Should Minors Have Extremely Limited / No Access to the Internet?

[Unpaid Emotional Labourer]

I mean...I think most parents are too internet-dependent themselves to do what would be necessary, but I am always baffled by this attitude that parents are helpless to stop their kids from doing anything they like on the internet. Did you know, parents out there, that in fact your children don’t have to have phones or other devices that can access it? Did you know that if you don’t buy them they won’t have them? Did you know you can keep the family PC in a shared living space?

By the time a kid is old enough to figure out how to score his own devices and secretly obtain the WiFi password, the danger is largely over. We’re not trying to keep 16-yos from watching porn. We’re trying to keep 8-yos from doing so.

Might he go over to some feral friend‘s house where his feral family has been letting him watch porn since elementary school? Sure he might. He might also end up raiding the liquor cabinet over there, but that doesn’t mean you should make sure he has open access to yours. He *should* have to sneak around to do questionable shit.

Anyway, the reason parents usually can’t manage this is because they don’t want to spend time with their kids, and that is what it would take. If the parents are going be zoned out on their phone all the time, they’re going to let the kid be as well, so he doesn’t interrupt them. But if the parents take the kids outside, go out and about as a family, are involved in sports and community stuff, etc, then the available time for everyone to vegetate is greatly reduced. That is the sacrifice most parents are unwilling to make, which is why they pretend they’re helpless.

 

[Johan Schmidt]

Yes. Children should have limited access to the internet; same as they should have limited access to TV and sugar. Raise your kids yourself.

 

[Sidon's fleshlight]

I did want to add here, since I posted this earlier than intended (e.g., I pressed enter rather than shift + enter); though I did want to outline a more fleshed out argument for the advantages and drawbacks to such a bill, and possibly talk about an alternative solution that could work out better.

Pros:
- Children don't have early exposure to obscene / adult content (e.g., porn, shock material, grooming, etc.), and thusly can have a better opportunity to grow up with a regular childhood.
- Parents have to step up their parenting skills and actually raise their children.
- Other adults on the internet don't have to worry about other legislation censoring their content because, "think of the children".

Cons:
- What sort of method would be used to verify the user is an adult (e.g., credit card, country ID, etc.)?
- Children could bypass the restrictions.
- Such a law could interfere with our privacy and make every website become Facebook, essentially (in terms of how much PII they need).

Those are just some of the listed points, though I think a lot of you have pointed out some others on this thread. Now as for what alternative solution could be used, it's using similar theoretical bill; however, the twist is that it would only be used as a threat, rather than actually making it law (e.g., congress creates a bill with similar language described to restrict access to the internet from minors, and they will only enact it into law if parents continue to let their children roam the internet freely). Essentially, you're forcing self-regulation among parents (similar in concept to what the government did with the video game industry for them to create the ESRB). So I'd like to hear what you guys think of this alternative too.

 

[Consenticles]

No limits. No regulation of any sort.

Regulation always leads to more regulation, and I do not wish for someone else to choose who gets to be online and who does not.

You always have a few bad eggs in a sample size as large as the US, but this is simply like putting a band aid on a severed limb. It does not solve the real problem when it comes to mental health and parenting.

 

[remiem]

IMO. Young kids need it rationed. The amount of children who have tech withdraw fits when parents finally get a clue that maybe the Ipad/Phone/TV/Game system of your choice raising their kid isn't a good idea is pretty insane. Setting reasonable limits on technology is a must when they're little.

When they're older it's almost impossible to stop as it becomes more and more incorporated in education and teachers often have less of a clue than the students do. It's really a matter of keeping an eye on what your kids are doing when accessing the internet and having appropriate conversations when the need arises. It's better to teach and prepare, than try to make it not exist. I wouldn't allow social media at all if it were me, especially fucking twitter, unless the parents also have access to accounts. Phone gets left somewhere else in the house, not taken to bedroom at night.

The internet is a tool used in so many aspects of life that banning it is pointless at this point. As a parent you need to prepare, educate yourself, keep up with trends, and be able to monitor your child. It's also important to not lose your mind if the child does go somewhere they shouldn't be online because they'll buckle down on not tell you and trying to bypass your efforts to monitor. There's a balance and you should use every opportunity to teach that you possibly can, instead of resorting to anger.

As someone who grew up in the generation where home computers and the internet didn't exist until I was in elementary school. The current generation doesn't have as much of a clue as some of us. I think at times it's easy to think that because internet access is so common these days that everyone has a greater understanding of it when it most cases, they really don't. We've full circled from it being this new thing of exploration to just being a part of life, so they don't dig into it as much.

Spoiler: anecdote relating to internet

I had a family member who had a small business and had a student hired on a grant. The grant was a contract that basically made them un-fireable. The student decides instead of doing the work requested by the family member they're gonna sign up for an additional online course and do that while they're at work. So family member calls me and I drop into the place after hours to look into the use of the business computer. The student in question was a generation that has never not had the internet or home computers. They hadn't even cleared the history to hide what they were doing. So I installed a browser add-on to block the site(s). Not even like heavy duty, just an add-on that could theoretically be turned off. The student couldn't figure out how to get back on the now blocked website or open incognito mode. I'd added a keylogger too just in case, so a case could be made to break the contract for failure to do their job and using their work time for non-work activities. Checking that showed me they basically gave up after the website wouldn't load.

 

[Jimjamflimflam]

With the mass consolidation of the internet it's easier to white list a set of accept sites then blacklist unacceptable.

No internet or media devices in their room.

Family computer in a visible area.

And the most important part:

Fucking engage your kids, talk to them, play a game, cook together, just anything.

To many parents think their parental responsibility ends after you provide the basics of food, clothes and shelter. That kids will raise themselves.

 

[⋖ cørdion ⋗]

On a less deep-web level, you can see how this shit goes around with streamers like GrossGore, who now literally only streams himself rambling in his room with his daughter running around on an ipad. He was on the Twitch therapist's stream, and to his daughter, he was sitting in the middle of the kitchen staring up at a camera talking loudly while ignoring her. People have called the child protective services on him (basically SWATing) but honestly you could argue it's the right move.

Personally I feel it's less about the damage the internet can do, and more-so the reliance on it for entertainment. He literally just throws her in a seat and make her watch YouTube tier shit on the TV. Not even Disney+ or whatever.

 

[NPC]

The first computer related thing I learned as a child was how to bypass parental control and expose myself to the most corruptable shit imaginable, I still remember the joy on my face when I exposed my classmates to ED's Offended page, protecting your kids will only turn them into faggots, just teach them about online predators and let them jerk off to furry tranny hentai while you cry yourself to sleep.

It is what it is.

When I was in HS I knew fraternal twins whose parents were extremely devout and limited their access to the net. Even when we were graduating they were the most optimistic, cheerful, and kind people I've ever met.

 

[Tim Buckley]

When I was in HS I knew fraternal twins whose parents were extremely devout and limited their access to the net. Even when we were graduating they were the most optimistic, cheerful, and kind people I've ever met.

I know

 

[NPC]

I know
View attachment 1667432

Haha yeah, I couldn't help but think the same thing. Despite not using the net early on the brother became one of the best programmers in our class. The sister didn't care for it much outside of helping her develop her art skills, school, and music. If you raise your kids right you probably will have no reason to worry in their later years as they should be capable of making the right choices by then even when tempted.

 

[Heckler1]

Children and the internet need to be treated like children in swimming pools. Make sure they can only stay in the shallows, and monitor them so they don't wonder into the deeper parts before they can swim properly. People seem to be lazy parents now, and expect school/internet/TV to raise their children for them. So their kids drown.

 

[Gapernaper Rifle]

I think kids should be limited in their access to the internet. The best solution is to not give kids devices until they are of a much more age, at least 14 or 15, preferably 16 or 17. Give them access to a computer in a place that normally has a parent like the kitchen or the living room, which gives the parents some panoptic control. Also they should not in any circumstances be allowed access to social media accounts until that age, because social media can fuck kids up on a whole other level.

Edit: The government shouldn't write this into law. They are already too involved in parenting. Parents need to grow a sack and raise their kids. Their your kids, they will listen to you if you just put your fucking foot down.

 

[janedoe]

yes.
you should be encouraging them to engage in different more productive activities, throughout the day, and let them have their downtime browsing whatever stupid site kids go on these days. but put a time limit on internet access. growing up my parents curbed my internet addiction by doing so, and at like 7pm the internet would shut off and i would have nothing better to to but head to bed.
my parents, of course, were not as dependent on the internet back then and one of them was and is a really big tech person. now adays parents are just as guilty as spending too much time online. so unless you know how to practice restraint, you'll never be able to instill it in your kid. the 'do as i say not as i do' shit never works, you just make your kid respect you less and less that way.
this is why i am not a parent, actually, i am not ready to make those kinds of sacrifices or exercise restraint. the last thing i'd want is to raise a kid with the same social issues i did, because internet addiction made me an immense fucking autist. i'd never wish that on anyone.

internet is a lot like junk food. its ok in moderation but don't let your kids develop this hedonistic mindset that everyone has, that they somehow have a right to it. if you're not entitled to be a fat fuck, then you're not entitled to be glued to that screen.

 

[-4ZURE-]

I feel like children should be allowed to freely explore the deeper web. I think going around and gaining many views and experiences is important and keeps when from fully cementing themselves in an echo chamber. I think the main thing to worry about is FaceBook and Twitter. The two sites are an overload of information and promote the most unfulfilling of life styles and choices that only lead to misery. I think my main push would be to teach the child that the internet and life are separate realities. One needs to keep the two separate at all times as to not fully end up in misery. Stuff like Twitter or Instagram sound good, but they muddy that concept to much. They make your personal relationships a display for everyone. If you want healthy relationships, do not engage with classmates on public platforms, save that for face-to-face interactions. As for internet friends, they are just that. They should be disconnected from you, an avatar and username comes used as a wall between. You can tell stories, but never give an address or anything that really would lead anyone to know who you are. Never make internet friends personal, they are always just there to chat, nothing else. The more disconnected you are from the internet, the more likely you are to understand and appreciate it. Too many leave their whole lives online, and for what? Experiences are not meant to be shared in this way. You cannot enjoy the world if you snap trendy images of it at all times. Taking it in, maybe leaving nothing to go back to to remember so you just have to rely on memory, is probably the healthiest way to live.

 

[Samson Pumpkin Jr.]

Children are dumb animals that need to be beaten in order for them to learn anything, and you want them to be on the internet?

 

[PhoBingas]

Actually parent your imaginary kids instead of sticking them in front of a tablet or computer. Monitoring internet access should be something parents do not big daddy gubmint.

 

[Sage In All Fields]

I think it's best that children be given very minimal computing facilities that they can work on and cultivate, this would help them to have real ownership over their computers rather than simply using it to consoom. In doing this their ability to use the internet will be severely curtailed until they are old enough to buy their own computer or building/compiling their own graphical web browser or something along those lines, by which point they will have developed the willpower, intelligence and discipline to avoid vices like pornography and the influence of fools.

 

[JudgementKazzy]

If I was a parent, I would have multiple talks to my kid about using my internet. Yes, not just THE TALK, but rather THE TALKS. I haven't thought this through on how to approach this, but generally the idea should be to teach that the internet is a place that is very volatile and a different world from the one we face outside the internet. I think the best approach is to show your kids about how bad the internet can be if you use it very unwisely, expose them to the horrors of the internet while holding their hand (I'll probably even tell my kids about this website, but I'm sure as hell not gonna allow them to actually use it until they're of age and maturity.)

I'll also teach them that you must guard your fucking privacy and identity, and only give it out when it is absolutely necessary and keep a squeaky clean appearance. That pretty much means no social media for them to use, but I'll have to show them about how it works and how bad it could be. Binding your real life identity with the internet is a recipe for fucking disaster all of the time, if you do not know what you are doing.

However, I do not think it helps to be a moralfagging Luddite and completely ban them from all technology, because what happens when they are adults and they get introduced and lured to bad shit on the internet that their parents just told them "not to go to, or not to do it." I think a very good fundamental of being a parent is not just to tell your kids why "doing this" is bad, but rather SHOWING why it is bad.

I would also add that they would need to develop interests outside of the internet. Such as sports/fitness, reading, drawing, cooking, being at least moderately social, you know: normal and nice things a kid should do.

 

[Luminous47]

No. It’s the PARENT’s job to raise their child, not the internet’s. Half of the internet’s problems would probably be minimal if parents kept an eye on their kids.

 

[jje100010001]

My kids will have no phone and no tablet until they're old enough to get a job and buy it for themselves. We'll have a computer in a common area like the living room, and it will have every single piece of blocking and monitoring software I can find.

I honestly think this may be the solution.

I think people are arguing about the wrong thing- the problem is not the internet itself (it always had that seediness to it), but the rise of smartphones and tablets making access to it 24-7 and easy-to-access- which has created many addicts to that steady dopamine drip of streamed content.

As such, the solution is not about banning children from the internet (and regulations harm more than they help), but making them use it in a place where parents can monitor and regulate their usage.