> "What makes Fortnite and Youtube videos worse than Nerf guns and library books?"

Well for one, and this is a big one, many games implement specific features such as character progression, rewards and even loot boxes that are specifically made to keep you playing. They directly trigger dopamine reward centers in the brain and are very much tied to addiction. Loot boxes especially are literally just gambling.

Youtube kids is also all kinds of messed up. Videos created using algorithms specifically to draw the attention of kids and sometimes contain very disturbing images and themes.

This article is a good overview of how Youtube is not a good choice for kids: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jun/17/peppa-pig...

Here is a video on Jake Paul (and many big youtubers) and how he markets HARD to kids while also having videos containing very inappropriate material: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywcY8TvES6c

On top of this, in terms of TV/Youtube vs books, there is a big difference in terms of it's effect on language, communication, and development. Also, TV/Youtube is a passive form of learning, reading books is active:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/books-vs-tv-how-they-stac_b_1...

YouTube Kids horrifies me. I feel like a curation approach to "kid-approved" programming would be much better method than YouTube Kids. And when you think about it, that's how traditional TV programming worked. Seems like a good model, given how much of an impact media has on child development.

highly recommend "Will You Be My Neighbor?" documentary for how to do TV for kids right from someone who really cares

That's what stood out for me while reading the article. Here are some people who say "screens are bad" and here are some other people who say "screens are not so bad". Then, a little bit about how screens are addictive and not good for kids. You could substitute "Dungeons and Dragons" for "screens" and we'd be reading an article straight out of the 80's.

It's funny because the subtitle is:

“I am convinced the devil lives in our phones.”

Over a huge ominous image. You are dead on about 80s D&D/satanism scare mongering.

Sugary foods, opium, these things all cost money. Most things on the Internet are free. Think of the addictive things as “gravity wells”. Everyone explores until they find something that addicts them.

Many library cards for <18 year-olds didn’t allow certain adult books to be checked out. Books are mostly not algorithmically/peer generated. Even if you are addicted to some book series you will eventually finish it.

It would be nice if there was a content filter that parents could install that wasn’t curated based on someones opinion but worked more like Waze — routing you around places where everyone was stuck.