. I expect that, if we'd had the Internet, Mumsnet, etc., when I was a child, there'd have been "Calculator Free Kids" groups popping up all over the place. Maybe it was "Slide rule free Kids" a generation further back...
You can't block people in group chats.
While I do think we have a potential problem around unfettered access to the Internet by young people, I really don't think that WhatsApp is anywhere near the core of the problem, nor do I feel that prohibition is the answer. Apart from the fact that it never really works, it only at best kicks the can down the road. We should be teaching digital safety to kids NOW, not waiting until they're adults and having to teach it to THEIR kids in the light of the lessons they had to learn through bitter experience.
Also, "Smartphone free kids" - no agenda there, then
Yeah this. I certainly don't remember ever being asked about my age when I signed up.
Still get asked if you want your number in the directory when you swap phone companies.You'll be pleased to know they do teach kids digital safety. Molly has been learning it since she was about 5 I think (11 now).
And it works, she was horrified to hear about phone books. "What do you mean, all your personal information, in a book that anyone can see????"
TikTok scares me a bit. I am old.
TikTok scares me a bit. I am old.
Probably funded by the Etch-a-Sketch CorporationAlso, "Smartphone free kids" - no agenda there, then
While I do think we have a potential problem around unfettered access to the Internet by young people, I really don't think that WhatsApp is anywhere near the core of the problem, nor do I feel that prohibition is the answer. Apart from the fact that it never really works, it only at best kicks the can down the road. We should be teaching digital safety to kids NOW, not waiting until they're adults and having to teach it to THEIR kids in the light of the lessons they had to learn through bitter experience.
Also, "Smartphone free kids" - no agenda there, then
If only the parents refused to buy their kids smartphones until they were older. Like, imagine, if all of them refused to do it! But no, everyone caves in to peer pressure, what other parents are doing... The few brave parents who refuse to do it are hated by their kids and viewed as freaks. It's fucked up. They're only trying to protect their kids.
I didn't realise the age was 16 or 13 for whatsapp to be honest and my eldest has had it from 10 or 11. But heavily monitored and not allowed to join big groups.As I understand the issue is children get added/invited to groups by strangers, often very large groups and there they get exposed to pornography, groomed etc... The settings need to be adjusted so that their profile can only be seen by their contacts. I can't remember what the default is from the installation, I hope to fuck it's not 'Everyone'! Especially now.
If it was up to me to make the law, it'd be dumb phones ONLY for under 16s! No smart phones until then.
I think most of the parents/carers/educators who have actually experienced kids/teenagers + smartphones are against it. Dumbphones are enough to keep them in touch/safe, without the associated dangers. They're also super cheap and have good battery life. The small screens don't get as easily smashed and if they get lost it's no big deal. I think it's a huge responsibility to give a smartphone to a child under 16. They forget it, they lose it, it gets stolen. Being connected all the time can be terrible for mental health, online bullying... Need I go on???
A huge amount of kids' homework is now set online (Sparks/Seneca/Kay Science). Any policy of banning of smartphones for under 16s needs to provide a solution to this.
Bill Gates is already mind controlling us via our vaccine shots so what does it matter?
