For those with little ones.

[Grant H.]

i don't have kids so my info is entirely anecdotal:

1. one friend of mine has two kids, 15 and 16--always on the phone--one is on psychotropic meds for anxiety, PTSD, and major depressive disorder. Both on phones all the time. friend advises "at least 30%" of kids her friends are with have gender identity, alternative lifestyle (homosexual) or mental illness;

2. my sister is a professor at the university of Maine, and also works as a freshman advisor. said between 30-40% incoming freshmen are coming with psychiatric notes, conditions, needs for accommodation, etc. for depression, anxiety, etc.

3. another friend (and seemingly rightfully so) ascribes his kids' constant stress being related to phones/screen time. constant updates, stress for instant need for validation, feedback, etc. Essentially, there's no downtime. studies have shown low battery on a phone without a charging source is a huge stressor to people

It seems, to me, that kids today (and adults) can't unplug. can't get any mental downtime. like clodhopper said, used to be kids would be outside playing. i'm 45--not trying to sound like a codger saying "in my day...."---but in my teen summer years you got on a bike, skateboard, whatever. when you were younger you were outside until the street lights came on.

the phones seem to have cranked the gossip level up to 11--and everyone is commenting, or worrying about the commenting, wherever it is.

Our society is so fawked...

I'm only 31 and I look at the majority of clowns coming out of school now, and it's depressing.

I thank God for my parents and the way they raised me, ass-whoopin's included, because it has taken me a long way. An awful lot of the clowns coming out of school, college or highschool, today won't have the same opportunities that I did.

[Teufelhund]

My 17 year old can not get his head out of his phone for even a minute. We had to place strict limitations on it after seeing the effects it was having on his schoolwork and ability to pay attention in general:
-No data plan. Wifi only for data
-No taking it to school
-Not allowed upstairs (he'd stay up all night playing on it)
-Not allowed at the dinner table so he's forced to talk to us

He borrowed my bicycle a couple weeks ago. Hours after he had been home that night, he realized he had no idea where he left the bicycle. Too concerned with whatever is going on in his phone to even remember he had a bike with him.

It's only going to get worse with subsequent generations, and I don't want my 2yo to learn those habits from us. The wife and I have started leaving our phones plugged in by the door when we get home, and have placed books we have been wanting to read at various places around the house. Now instead of seeing us with a phone in our hands when we have downtime, he sees us reading. He'll probably still have to get the same restrictions his big brother has when he gets older though.

[hurley842002]

The wife and I have started leaving our phones plugged in by the door when we get home, and have placed books we have been wanting to read at various places around the house. Now instead of seeing us with a phone in our hands when we have downtime, he sees us reading. He'll probably still have to get the same restrictions his big brother has when he gets older though.

Let me preface by stating, the wife and I have also dealt with phone issues, not with kids but with ourselves. We had to come to terms with the fact that we were on our phones way too much. Now that the boys are older (oldest is 3), the interaction is much greater, and the phone issue is pretty much non existent.

That being said, what is the difference between having your face in a book, or having your face in a phone, provided you are retaining the same info (besides appearance)? I like to research different topics, and learn new things, the majority of that research comes from my phone. I would go as far to say, having your face in your phone, enriching your mind with new, factual information is far better than the most recent Tom Clancy or romance novels. Just my opinion.

[Teufelhund]

what is the difference between having your face in a book, or having your face in a phone, provided you are retaining the same info (besides appearance)?

You hit the nail on the head; my motivation for this rule is really about appearances. If you have a phone in your hand, someone else can't tell if you're reading the news or watching cat videos. If you're holding a book however, it's obvious to anyone what you're doing. I think it's a better example for my 2yo to follow.
eta: Also, it forces us to talk to each other more and find something interactive to do as a family.

I keep thinking back to that CCTV footage that surfaced a couple years ago of a subway train (or maybe it was a bus), where everyone has their face in a phone. Some guy looks around, pulls a pistol out and starts aiming at people - no one notices and he puts the gun away. Then he takes it back out and starts shooting people in the face. It scares me to death to know my 17yo is out there paying attention to his phone at all times, and nothing else.

[Teufelhund]

I cant relate to any of your situations.

We have no video games. No smart phones. My wife and I have prepaid cell phones that only get used in an emergency. (my phone bill is less than $2.50 a month ) no paid television shows (cable), no free television shows, well sometimes pbs comes in. We have movies on disc and we have occasionally watched movies on free amazon prime. (they usually all suck) Im actually afraid my kids wouldnt be able to figure out how to dial 911 if they had to. I have shown them, but they never use a phone. If a family member calls them, my kids just sit there....dead air... they dont talk.

Our kids only use the computer during school. After they do their written portion. We almost never let them watch tv during the day. If we watch tv, we watch a movie together at night. It will probably be a black and white movie made before 1950 though. We only allow them to watch clean shows and clean cartoons. Seems most shows now are ultra violent and skanky. Our kids dont care about technology like ipads, phones, internet. They have microscopes, telescopes, globes, guns and bows (used under direct adult supervision), animals etc to keep them entertained.

An evening at HBAR's house:

[Teufelhund]

Holy cow, man. Got a whole herd, huh? Good on you, sir. I'm always a little worried our (liberty-minded folks) numbers are thinning because we're being out-bred.

[Dave_L]

I saw a kid riding his bike down a hill last night with his phone in hand, playing on it. It's sad what has happened...

[Grant H.]

Our kids only use the computer during school. After they do their written portion. We almost never let them watch tv during the day. If we watch tv, we watch a movie together at night. It will probably be a black and white movie made before 1950 though. We only allow them to watch clean shows and clean cartoons. Seems most shows now are ultra violent and skanky. Our kids dont care about technology like ipads, phones, internet. They have microscopes, telescopes, globes, guns and bows (used under direct adult supervision), animals etc to keep them entertained.

Your kids will be the effective and useful members of society due to this.

[Erni]

I'm with hurley. I read on my phone to learn and research whatever topic intrests me at the time. My utube usage is minimal and I usually don't watch entertainment.
But it really comes down to put away the distractions and talk to eachother.

[GilpinGuy]

I guess my point of this post was: put down the phone/tablet if your doing stupid shit like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. which is what a huge % of people use them for. Not researching nuclear physics or quantum theory. If you are looking into quantum theory every waking moment and you are on your couch while your 5 yo kid is asking to play with you, you should reevaluate your priorities.

Overthinking...jeez.