Tech Free Days

Device free is the best way for kids, change my mind! LOL

One of the things I've been very adamant about doing for my son is to give him as much of a technology free environment as I can. Not to shelter him from it all as a way to keep him down, but to let him grow up without the ills that it causes hundreds of millions of other kids around the world.

This isn't an easy path to take, and I'm certainly not perfect at it because there are some days where I give in and let him use a tablet to watch a show or something that he can't watch on TV. Every time I do have that happen though, I'm reminded exactly WHY I keep him off those fucking things in the first place. I won't go into details, but I can instantly know when he has been using a device, because of what it does to his behavior and mood.

Every kid is different of course, but one of the things that I've heard from really smart people that I have grown to appreciate their perspective is that phones and tablets for kids are one of the worst things you can do for them. That is likely going to be a bit controversial and I'm sure I will get push back from someone at least, but let's think about it.

Yes there are certainly edge (stress on EDGE, as in not the norm) cases for kids that need to walk or do other things. For that reason, get them a text and call only phone. Do NOT let peer pressure get the best of you, as it does many, when it comes to our children. Fuck 'em is what I say, I don't give a shit what the other kids have or do.

Pretty famously, the tech billionaires and richest people in the world go to great lengths to keep their kids off the devices, and also don't let them subscribe to the services they themselves offer at their companies because they know how abysmal it is for their physical health, mental health and spiritual health. Almost everything on the internet targeted at kids unless it is VERY specific groups who are well aware of this, are trying to twist your kid into people they should not be simply because they are vampires. They suck the innocence and virtue out of kids and it's pretty insidious.

That's not to say that my son is completely unaware of it all. He knows what I do for work, and has on many occasions helped me with something I am working on and if he asks questions about one of the things I am doing, I tell him as much as I can so that he can understand it a little bit more. I know he will eventually get into the things but I am saving his brain as much as possible.

We saw a brilliant specialist and I have been searching his site, as well as the internet for the research he was talking about, but he made some specific comments about why to keep kids off the devices that I've certainly known subconsciously for a while, but talking to him made a few things click. The devices ruin kids frontal lobes with the constant stimulation as well as the amygdala. These are really important areas for childhood development and the kids these days are sadly the experiment for it all. We have absolutely no clue what the long term consequences are for the kids who are being absolutely poisoned by highly addicting blue-light rich devices for 12 or more hours a day. All we can say for sure is it's bad but because of money, there really isn't much being done about it.

Not that I want more nanny-state government shit, because we've got enough of that already as it is, but there would be lots of benefits for laws around not being able to sell or market these things to children unless there are very strict and specific criteria, and even then the devices should be blue-light free, ideally with an e-ink type of display. The chances of that happening are slim to none of course, so the best thing I can do is do what I'm doing now, and keeping the little man off the device as much as possible.

What about you, do you think that kids should be absolute bare minimum removed from technology until they get to double digit age at least? What age do you think is appropriate for them? Let me know in the comments!