You could raise a kid in a cave for the first 10 years of their life before giving them their first glimpse of a screen and by age 13 they’ll be on the same level as every other kid regarding technological literacy. It’s totally a valid parenting strategy to be skeptical of the value of screens for children.
And this is the proof of why people need to use smartphones less - you actually believe this, don't you?
You can do banking through mail or at a bank office, you can communicate with family and friends a variety of ways without a phone, and you definitely do not need a phone to look up knowledge. Sheesh.
A technological advancement is not necessarily a social or human advancement. Often we don't know at the time how it's going to pan out. Take the situation around "AI" right now, around which there is at least significant caution. No doubt you will disagree, but a great many people including myself think that smart-phones have been a great loss for society and individual health.
> supercomputer that fits in your pocket and you can lookup everything humanity has done in seconds.
This contrived retort is actually getting very jaded, because almost nobody uses it to "lookup everything humanity has done in seconds" - they use smartphones for TikTok and to order a pizza. Meanwhile "everything humanity has done" is still in any encyclopedia.
> I understand the boomer sentiment of "phone bad"
TFA is about an 11yo who decided "phone bad"
> You can’t do banking, communication with friends and family, looking knowledge up without a phone.
And that's a BIG PROBLEM. Not a desirable feature. Fortunately we have 11 year old kids who are bright enough to see that too. With a few more of them we'll get a society where you can do banking, communicate and learn using a wide choice of humane technologies.
We still believe in things like markets, right? That human needs and demand drives technology, rather than the other way about?
I understand the boomer sentiment of „phone bad”, but let’s be realistic.
You can’t do banking, communication with friends and family, looking knowledge up without a phone. Some countries’ services also de facto require it (unless you want the process to take 3 months longer than it will using a phone).
Best to educate the kid like parent comment said