This is something that's been on my mind recently and is actually very important. These 2-3 year olds right now are going to be the minds of the future when we're retired.

 

A lot of people feel that these children are constantly baby sat by their iPads and I wanted to discuss this topic-ish.

 

Ahem. So when I go out to dinner with my family I usually see younger children sitting there with headphones on, staring into these iPads, tapping away at the screen, their parents on their phones. It worries me.

 

I'm not trying to be someone who hates the upcoming generation because their way of life was different to mine, but this issue is concerning me greatly. These kids are hardly socialising, their parents are spineless. If the kid gets out of hand and throws a tantrum, the parent can't respond with any real form of punishment. I'm not condoning violence and saying it's okay to beat children because it's obviously wrong, but when I was acting like a spoilt little brat, my mother would be forced to resort to slapping me so i'd behave. It's not child abuse, it's discipline, my mother and father work their butts off to send me to a private school, put food on the table and a roof over my head, if i'm acting like a spoilt brat and not appreciating what they do for me, I deserve a slap to the face.

 

I repeat, this is not physical abuse, it's discipline. Physical abuse would be a parent hitting their child for no reason.

 

Also, there are a lot of single parents these days, whilst this single parent is busy with work or job-related things an iPad seems like a good way to keep the kid busy for a few hours. Children suffer from parental neglect since their parents are still young and want to live their lives by clubbing or such, so an iPad keeps the kid distracted. The other parent that's supposed to be there has been replaced by an iPad.

 

These children will never experience a memorable game, playing outside with toys, running around or any of that stuff. School does keep

these kids socialising so that's good.

 

Although sooner or later they'll all get sick of technology, they are children and eventually they'll grow out of things, everyone does. I hope this day does come. I'm sure that when we were all younger and on our ps2s, n64's or whatever consoles, the generation above us thought the same towards us.

 

What do you guys think?

 

Also, there are a lot of single parents these days, whilst this single parent is busy with work or job-related things an iPad seems like a good way to keep the kid busy for a few hours. Children suffer from parental neglect since their parents are still young and want to live their lives by clubbing or such, so an iPad keeps the kid distracted. The other parent that's supposed to be there has been replaced by an iPad.

 

Replace the word "iPad" in that paragraph with "television" and it'd be exactly the same thing people were concerned about decades ago. Don't worry so much about it, you said yourself, most of us went through the same thing when we were kids and the majority of us aren't totally firetrucked up.

 

Also, here's a little anecdote of my own: I work at a retail chain and a lot of parents let their kids play on tablets and other devices while they're shopping. Literally last night, I saw a brother and sister each playing on separate tablets, the boy playing some fighting game and the girl browsing YouTube, and at the same time they were getting along with each other really well. They would say things like "Yes, I'm about to do my special move! Check it out!" or "Hey, look at this video I found!", very clearly bonding with each other despite doing two very different things. The kids were socializing just fine, and having a great time, iPads and all.

Replace the word "iPad" in that paragraph with "television" and it'd be exactly the same thing people were concerned about decades ago. Don't worry so much about it, you said yourself, most of us went through the same thing when we were kids and the majority of us aren't totally firetrucked up.

 

Also, here's a little anecdote of my own: I work at a retail chain and a lot of parents let their kids play on tablets and other devices while they're shopping. Literally last night, I saw a brother and sister each playing on separate tablets, the boy playing some fighting game and the girl browsing YouTube, and at the same time they were getting along with each other really well. They would say things like "Yes, I'm about to do my special move! Check it out!" or "Hey, look at this video I found!", very clearly bonding with each other despite doing two very different things. The kids were socializing just fine, and having a great time, iPads and all.

hmm, there's two sides to everything of course

First off I think that depends on the country you're living in. Where I live it's not really common to see children with tablets or smartphones, but I see them of course too. Still, I can relate to this subject because of my nephews.

 

They're 7 years old now and have not much to do with any kind of technology. They didn't watch TV till they were 4, they don't have any smartphones (yes, there are 7 year olds with smartphones), but they do have tablets for a year now. They are allowed to play so and so much hours per week, and if they behave bad they're punished by reducing those hours.

I think it's right to handle it this way, cause so they are forced to play with their friends, play football, go out and such things, and not just sit at home all the time, with their faces starring into screens and slowly getting dumb. The problem is, they really suck at technology. I tried to play Mario Kart 8 with them, they always drove against the wall, and then they got angry because they suck so much at it (it's not just video games, they have no idea of technology in any way and I don't know if that's a good thing).

 

I think you should find a balance between real life and technology, though I don't know if you can just separate those terms so lightly. Technology has became a big part of our lives, so the right balance is the best way. But to have an iPad as your parent is wrong, that's no balance. I wouldn't worry to much about it though, most children grow out of that, sure some will never, but the rest will.

It's great that there are young people like you who are thinking about such things 

 

Edit: with technology I mean smartphones, tablets, television, video games and so on.

Edited August 23, 201510 yr by Felixx

Older generations always complain about the younger generation being worse off. /older people already complain about people my age being on the internet/phone all the time and say they need spend time with actual humans.

 

Every time I'm on my computer/phone, I'm spending time with actual humans. I have social anxiety and I've met some of my best friends and my boyfriend on the internet (we've been dating for 6 years and have lived together so it's not purely on the internet anymore, but I met him online 12 years ago and we were friends for a long time before starting to date)

 

And it's funny, because my Mom spends way more time on her phone than I do on mine and I've seen the same thing when I go out to dinner with my boyfriend; while we'll be taking selfies and enjoying each others company, we'll see older couples on their phones and ignoring each other completely lol.

 

/I agree that a lot of parents try to hard to be their kids' friends rather than being a parent... but it's because we want better for our kids than what we had. I was so scared of my parents every time I did every little thing wrong and I didn't even get physically punished more than maybe once or twice. My boyfriend was beaten with belts/shoes/whatever was in reach whenever he got in trouble and he would physically tremble and dread going home from school because he was scared of doing something wrong. I just don't think that's a healthy way for kids to live. So I'll try my best whenever I get around to having a kid to be firm in my decisions as a parent instead of trying to be friends, but I'll never resort to anything physical because I know how much it scared me.

 

tbh as I got older, the more freedom my parents gave me and because of that, I was a good kid. They didn't care if I drank or whatever, they just wanted to make sure it was at home/I wouldn't be driving. And I never even took a sip of alcohol until I was in college. My dad assured me that if I was ever in any sort of bad situation, he would come and pick me up with no questions asked.But I never did anything worth doing that lol. 

 

/A big reason kids lash out against punishment is usually because parents don't really ever explain exactly why they're in trouble. They just say DON'T DO THAT and don't give an explanation. So the sooner people understand that, the easier it is to get their kids to cooperate and the less they have to try to be their kid's best friends.

You're not wrong, but it's good to keep some perspective here. There have always been bad parents and annoying children. And there has always been stuff to keep children occupied. While iPads and the like do tend to keep children indoors and by themselves, it really depends on the child. Generally, the kids that stay indoors 24/7 with an iPad would have stayed indoors regardless. And I'm sure they have more of a negative effect than playing with toy cars, but at least there are educational apps as well. 

TL;DR: Bad parents are bad, iPads are not wholly evil.

Technology is not the root of all evil, parents who decide technology can replace them is the root.

 

This does not count when the children prefer technology over parents. This actually is a case where parents need to observe why the child is going to technology over family...because most likely they are the problem.

 

Example: I'd rather play with my friends online than sit out with my parents. I have issues with my stepmom that are pretty deep. This translates to going to technology. Because I can switch session s or blow the firetrucker up if they anger me.

 

Can't in real life.

 

My point towards this thread is that, as others have said, technology isn't evil. Ironicly enough what is evil is what drives children to have a greater affinity to technology than to real people.

i feel bad for kids growing up nowadays because they'll probably be waxing nostalgic on a bunch of soulless and shallow games made with only profits in mind

The upcoming generation don't know anything. They're too busy on their phones. They'll bring us demise and the death of the human race.

The upcoming generation don't know anything. They're too busy on their phones. They'll bring us demise and the death of the human race.

Keep some perspective here, one day we'll all have children and it's our job to raise them correctly so they won't act like iPad zombie people. It all depends on US and how WE raise our children, everything depends on something else. If we don't raise our kids in a proper manner who'll take care of us when we grow old?

i feel bad for kids growing up nowadays because they'll probably be waxing nostalgic on a bunch of soulless and shallow games made with only profits in mind

I kind of agree with this, some of the games being made now a days suck, but that's a different argument.

Edited August 23, 201510 yr by TheNinjasJoint

It bugs me too, but then I remind myself that humans have been worried about the next generation of humans ever since generations and humans existed. Every generation has their bogeymen. It used to be rock and roll, then video games, now tablets and the internet.

 

There are definitely parents out there who use technology as a replacement for actual parenting, but I think there are just as many parents who don't simply hand their kid an iPad and call it a day. We don't know how those kids spend their time in their own house. Whenever you see kids staring at an iPad in public, that doesn't inherently mean that playing a game outside is beyond their comprehension. Things like iPads are convenient ways to keep kids occupied while they're with their parents on errands, because, in case you forgot, errands are boring. When they get home, for all we know, they ditch the iPads and go do something meaningful.

 

 I'm pretty sure there are enough good parents out there to balance things out. You can't sweep an entire generation under the same blanket, unless you want the previous generation to do the same thing to us (and they do, just like we're doing now). A lot of kids care about their education and future, probably more than they ever did. You don't hear news stories of good parenting where the kids are well-rounded with a good balance of real life, technology, education, and leisure -- those don't get views. No, instead you see stories of spoiled brats who throw tantrums over getting the wrong color car for their birthday. You hear those stories a lot because with social media and whatnot, they're easier to be shared, so people think they're a bigger epidemic than they probably are. I don't think stories like that are normal. That's why they become articles, and why I try to have a little faith that things won't go to hell because the next generation has different values than ours.

Television, Video Games and the Internet. All three have been responsible for thoughts like these and being in headlines as "Poisoning the Youth" or "Dumbing them down". History repeats itself frequently, but it all turns out good in the end because, well, more parents than you might think, given the frequent sharing of bad news over good news, are good parents who actually spend time with their kids, discipline them and teach them valuable lessons in life instead of being the bad parents who shove an iPad in their face and call it a day.

 

I don't own an iPad, I'm also not one for wasting time doing nothing at all and would rather be productive, technology or not...but I have faith in this generation and I like that someone as young as you is actually having these thoughts, planning ahead and rekindling my faith in the Human Race, which I still retain a lot of contrary to what I may have said in the past, if at all.

 

And, well, a lot of people here have said a lot of the points I'd say and wholeheartedly agree with so, I'll just leave it here.