It is unquestionable that social media is very damaging to a young, impressionable child's brain with very little upside. Plus the fact that it is so addictive means that children (and adults) using it are less likely to have interest in other more productive, creative endeavors as they'd rather just scroll through Facebook.
How do you plan on not letting your child fall for this trap, whilst not being a social outcast?
The most simple solution is to not let them have a phone, but then when all their peers have one and they don't then they will be seen as a loser which is just as damaging.
The common consensus on here seems to be to home school your children but I disagree with that because for me, school is just as much about learning how to deal with different types of people (friends, bullies, girls, authoritative figures, intellectual people, sporty people, upper class people, lower class people etc etc) as it is learning about Maths and English and it's impossible to replicate that in a home school setting.
The only solution I can think of is to send them to a school that bans phones but I'm not sure that they even exist. Parents are just as bad as the children with their "But what if there's an emergency?" talk. But that coupled with during holidays, sending them on sports camps or taking them away on trips somewhere active and interesting where they can explore and open their mind is the best I can think of for now.
If a child is already watching YouTube videos and browsing the internet as I see so many small children doing now, I imagine it is basically impossible to get them to even enjoy reading a book.
How are you guys with children handling this and how do you guys without children plan on handling this when the time comes?
How do you plan on not letting your child fall for this trap, whilst not being a social outcast?
The most simple solution is to not let them have a phone, but then when all their peers have one and they don't then they will be seen as a loser which is just as damaging.
The common consensus on here seems to be to home school your children but I disagree with that because for me, school is just as much about learning how to deal with different types of people (friends, bullies, girls, authoritative figures, intellectual people, sporty people, upper class people, lower class people etc etc) as it is learning about Maths and English and it's impossible to replicate that in a home school setting.
The only solution I can think of is to send them to a school that bans phones but I'm not sure that they even exist. Parents are just as bad as the children with their "But what if there's an emergency?" talk. But that coupled with during holidays, sending them on sports camps or taking them away on trips somewhere active and interesting where they can explore and open their mind is the best I can think of for now.
If a child is already watching YouTube videos and browsing the internet as I see so many small children doing now, I imagine it is basically impossible to get them to even enjoy reading a book.
How are you guys with children handling this and how do you guys without children plan on handling this when the time comes?