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EE warns parents against giving children under 11 a smartphone (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Let's go one step further...

VRChat on the Quest is not a babysitter!

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Is that a step further though? I feel like not giving kids access to VR Chat comes way before not giving them a smartphone in terms of restrictiveness or severity. It's a far more reasonable suggestion.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Both... but a Quest is mainly designed for gaming, where a smartphone is designed to do everything. The smartphone restriction is an easy one to recommend.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I don't follow. Wouldn't a limited-purpose device be easier to restrict than a general-purpose device?

Look at the Nintendo Switch. If there was ever an Internet-connected device to give your kids, it's a Switch. I have never heard of anything untoward happening to a child on Nintendo's online platform.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

A Quest is an overpowered smartphone strapped to your face, with all the capabilities of such. You can restrict a smartphone too, but how many parents actually have that level of technical inclination? It's better to limit the youngest minds' times on these devices until they're a bit older, and you've had more time to teach them important life skills. Also, parents teach your kids important life skills from an early age, please.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I think we actually agree, maybe just a misunderstanding.

I don't believe that parental controls actually stop most kids from doing things they shouldn't, and I think these devices are bad for a growing mind compared to real world human experiences.

I think I misunderstood you earlier thinking you said that smartphones were easier to agree to giving children over a VR headset, because a VR headset is only for gaming. I think we both agree that they are bad.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

Children will be raised initially by an expanded roomba with arms amd a babysitting AI.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The first (and only) time I played VRChat, my takeaway was, "What kind of adult would want to play a game with this many preteens in every room?"

Then I answered my own question...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, public worlds are cancer. It's best to get in with friends or groups.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That's not my point. Kids congregate in public worlds, and predatory adults know where to find them.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

...and that is my original point.