So… 100,000 parents decided they didn’t want to parent and would rather the “guvment” do the parenting for them and for the rest of the country?..
It’s not quite that simple, as you are kind of coerced into getting a phone at a very young age (usually ~8). So the good parents risk their kids being one of the weird kids without a phone, with all the ostracism and bullying that might come with that. It’s quite a dilemma actually.
That’s up to the parents to do. Not up to the government to do. That’s not the government’s job. That’s the parents’ job. I do agree that devices shouldn’t be added to the school’s curriculum until later, instead of at kinder as it is now. But legally banning phones for <14 is offloading responsibility to an entity that should never have that responsibility.
Now you’re getting it! Let big government raise their kids rather than just parenting themselves!
There are far more than 100,000 parents who didn’t sign it.
In 2023, there were 19.5 million families in the UK, an increase of just over 1.1 million families (6%) since 2013.
Even if we assume that each signatory represents a unique family (i.e. no couples contributed two signatures) then 100k represents only half of a percent.
Millions never even heard there was something to sign.
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This would be equivalent of not letting under-14s into libraries or read anything practically for that matter in 1900s. Phones are not just used for social media or gaming, you are limiting the conversation abilities, accessibility of information, and freedom
Luckily they’re not banning tablets or laptops or tethering or even WiFi. Early teens should figure all that out in a jiffy.
problem is, among the items you enumerated, phones (usually) are the cheapest (not comparing flagship phones here, you can get good-ish entry level phone at 150-200 USD (I use one) and goodish laptops start around 300 (and even then it is mostly underpowered chrmoebooks, many of of which are not good), tablets (entry level) start at about the same prize of phones, but for a given prize, you would get other specs lower (they have to cut cost somewhwere, and larger screen costs more). Now, these tablets can serve as a carrier for information, but that would not be the most ideal solution.
phones are made for mindless media consumption. just look at the home screen of a factory resetted phone. facebook, instagram, tiktok, and other literal garbage too is not just installed, but pinned to the home screen by default
just look at the home screen of a factory resetted phone. facebook, instagram, tiktok, and other literal garbage too is not just installed, but pinned to the home screen by default
That’s an inconvenience to be sure, but cleaning all that crap from every device is just part of the ritual just like pealing the protective film off the screen.
Inconvenience for us. but that’s not my point. I’m pretty sure that really works for lots of people, who actually start using apps because it’s on the home screen already.
I suppose you are right.
As an anicdote, my son has always curated his home screen, creating groups for related games (e.g. one group for the cut the rope series, another for hey duggee games) and removing icons he wasn’t using so much anymore.
Then when my son was 4yo and his tablet ran out of space I taught him how to uninstall applications and that he could go to the play store and reinstall any titles I had previously appoved by himself. After that he could cycle though his library without any issues only needing my help if we were considering a new title.
A couple of months later my mum was having trouble with her phone because it was full, so she came around for a visit and my son showed her how to uninstall unwanted apps and manage her home screen.
So I guess this story reinforces that curating your device’s software library is a learned skill.
pealing the protective film off the screen
Ohhhhhhhhhhh yeeeeeeeeaaaahhhhh…
that very much depends on manufacturer of the phone, not all manufacturer supliment the purchase price of phones with those bloatware deals, you can definitely find some good ones in a pile of dirt
This is, of course, what the Nazis want. And we can’t let them get what they want
If they ban smart phones, how will I teach my children to worship Satan?
I guess I might still have my D&D books somewhere around.
(This is a sarcastic reference to a judges excellent comparison. Also, I know exactly where my D&D books are. Also, I haven’t gotten to the Satan worship yet, if it is in my D&D books. Maybe I missed a rule.)
I am more worried about how this would be enforced. I’ve heard that China forces the major mobile games to scan the user’s face once in a while, which would be horrifying in a similar scenario, especially applied to everything, not just games.
Having social media not be soft-required for school would be awesome though. I hated having to be on VKontakte as a kid and hate having to be on Telegram now.
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Ah yes because we all know abstinence of a thing works so well /s
How many smartphones are even signed by that many parents? 2?
Talk about banning unicorns!
Have these parents never heard of Pinwheel, Gabb, Bark, etc? They exist for a reason. My two oldest have Pinwheel smartphones (Blu G91S, Motorola G Play 2024), and I have complete control over them. The kids know this as it was a condition of them having a phone at all.
Fuck that
