I banned my daughter from using the iPhone she bought. It made her a better person | Em Rio
www.theguardian.com
I set expectations when she saved up and got the phone – little did I know it would undermine them, and her mental health
  • Thistlewick@lemmynsfw.com
    4·
    5 months ago

    This article reads like a person who thinks they have found the answer, but is still so woefully uninformed.

    The doctor didn’t tell you about the social media apps that your kid was using? It’s not their fault you were inattentive.

    They took their daughter’s phone away twice due to mental health issues, and the plan is to play soccer with her until high school and then give her back the phone. My sibling in Christ, you’ve done nothing to scaffold and support your child’s health after these incidents, but sure, drop her in the deep end with her addictions and mental issues as she enters high school. I’m sure those kids are mature enough to not cause the same problems tenfold.

    The sad fact is that we live in a world that requires the use of technology. In some countries, ICT Capability is a priority across the high school curriculum. Taking the phone away makes her act like your idea of a kid again, sure, but at some point she is going to need to use a phone or a computer or a tablet without you breathing down her neck. We need to be educating our children on safe practices, not taking their phones away and proclaiming to have solved the problem.

    It’s like abstinence only sexual education.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
    3·
    5 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    Social media usage poses mental health risks to youth, who use it “almost constantly”, causing sleep deprivation, depression and anxiety.

    Her sixth-grade school picture captures my daughter’s “emo” phase: the feather earring, Pink Floyd T-shirt and crooked smile.

    Afternoon sun filtered through faux wood blinds, casting light strips across her ever-present black hoodie.

    I was frantic, but displayed calm confidence, even a little humor, as I searched her backpack and drawers, patted down her pockets, entered her room unannounced, trying to catch her in the act.

    Without her phone, she’s the kid who dribbles her soccer ball across the living room, rides her skateboard down the street, makes the honor roll, joins the track team.

    These days, we use my phone together to coordinate hangouts, listen to audiobooks, sing along to her songs and mine – Shakira and Sade, Ice Cube and the Fugees.

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