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EE warns parents against giving children under 11 a smartphone
(www.theguardian.com)
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this post was submitted on 26 Aug 2024
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Let's go one step further...
VRChat on the Quest is not a babysitter!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Children will be raised initially by an expanded roomba with arms amd a babysitting AI.
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...
Yeah, public worlds are cancer. It's best to get in with friends or groups.
That's not my point. Kids congregate in public worlds, and predatory adults know where to find them.
...and that is my original point.