Phones and children's addiction (and Tiktok, Instagram...)

[spikenbuffy]

In my country (& other parts of the world surely) there's discussion about parents being careless and letting their children too young with phones like to babysit them. Children nowadays spent hours of days on tiktok, I've watched a video and a young girl could spend more 8 hours on her phone on weekend.

There's discussion about banning less than 15 years old people of using & owning phones.

What's your thoughts about the addiction of young children (even 2 years old children 😓) about phones ?

 

[November]

Yes this is big news in Australia too. They are going to ban all under 16's from social media. I don't know how they are going to do it.

I agree that kids shouldn't be on the internet, but I also don't want to have to use biometrics to access the internet.

In terms of tv and technology, gaming etc they all have their dangers, but are not dangerous. It is a parenting choice there, in my opinion.

My town is still one of those types where children are out roaming the streets until the street lights come on. So its not as issue directly in my life, or one that I have experience with, outside of the cyber bullying angle.

 

[Puppet]

It will always be a question of who, not what. Two young teens watch my nieces a few weekends a month and there's never been an issue. I think the world just wants to blame the 'modern generation' for something that has always been around - just like the discourse there used to be around playing video games.

However, what should be talked about is the younger kids known as the 'iPad kids' and the responsibility of the parents to not let a device raise their children for them.

 

[hoponlilmama]

Yes this is big news in Australia too. They are going to ban all under 16's from social media. I don't know how they are going to do it.

I agree that kids shouldn't be on the internet, but I also don't want to have to use biometrics to access the internet.

In terms of tv and technology, gaming etc they all have their dangers, but are not dangerous. It is a parenting choice there, in my opinion.

My town is still one of those types where children are out roaming the streets until the street lights come on. So its not as issue directly in my life, or one that I have experience with, outside of the cyber bullying angle.

You get them the old 'brick' phone. A phone for emergencies that does the basics, and that's it. No apps/internet. Some parents will need to put their foot down, but I think it's necessary.

Not only for mental health benefits, but health benefits in general - we read of kids developing shortsightedness younger, posture issues, issues with thumbs/wrists.

As for really young kids, I understand parents need a break, but I'd rather they put them in front of a television for a bit and watch something fun and educational like Sesame St, rather than giving them a phone/tablet.

 

[CardboardGhost]

It's a combination of a few things, I think. One is that it's a parenting issue; it's the parents' job to look out for the kids and to set rules. Another is the way culture has changed and how it treats teens; I grew up in the US and my dad grew up when roaming all over town at ten years old by himself was normal while I never went anywhere without supervision until high school and my parents kept close track of where I was at all times. A lot of places teenagers used to hang out don't exist anymore or cost a lot more than they used to. There's just literally less to do, and social media is what has replaced a lot of those gatherings. Social media is where people share their hobbies and fashion and what they're currently watching, instead of going out with friends in person. And another is that social media is designed to be addictive. Algorithms keep things you want to see in front of you, and it's not a coincidence that all the most popular apps have an infinite scroll design instead of a limited number of posts per page. Kids (and adults) are addicted to it because the companies set it up that way on purpose.

I don't think banning younger kids is that useful in the long-run because it's near impossible to enforce and would require huge breaches of privacy. Kids under 13 are already not allowed on most social media and they use it anyway, either by lying or by having a parent manage the account while the kid's full name and face are on every post. Banning these kinds of addictive algorithms might be a little more feasible, but it would cut into profits so much that the companies would never let that happen. They'd rather stop operating at all in places with the ban than change the apps.

I hope more people are going to notice how using a tablet as a babysitter prevents really young kids from building a lot of early motor skills (scribbling and drawing when really little builds muscles that are later used for writing, for example), but iPad kids aren't going anywhere, I don't think.

 

[November]

parents will need to put their foot down

it's the parents' job to look out for the kids and to set rules

Parents haven't moderated their childrens internet use, This is why the government in Australia is now stepping in to do it for them.

In some cases, the parents have set an example of online behaviour for their children - these hate pages weren't thought up by 12 year olds, they are following in the footsteps of parents who had set up hate pages before them. These kids don't know grooming and bully language out of thin air, they are getting it from their peers and parents.

Stacey* does not allow her 12-year-old daughter to use social media.

But the mother from Esperance, a small town on Western Australia's south coast, was shocked to see her child's photo appear on a social media "hate page".

"There's a lot of careless parents out there that just can't be bothered," she said.

Stacey kept her 12yo daughter off social media. Then the child was put on a 'hate page'

A WA mother says her daughter was abused online despite not being allowed to use social media — and she says she fully supports the federal government's proposed ban for children under 16.

www.abc.net.au

I personally don't like kids being on the internet, but it's not my business how parents want to raise their kids.

I don't have kids, but it's likely I'll be impacted when they want age verification for everything. I am not keen on that part of the ban. I dont really want to have to upload ID or my face to use youtube or instagram.

 

[hoponlilmama]

Parents haven't moderated their childrens internet use, This is why the government in Australia is now stepping in to do it for them.

In some cases, the parents have set an example of online behaviour for their children - these hate pages weren't thought up by 12 year olds, they are following in the footsteps of parents who had set up hate pages before them. These kids don't know grooming and bully language out of thin air, they are getting it from their peers and parents.

That's also part of a larger discussion on trolling/bullying.

I'd say brick phone for all teens. Amazingly our generation and all the ones before it survived just fine without being glued to their phones.

 

[Plasma]

What's your thoughts about the addiction of young children (even 2 years old children 😓) about phones ?

Poor parenting.

It’s the same reason why schools have this dense malaise among the teachers and admins. Parents send their kids off to whatever babysitter they can for as many hours as possible before they get forced to parent. Phones are just the new babysitter.

Instead of sitting there and playing with their children or caring for them, they just give them an iPad so they shut up

 

[nightshade]

I don't think it's changed that much in 20+ years, just the way we use the internet.

I spend many, many hours in my teens online especially reading fanfic.

Now it's portable, so we see it more, you wouldn't have known previously how much a child was online as you didn't see them outside on a desktop computer.

 

[Puppet]

I don't think it's changed that much in 20+ years, just the way we use the internet.

I spend many, many hours in my teens online especially reading fanfic.

Now it's portable, so we see it more, you wouldn't have known previously how much a child was online as you didn't see them outside on a desktop computer.

Yeah, I remember spending hours at the family computer (we didn't have a separate office, so the desk was in a corner of the living room) either playing Tomb Raider, or reading fanfic (ah, the days of Angelfire sites!) or waiting for the hilarious pause screen to come on with the guy stuck on a deserted island 😀

 

[nightshade]

Yeah, I remember spending hours at the family computer (we didn't have a separate office, so the desk was in a corner of the living room) either playing Tomb Raider, or reading fanfic (ah, the days of Angelfire sites!) or waiting for the hilarious pause screen to come on with the guy stuck on a deserted island 😀

Yep, computer in the corner of the living room here too, but chat rooms, a/s/l and might've been 12 but always aged up to around 15!

 

[November]

A lot of places teenagers used to hang out don't exist anymore or cost a lot more than they used to. There's just literally less to do, and social media is what has replaced a lot of those gatherings.

Parents send their kids off to whatever babysitter they can for as many hours as possible before they get forced to parent. Phones are just the new babysitter.

These things point to bigger issues in the world today too.
Both parents need to be in work to afford children. Primary age children in school 7am-7pm 5 days a week. Plus in school holiday programs at the school during holidays. Working Parents are just too busy at work. When they get home they are all exhausted. The internet and tv does not require much energy to enjoy. We were all latch-key kids, it's probably illegal for a 6 year old and 8 year old to walk home from school and look after themselves until bedtime now. We were out swimming, bike riding, or hiding in the house pretending not to be home if anyone knocked on the door.

I'd disagree that there is less for teenagers to do these days - but that may be specific to my area. Almost all free public activities are family orientated. There are HEAPS of teen programs, far more now than in the 90s. Parents are given kidsport vouchers to pay for children to be enrolled in sports, there is a wider range of sports available to participate in too. There are free craft activities at shopping centres and hardware stores. Churches and youth groups still exist. Creating music is far more accessible now. There are more skate parks and totally excellent adventure parks that are way better than the maccas playgrounds of my youth. The teens in my town still hang out at the park, smoking, drinking and getting up to mischief (like stealing golf buggies) but now they do it with a phone in their hand. Sometimes filming their pranks which gets them caught... and that leads to the topic of viral trends and kids who have died trying them.

It comes down to choosing the lifestyle. I dont think there are many that are actively choosing how they want to live. I notice it BIGTIME with my school friends. They were absolutely perplexed that I could CHOOSE not to have children. I still get snarky comments from them about doing as I please. They didn't see it as a choice, it was just what they were supposed to do at that stage of their life. A duty of adulthood. And social media was a part of that. You know how people say pregnancy is in the water? Well as soon as one had a kid plastered on facebook, it was catching. They suddenly all had the exact same maternity shoots and pregnancy dresses, the same nursery set ups. They all do what their peers are doing. There is no thought put into it. Monkey see Monkey do.

Rather than plan for their 4 year old to build a city of blocks, they just do it digitally. Less mess, less fuss. Maybe they are lazy, maybe they are exhausted, maybe they just don't notice that its any different to a tactile activity. And then they dont notice who their 11 year old is chatting to online. And then we get shows like Adolescence to cause an uproar and be forgotten within a month because everyone got distracted by their phones again.

I dont mean to demonise the internet, I love it, I'd be very bored without it. I think its really cool when its not used to abuse. But I didn't have it until I was in my 20's, being bored was part of being a teen.

 

[nightshade]

Primary age children in school 7am-7pm 5 days a week.

It's roughly 9am until 3:30 here! There's usually always something free for primary ages kids to do during the school holidays, but nothing once the child hits secondary school age. Even the library only does primary age activities.

I think the biggest difference is that its all visual now, when I was younger it was quieter, lots of forums, chats and fanfic, not the constant visual and audio that you get now.

 

[NotASlayer]

It's roughly 9am until 3:30 here! There's usually always something free for primary ages kids to do during the school holidays, but nothing once the child hits secondary school age. Even the library only does primary age activities.

I think it is now 3PM for the school behind me; they cut lunchtime so kids could go home earlier.

 

[November]

The point that I was trying to make, is that parents are more time and energy poor now. Stay at home mums are a rarity. Parents aren't actively choosing a lifestyle, they are choosing what is easy because life is harder.

Its not as socially acceptable to let your teen wander off on their own for activities. We took ourselves to most things because mum was at work, but now days that would be frowned on.

I know for a fact that there are more extra curricular activities at the high schools I attended now, than there were in the 90's. And I had a pretty full schedule. We fundraised for most of them. My family isnt religious but I took myself to youth group cos they had free and fun stuff to do. I cant see many millennial parents encouraging that with the social climate.

I also had a bedtime, which is very out of fashion now. How many kids scrolling on their phones instead of reading books by torchlight?

It is parenting choices, but there are bigger world issues influencing those choices.

 

[NotASlayer]

I think the finishing school earlier doesn't help much either with the time poor problem. A lot of parents will have problems if their kids are leaving school at 3PM.

 

[November]

Duno if you can see this without an account, but it made me lol 😆

Remy and friends on Instagram: "Buy your child the pony. Because iPads don’t build character. #buythepony #characterbuilding #parentingtips #poniesoftiktok #pony"

443 likes, 1 comments - smartrcrew on June 27, 2025: "Buy your child the pony. Because iPads don’t build character. #buythepony #characterbuilding #parentingtips #poniesoftiktok #pony".

www.instagram.com

 

[Moptop]

What's your thoughts about the addiction of young children (even 2 years old children 😓) about phones ?

Unfortunately it's up to the parents to provide the proper guidance to their kids, like what we had when we were growing up, but we know that's a thing of the past.
I say no phone until you can pay for it themselves...you know like you would when you have a job!
I think they should outlaw all texting abilities on all phones. They should also be made to shut down entirely whenever it is in a moving vehicle, no calls, no text's, no nothing. That would stop a lot of stupid accidents for sure.

 

[NotASlayer]

They should also be made to shut down entirely whenever it is in a moving vehicle, no calls, no text's, no nothing. That would stop a lot of stupid accidents for sure.

The question is how to determine that. Based on the speed of movement? And if so, what speed? Having a phone refuse to make outgoing calls to, say, the police, when you are running away from someone would be unfortunate.

 

[Kendar]

The question is how to determine that. Based on the speed of movement? And if so, what speed? Having a phone refuse to make outgoing calls to, say, the police, when you are running away from someone would be unfortunate.

Not to mention that music and GPS are arguably the most commonly used apps on a phone.