The other day I mentioned that I was considering letting my thirteen year old get a cell phone. After reading [b]Ross Douthat's[/b] recent column on the need for a temperance movement to resist the [i]“tyrant in our pocket”[/i] I have changed my mind, and for the time being she doesn't need one – at least not until Verizon, et al start offering [i]“great 'voice only' plans for minors.”[/i]
As a member of the school board of her Catholic school I have always been resistant to expending precious money on electronics. [b]Douthat[/b] has convinced me to keep digging in my heels:
[i]“Then there are the starker steps. Get computers — all of them — out of elementary schools, where there is no good evidence that they improve learning. Let kids learn from books for years before they’re asked to go online for research; let them play in the real before they’re enveloped by the virtual.”[/i]
Our family is going to be ahead of the curve:
[i]“I suspect that versions of these ideas will be embraced within my lifetime by a segment of the upper class and a certain kind of religious family. But the masses will still be addicted, and the technology itself will have evolved to hook and immerse — and alienate and sedate — more completely and efficiently. But what if we decided that what’s good for the Silicon Valley overlords who send their kids to a low-tech Waldorf school is also good for everyone else?”[/i]
See [i]“Resist the Internet”[/i] by [b]Ross Douthat[/b] @ [i]The New York Times[/i] (March 11, 2017) [c=#BF0000]http://nyti.ms/2nPb4kF[/c]
You can block text and data on a kid's phone with Verizon. In fact they used to have a phone that the parent programmed to allow up to 3 emergency numbers. That was all they could call. You might want to check on that if she plays sports and such. My niece was the last one on her team at 13 to get her phone. She would use her coach's phone often but if anything changes with us picking up or whatever after practices it was harder because the coach didn't bring her phone in to the gym.
PS: I think you have it right in delaying the phone though. I hate when people ignore me in favor of their phone.
I'm not a parent but have taken a look at a few homeschool structure and I see just what your saying in most western states..a basic understanding of computers esp :internet of things:..nit quite like the Amish these children learn the skills applicable to running factory farms..other family businesses..other interests..these kids aren't playing on the internet but learning what's necessary to ensure a semblace of prosperity in modern times..
if you're worried about him being online you can install parental control software which will block him from seeing or doing inappropriate things. My parents put that on my phone and laptop.
@AGirlNamedKim: There are many things that worry me about he technology. It appears to me to be intoxicating. --and I am worried about how it is effecting all of us.
The phones today are illegal unconstitutional surveillance devices used by drones who are becoming totally mindless. These human drones are being surveilled and indoctrinated 24/7 by the internet, google, facebook, twitter, etc. So many uselful idiots obsessed with vapidness. The biggest joke is the new cars where they can take control of your car at will. Good gawd what have we become as a society is beyond what Orwell ever dreamed of...
@Angel01: what point are you making? My children have computers to use, but they are not permitted on certain sites. There are filters and I monitor their use.
P.S. – Usually the purchases considered for technology in our school comes in the form of grants – grants from foundations funded by the hypocrites in Silicon Valley. Like the grants which the federal government hands out to states and local governments they always eventually end up costing plenty.
