Can't believe I'm reading stuff like this. Millennials are so f'd up.
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/11/05/kids-technology-addiction/
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/11/05/kids-technology-addiction/
iPad addiction caught dad by surprise!
- Thread starter HighStickHarry
- Start date
I'm in charge of new hires for a major oil company. From interviewing, hiring thru training. The smart phone is really becoming an issue. On their first day we start weening it from them. A few couldn't handle and had to leave or were let go.
My son is 13. If my wife and I didn't limit his daily "screen time", I'm pretty sure he would be on his phone/laptop for nearly every waking moment. We have had issues in the past with him waking up in the middle of the night to sneak screen time, and with him being on his phone at school. (those issues seem to be under control at this time) He really doesn't watch TV/movies, which I did a lot of when I was his age, so I don't have as much of a problem with his "addiction", but we do feel the need to limit his access so that he is forced to interact with us and to find other ways to occupy himself. If we didn't place limits on him (which a lot of parents do not), I think it would have a significant negative effect on his ability to function/be independent within society.
BeenJammin,
Same issues with my son, sneaking in and playing Xbox in the middle of the night. It's damned near an addiction.
The thing is that he knows he's going to get caught and get a ban for at least 3-4 days, often a week and yet - he still does it. It's like his need to be on there and play a game is worth going without it for a week, even though it's obvious that it doesn't work out for him. Like I said, it's almost like dealing with a junkie that just cannot resist getting high, even though he knows it's going to end very badly for him.
I will say he's gotten a bit better over time, but every once in a while (despite placing obstacles in his path) he will find his way online when he's not supposed to be. I think this summer, we're going to send him to Mongolia and have him live with a nomadic herder family. Their most up-to-the-date technology is usually a transistor radio. Let him get up at 5 am every morning and work the animals until sundown and see how much more he may appreciate the reasonable restrictions he has on Xbox now.
Same issues with my son, sneaking in and playing Xbox in the middle of the night. It's damned near an addiction.
The thing is that he knows he's going to get caught and get a ban for at least 3-4 days, often a week and yet - he still does it. It's like his need to be on there and play a game is worth going without it for a week, even though it's obvious that it doesn't work out for him. Like I said, it's almost like dealing with a junkie that just cannot resist getting high, even though he knows it's going to end very badly for him.
I will say he's gotten a bit better over time, but every once in a while (despite placing obstacles in his path) he will find his way online when he's not supposed to be. I think this summer, we're going to send him to Mongolia and have him live with a nomadic herder family. Their most up-to-the-date technology is usually a transistor radio. Let him get up at 5 am every morning and work the animals until sundown and see how much more he may appreciate the reasonable restrictions he has on Xbox now.
Have you guys tried slamming them on the ground and having them arrested?
We have been through that issue also. Same exact thing. Sneaking it at night. Losing it for a week, then trying to get away with it again. However, we haven't had any issues in over 6 months, so I think the message finally sunk in and he realized that the trade off is not worth it.
However, I totally understand why our kids behave this way. I used to play World of Warcraft, and I remember that the game had things called daily quests that your character had to accomplish to get a coin. You would need a certain number of coins in order to buy another item that you needed to make a particular weapon. However, you could only perform the quest once a day, so you had to complete the daily quest every day for 30 days. If you didn't do it every day, it would take longer, obviously. A lot of video games are set up with similar parameters. My son would tell me that he just had to get on for a few minutes to find out the daily clue that would help him solve the next level (or something like that). They hang that carrot on a stick in front of kids and keep them chasing it slowly so that they don't solve the game/get bored with it after just a few days of play.
It just takes kids some time to understand that it is really not that important to achieve their goals (within the game) as quickly as possible, and that getting grounded destroys any chance of them finishing quickly anyway.
I've mentioned this on here before but I don't think anything is sadder than looking over at a table of a family at dinner and all of them are sitting there playing on gadgets. I understand letting them watch a movie on a 5 hr car trip but using an electronic device as a babysitter for your kid at a restaurant is so sorry. How about you enjoy each other's company and quit being a lazy ass parent? Oh no, you have to keep your kid in line at the dinner table, the horror! My wife and I even leave our phones in the car when we go out to eat for this very reason.
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All of my kids devices are on fixed IP addresses at home. My son loses access at midnight every night and it comes back on at 6:30 am. Haven't had an issue with the daughter, so she has a lot more freedom.
Biggest issue I have with my daughter's usage is that it is impossible to tell if she is using it for schoolwork or just screwing around. She has so many damn group projects assigned that she is always chatting or texting about one of them.
We don't allow phones at the dinner table, in the car during normal daily rides, or when we are watching movies.
Biggest issue I have with my daughter's usage is that it is impossible to tell if she is using it for schoolwork or just screwing around. She has so many damn group projects assigned that she is always chatting or texting about one of them.
We don't allow phones at the dinner table, in the car during normal daily rides, or when we are watching movies.
Same deal with my daughter. She still manages to make A's, so I don't worry about it. But my wife is constantly telling her to get off her phone and get back to her homework. Most of the time, she is looking up something to help her with the work or talking with a group about a project.
