo to talk about and people don't realise they're addicted to porn. Masturbation might be normal but constantly filling your mind with pornographic pictures and associating them to orgasms is proven to be detrimental.

Empirical evidence from unbiased sources to support this assertion, please

Soudns like a parenting mishap to me.

to be honest, this happened to me and i don’t blame my parents at all.

looking back on it, how were they to understand the difference between wow and everything else i played? it’s all the same to them.

we had frequent fights about how long i spent playing, when they’d ask me to do things in the middle of a raid (multi player coop thing; up to 40 players back then). in my head, it was incredibly important to me. now, i realise how stupid that was.

most people i think don’t realise how games can effect people mentally. to his day, 10 years later i still have dreams about my character sitting in a void, alone, asking me to come and play.

this is serious addiction, and you can’t blame parents for not understanding it.

Raiding at least taught teamwork... Some of the best people I knew in WoW ended up being very successful in their own right... for example the guy who was THE best raid-leader ever ended up managing a chain of stores

It might be and you would notice this is the norm with smartphones. Parents find it much easier to jam a smartphone in front of their child when out and about than to deal with their boredom.

>I've seen versions of several of these ruin people's lives very close to me.

Well your ones of anecdotes have sold me.

Anecdotes suggest the need for further study, which is exactly the topic: further study.