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Probably not the point you want to make, but "they will ensure your kids don't grow up to be sociopathic, exploitative, narcissistic assholes like Elon Musk" may be the highest praise I've ever seen piled on them...
Just to give a counterpoint to the "play outside" narrative:
Grew up in a bad neighbourhood, kids were racist shits. Did all my socialising in online games and IRC.
Are kids' playgroups online a thing? Play with your classmates kind of thing? If I had a kid I'd try to connect them online to their classmates to play, socialise, etc. Pandemic winter outside sucks.
Grew up in a bad neighbourhood, kids were racist shits. Did all my socialising in online games and IRC.
Are kids' playgroups online a thing? Play with your classmates kind of thing? If I had a kid I'd try to connect them online to their classmates to play, socialise, etc. Pandemic winter outside sucks.
I am certainly not going to meet friends in person or something pontentially dangerous like that
So the kid is going to play ball with himself
This thread is essentially, "don't attack my video games!"
So many in here using the pandemic as an excuse to play an unhealthy amount of video games. Just because it a pandemic doesn't meant its okay to to use activities such as binging tv or gaming to replace healthier ones. Though both are fine is moderation. But when thats all you do?
Parents of children could easily take this opportunity to spend a bit more quality time with their children during the pandemic. Adults and kids can both spend time learning new skills. Its not like there aren't a ton of activities to do such a reading a book, doing a creative project, learning literally anything, improve yourself in someway or work out.
The point of the article is the concern of youth going from more structured day of education, physical fitness and other activities, to sitting on the couch, snacking and staring into a screen git'n gud for 8 hours a day. This pandemic is setting a lot of kids back both in their social growth but also academically.
So many in here using the pandemic as an excuse to play an unhealthy amount of video games. Just because it a pandemic doesn't meant its okay to to use activities such as binging tv or gaming to replace healthier ones. Though both are fine is moderation. But when thats all you do?
Parents of children could easily take this opportunity to spend a bit more quality time with their children during the pandemic. Adults and kids can both spend time learning new skills. Its not like there aren't a ton of activities to do such a reading a book, doing a creative project, learning literally anything, improve yourself in someway or work out.
The point of the article is the concern of youth going from more structured day of education, physical fitness and other activities, to sitting on the couch, snacking and staring into a screen git'n gud for 8 hours a day. This pandemic is setting a lot of kids back both in their social growth but also academically.
No, Elon Musk smokes weed all day. Clearly, that is better than playing video games? ...
That kid saying his phone is his whole life is just him reaching adulthood
In seriousness, in our society at this moment that kid is 100% right. I would have been miserable without being able to hang with friends all day and had to be stuck inside with nothing but my parents. A smartphone would have been the only thing keeping me social and therefore sane
In seriousness, in our society at this moment that kid is 100% right. I would have been miserable without being able to hang with friends all day and had to be stuck inside with nothing but my parents. A smartphone would have been the only thing keeping me social and therefore sane
Kids play with their friends mostly. They organize in Discord.
For the kids that can, it's an option.
For those that can't you figure something else out, besides videogames all day, everyday.
Article is hyperbolic "kidz these dayssss" stuff, but video games and phone all day every day is bad. Even in a pandemic you need to get away from screens and get outside. Mountain biking is a physically distant sport, so they should encourage him to get back into it.
Kid can keep entertained without abusing phones, computers and TVs. Plenty of creative toys out there.
This is why my wife and I went on a buying rampage of outside activities for our children recently, they were just sitting on their iPads and video game systems for hours a day, and while we recognize they can't really go play with friends right now, we also knew they couldn't just sit on their ass all day playing games and watching Ryan videos. We bought them a new basketball hoop, a trampoline, one got a new bike, the other got the older ones old bike, remote control cars, and some new sports gear all to get them outside. Obviously this isn't something everyone can do, and that is unfortunate, but I am glad we did it.
And video games don't help kids be creative?
So much fucking holier-than-thou being thrown around in this thread.
It doesn't concern me if someone wants to spend 20 hours a day playing games. I doubt they'd have gone out and cured cancer had it not been for video games.
It doesn't concern me if someone wants to spend all day in the kitchen baking bread. I doubt they'd have gone out and planned the first manned mission to Mars had it not been for flour and yeast.
It doesn't concern me if someone wants to spend all day smoking weed and listening to music. I doubt they'd have gone out and solved the Israel/Palestine conflict.
If someone finds something that makes them happy, who gives a fuck if they aren't doing other things?
Play is play, whether it's outside, inside, or involving a screen.
Well, dismissing a problem is an easy way out, but as a parent myself I sympatize with the dad. In an ideal family the parents may have dedicated all their free time to organize the alternative entertainment possibilities for their children, but in a real world you come from a work at the evening, do something with kids for 2 hours and thats it. Their friends are all online, playing, so thats where the focus of their attention lies, no matter how hard you try to offer something else to them. As a result screen time skyrockets and nothing except a physical exhausion limits it from above.
So what should we parents do in this case? Put strick hardware limitations on game time, discord time, tv time? Do nothing and hope the pandemic will pass away and everything will become normal again? I do not lilke both of these choice, but trying to do something in the middle seems to emphisize the negatives of both instead of combining the positives.
Hard times, Era, hard times.
So what should we parents do in this case? Put strick hardware limitations on game time, discord time, tv time? Do nothing and hope the pandemic will pass away and everything will become normal again? I do not lilke both of these choice, but trying to do something in the middle seems to emphisize the negatives of both instead of combining the positives.
Hard times, Era, hard times.
I understand comparing sedentary activities (like most video games) and outdoor exercise, but what is the difference between an indoor toy and video games (which are also indoor toys)?
Exactly, and wtf are people supposed to do? Talk? About what? After being locked in cause of lockdowns nobody has anything to talk about.
Dad should just buy a second controller and play with his kid in order to socialize
Why do people keep acting like the article says 40 hours of gaming? It doesn't. It says 40 hours between gaming and his phone, which as a teenager in a pandemic is the only way he can socialize with his friends responsibly.
When he said it's his whole life... that's true? When you can't see your friends, when you can't do the things you're used to, your phone is the one thing helping you feel a little bit normal. That's unfortunate, but that's not him being some kind of weirdo. These are the facts of this pandemic.
The parents are basically saying, "Why do you want to talk to friends instead of hanging out with your old man or go outside to be alone with your thoughts during a global pandemic?"
When he said it's his whole life... that's true? When you can't see your friends, when you can't do the things you're used to, your phone is the one thing helping you feel a little bit normal. That's unfortunate, but that's not him being some kind of weirdo. These are the facts of this pandemic.
The parents are basically saying, "Why do you want to talk to friends instead of hanging out with your old man or go outside to be alone with your thoughts during a global pandemic?"
40h is a lot... even on pandemic. I mean, does he not have to attend school classes? Any book to read? Drawings? Writing something? Music? Getting interested in Cooking or anything home related? Anything? I always played a lot when I was younger, and never have been a social guy, but still... I did also a lot of different things while at home, not only playing. And I really played a lot in the end anyway.
I suppose online gaming makes the difference on the time spent...? Social part of it I suppose.
Overall is sure an issue of hour times. I hope I will be able to teach my son how to manage better his time... well who ever know if he will like videogames anyway... still too young.
I suppose online gaming makes the difference on the time spent...? Social part of it I suppose.
Overall is sure an issue of hour times. I hope I will be able to teach my son how to manage better his time... well who ever know if he will like videogames anyway... still too young.
The trails on the Colorado front range and near Boulder are extremely popular and have been packed all year, with most not wearing masks. I live in the area.
Personally, I bought a bike trainer to stay home.
Lol. This sounds like me last night. My kid threw a fit when I had to say no more videogames today. He has to be quarantined all week so we don't actually feel that bad about some extra game time, but throwing a fit had me worried...granted, he's only almost 4.
This.
People throwing around productivist angles here like, wtf lol It's a kid that has nothing else to hold on to in the middle of a pandemic, what do you expect him to do? Shit he's not interested in? To entertain his dumb parents ideas of a family and "self improvement"? Get a grip. It's not like this kid will be learning critical thinking outside of his screen with parents like that in the middle of a central capitalism.
I'm thinking the same lol . 40 hours a week is not something entirely absurd, especially during a pandemic.
That's the essence of it, isn't it? It's just a moral panic about how screens will make your eyes go square etc.
E.g. there are loads of examples of people in this thread suggesting to spend some time playing board games instead of video games, which illustrates the point. There is no functional difference between a board game and a video game, they are the exact same thing (which is particularly obvious in the example of board game styled games like Civ). The only difference is one involves a screen and the other doesn't, but that's a purely arbitrary distinction.
Obviously moderation is important with everything and physical activity is important, but this idea that recreational screen time or video games are some unique evil worse than any other sedentary recreational activity is pure moral panic.
I wouldn't even argue that 40 hours a week (i.e. 5 and a bit hours per day) of playing games and talking to your friends online is particularly extreme during a pandemic. It's probably a bit too much, but nowhere near *chuck your kid under the bus in a newspaper* levels of too much. I mean nobody seems to bat an eyelid of the prospect of most white-collar workers spending 40 hours a week staring at their work computer for most of their lives and that's because it's harder to create a moral panic around people working than it is for kids having fun.
As a parent it's important to find a good balance. The amount of time some of my son's friends spend gaming is worrying. There are other things to do, a lot of parents are just lazy and now they don't have to feel guilty because they can blame the pandemic instead of engaging with their kids. I play board games with my son but obviously that requires me to stop doing whatever I'm doing which isn't a problem because my priority is always to spend as much time with him as possible, a lot of parents think differently though.
Why not make the most and get involved with your childs screentime then? Play things as a family, ask them what they like and dont like about the game(s) they are playing. There are so many ways to make this into a positive bonding experience with your child.
I don't have children but I would like to think that if I was stuck indoors with limited things to do, I would love to play games with my kid. Yes there should be limits but why can't newspapers find the positives in gaming for once.
This article just sensationalises the situation. I don't believe the article would be the same if it was about the mum and dad calling friends while watching TV.
I don't have children but I would like to think that if I was stuck indoors with limited things to do, I would love to play games with my kid. Yes there should be limits but why can't newspapers find the positives in gaming for once.
This article just sensationalises the situation. I don't believe the article would be the same if it was about the mum and dad calling friends while watching TV.
I don't understand why they don't have set screen time? Like, my friend has kids and they get up and do yoga together and do mid afternoon workouts together and get bike rides in on good weather days after all the homework is done. Who the FUCK let's a kid just sit at a screen all day? That's just bad parenting.
I agree with the balance part, but its not just that parents are lazy. If your a working parent it's very easy to get caught up in thinking everything has to be done around the house/apartment(chores and DIY and whatever) when you have spare moments and quickly lose track of time. It's scary how quickly weekends have passed and I realize I need to stop and make sure I have family time.
I'm aware of that, I work a highly stressful full-time job as well, but kids take priority over everything else. During a weekend there needs to be time to at least take a short walk, play ball in the garage, a pillow fight, whatever. Not to mention studying.
I see kids playing until 1 or 2 a.m. and early in the morning they're already doing it again. That's not healthy. And now the parents are trying to change that routine but somehow it got to a point where the kids are the ones in charge and the parents just give up. They feel entitled to play 12 hours per day because they were allowed to do it up until now. Some of them are also adicted to a degree that is downright scary.
One can assume alot but so what. Its not easy being a perfect role model all by yourself as a parent. If a dude has dyslexia and a shit job he can still be saddened if his kid doesnt do aswell as some others coming from academic families.
the concept of "video game addiction" gets thrown around in a way that's deeply unscientific and deeply concerning, if I'm being honest
there are people who get addicted to video games, yes
there are also people who use them as tools for socializing and feeling a sense of accomplishment. like, shit, my dad wasn't "addicted" to loitering in parking lots with his friends in high school, but he sure did it a lot. he wasn't "bettering himself" or "learning a hobby" or whatever the fuck, he was just... being a kid. hanging out with other kids. you know, kid shit. he had a great time. his favorite story to tell is how his group of friends actually got the local city council to enact an ordinance preventing loitering because of them. can't imagine this is somehow more noble of an enterprise than playing video games.
in general, tech panics can have some kernels of truth to them (in particular, we do know quite a bit about the harmful effects of social media, although "recent events" have shown that's certainly not limited to kids), but it's largely driven by parents who feel a sense of confusion that their kid isn't growing up the same way they did. at some point, your kid's gonna want to do the popular shit, and you're gonna feel a weird sense that they're "missing out" because you, as a parent, are subconsciously attempting to relive your own childhood through them. shit happens. probably don't need to write a breathless news story about it.
there are people who get addicted to video games, yes
there are also people who use them as tools for socializing and feeling a sense of accomplishment. like, shit, my dad wasn't "addicted" to loitering in parking lots with his friends in high school, but he sure did it a lot. he wasn't "bettering himself" or "learning a hobby" or whatever the fuck, he was just... being a kid. hanging out with other kids. you know, kid shit. he had a great time. his favorite story to tell is how his group of friends actually got the local city council to enact an ordinance preventing loitering because of them. can't imagine this is somehow more noble of an enterprise than playing video games.
in general, tech panics can have some kernels of truth to them (in particular, we do know quite a bit about the harmful effects of social media, although "recent events" have shown that's certainly not limited to kids), but it's largely driven by parents who feel a sense of confusion that their kid isn't growing up the same way they did. at some point, your kid's gonna want to do the popular shit, and you're gonna feel a weird sense that they're "missing out" because you, as a parent, are subconsciously attempting to relive your own childhood through them. shit happens. probably don't need to write a breathless news story about it.
I agree. My wife and I have already started limiting some of the amount of time my son and daughter are using technology since they have been told they are going back to school in March, including having at least one or two evenings of no technology.
My son is 12 , and will get text messages on his phone at 11:00PM from his mates wanting to play which I find crazy. He still has a 9PM bedtime since he insists on waking up at 6AM no matter what time he goes to bed.
It's just that there is so much nuance that needs to be applied with any of these parenting discussions. Everybody's situation is so different and I don't think anyone should judge anyone's parenting choices, on either side of the discussion.
Dad works at the local sheriffs so you know he's plopping his ass down to watch Hannity every day.
Article should be called "Emotionally stunted boomer dad can't figure out why he can't connect with his son, lashes out instead"
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There is only so much you can do in a pandemic. Father of three here. We have a decent sized fenced in yard. There are power wheels, sprinklers, sidewalk chalk for making art on the fence, soccer balls and goals, scooters and bikes and when this all popped off I bought and put together a climbing dome. On decent days (of which there have been few lately) the kids will go out and play for a bit. Most of the time my 9 year old is doing virtual learning (there's the damn screen!) while the 5 and 2 year old are being engaged by my wife with either some craft (lots and lots of slime in the house) hide and seek, playing with whatever toys they've got out. It's not perfect though, our 9 year old will eventually need help with something in school and then my wife will help her out. Sometimes the younger kids play nice and it's a good scene. Sometimes they just need to be placated with a screen.
These things happen. We monitor it as much as we can, and the content is being controlled by whatever parental controls we have the means to use, but it's still screen time.
The 9 year old hops on a google meet after school with her friends so that they can play games together, or just chat without a teacher around. We're totally fine with that, she's old enough to know it wasn't always like that and needs social interaction with other people than her family. Our 5 year old has a small idea of what is going on but doesn't quite grasp why we can't just take off to the playground like we used to and meet new friends. I'm most concerned for her tbh. She was getting structure with pre-school, and that spark of wanting to learn is starting to fade a little. We'll read with her, and try to engage with spelling and math stuff but she sees through it sometimes and shuts down. Our 2 year old has no idea what's going on, so she should be fine.
This past year has just been full of damned if you do, damned if you don't moments as parents. This is such a shit take from this article, nobody needs to be juding anything that anybody is doing to get by.
These things happen. We monitor it as much as we can, and the content is being controlled by whatever parental controls we have the means to use, but it's still screen time.
The 9 year old hops on a google meet after school with her friends so that they can play games together, or just chat without a teacher around. We're totally fine with that, she's old enough to know it wasn't always like that and needs social interaction with other people than her family. Our 5 year old has a small idea of what is going on but doesn't quite grasp why we can't just take off to the playground like we used to and meet new friends. I'm most concerned for her tbh. She was getting structure with pre-school, and that spark of wanting to learn is starting to fade a little. We'll read with her, and try to engage with spelling and math stuff but she sees through it sometimes and shuts down. Our 2 year old has no idea what's going on, so she should be fine.
This past year has just been full of damned if you do, damned if you don't moments as parents. This is such a shit take from this article, nobody needs to be juding anything that anybody is doing to get by.
No, it's not. Stop trying to convince yourself that it is.
I have three kids aged 2, 9 and 14. The two older of course play a lot of videogames and i worry about how much time they spend on it. Unlike many other kids they haven't left the house since the pandemic hit in march last year. We do have a big yard, a pool, a basketball hoop and a trampolin which they use sometimes, but since this shit began they spend more and more time playing and on youtube than doing anything else.
I do wonder what long term effects this lockdown will have on them, i can't imagine being locked in my house for over a year at their age.
I do wonder what long term effects this lockdown will have on them, i can't imagine being locked in my house for over a year at their age.
I don't blame the kid. I mean what else is there to do? I have been home for a month and I can't even go on my patio like in the summer because it is freezing here. So I am pretty much on my phone/PC, gaming, reading, watching shows/movies, sleeping or walking around inside my condo.
Do they want the kid to play outside during a pandemic and put himself and others at risk?
Do they want the kid to play outside during a pandemic and put himself and others at risk?