QOTD: Would You Ban Gadgets from Your House?

[foody]

It's the house from Hell!

 

[eatmeimadanish]

Parents are able to raise their kids anyway they want, as long as the kids grow up to be normal. Their methods should not be subject to our opinions, however the outcome should be since this innevitably effects us.

 

[vikatin]

Those parents are one of those old conservative "technology will be the end of us!!1!one!" hippies. They probably still drive a ford pinto or even worse, one of those old diesel mercedes. People like that are borderline psychotic. Graduating without knowing how to use a computer these days is like graduating without knowing how to write. It is a necessity.

 

[joebob2000]

[citation][nom]dman3k[/nom]I'd ban Apple products and Foxconn brands.(With the exception the electronics that contain parts from Foxconn cause it's near impossible to tell without cracking them open)[/citation]

You would also find that probably 99% of consumer electronics contain something that came from Foxconn. If you gave up Foxconn, you might as well be Amish.

 

[jacobdrj]

[citation][nom]vikatin[/nom]Those parents are one of those old conservative "technology will be the end of us!!1!one!" hippies. They probably still drive a ford pinto or even worse, one of those old diesel mercedes. People like that are borderline psychotic. Graduating without knowing how to use a computer these days is like graduating without knowing how to write. It is a necessity.[/citation]
I don't get that from what's written. I think this family was a standard 21st century tech-savvy family, and they had a serious problem in their home regarding over-saturation of technology. If they were banned from birth like, say, the Amish, I would agree with you, but this family seems to have been trying to hedge what they believed was something that was seriously hurting their family.

 

[chuckdalton]

extremes are never good, you should always have a balanced approach to stuff.

 

[Uncle Meat]

I've banned children from my home.

 

[rexoverbey]

Wow the school got involved and said it was unfair also? What is this 1984 with big brother. Will it be a requirement that you have to have HDTV, computers, cell phones, and game systems or social services will be called? Wjem I was a teenager in the 90s we didn't have cable, cell phones, game systems, or computers. I enjoyed my teens hanging out with freinds, seeing movies at the theater, cruising, going to concerts, road trips, etc. It wasn't till the late 90s when cell phones, computers, DVD, DBS dishes, and other items started becoming popular.

 

[Camikazi]

[citation][nom]jacobdrj[/nom]I don't get that from what's written. I think this family was a standard 21st century tech-savvy family, and they had a serious problem in their home regarding over-saturation of technology. If they were banned from birth like, say, the Amish, I would agree with you, but this family seems to have been trying to hedge what they believed was something that was seriously hurting their family.[/citation]
I agree, seems they saw a problem with their kids, not spending enough time being kids or being with their parents and well they fixed it, they did what everyone here says parents should do when situations like this occur and they still complain.
I would ban certain electronics if they were causing problems with my children, but after getting rid of the devices I would try and fix what I was doing wrong to start the problem in the first place, again like these parents did.

 

[Honis]

I think it's great that a family can demonstrate that gadgets are not needed in everyday life. I wont go to this extreme but if all their school needs are being met there is nothing wrong here. I'd be more worried about the culture shock if/when they go off to college or the expected prior knowledge of using common things like office programs.

 

[Guest]

I have all the gadgets in the house, and my kids get limited as to what they can use and how.

That being said I totally agree with what those parents did! They saw a way to improve their family and did it.

In my house the biggest abuser of the gadgets is the wife not the kids..haha

 

[jeverson]

Hmm... that's a tough one... while I do agree that kids don't get enough "real" social time anymore and certainly don't get enough fresh air... I think it would be better to limit or monitor the kid's use of technology rather than take it away completely. I also wouldn't dec out my kids rooms with their own tv, dvd, stereo, console, etc. There would be a central place in the home for those things.I think it would be better to teach them to be responsible rather than "shelter" them from it.

 

[cscott_it]

More important than completely removing my son from the internet/computer/TV/cellphone/etc. I will enforce moderation.

I don't think that by removing the temptation of vegetating I will be doing him any favors, HOWEVER, I think that moderation will be intergral in helping him understand what amount is acceptable and what is too much.

I'll refer to South Park on this one involving Stan's dad and drinking. It's all about moderation.

 

[B16CXHatch]

As we've discussed in my sociology classes, computers and technology have become an integral part in modern society. Their the parent's, it's their home and their kids and they can do what they want but in the long run as some previous comments have stated, it's gonna hurt them.

Unless they are just gonna be laborers, they are gonna be up a creek. Even basic jobs utilize computers now. I work at an auto parts store in the commercial section. I'm the newest and youngest one there. Many of them don't have problems but a few who've been there for years but aren't computer proficient have trouble looking up parts or bringing up commercial accounts during calls. I've been there 2 weeks and have less trouble than them.

My parents let me play games and mess with electronics within reason. When they discovered I was interested in computers, they didn't really like it but they didn't try to stop me. Now they are glad they let me since it's likely that my profession will be in the IT field.

 

[razzb3d]

These people are morons. Sure computers, TV and gadgets are responsible for social disorders, ADD / ADHD and others, but they are also tools for learning and work. As for computer games creating violent children, well... if a child is violent to begin with, or lives in a bad enviroment, they will end up doing stupid shit anyway. Balanced individuals use CG violence to vent.

 

[cekasone]

I wouldn't necessarily ban gadgets from my kids. But I will definitely have limits on how much they can use them. Homework and studies come first, once they earn the chance to play, they can play, like a reward for their hard work.

 

[coldmast]

[citation][nom]chuckdalton[/nom]extremes are never good, you should always have a balanced approach to stuff.[/citation]
Exactly, these parents are just making their kids seem weird to other kids, discipline by limiting the duration and times they are allowed go on, keep the computer in an open area (if they are young and impressionable 6-14). When I raise kids I want the to be able to think for themselves, and to not take everything at face value.

"Instead they go out more and see friends and have face to face conversations with them."

Nothing is sadder then a kid having to go over to a friends house to do play on the computer. Forcing kids to be Luddites is like forcing them to be Nudists.

 

[grieve]

"I wanted the children to have a proper childhood" .... Define proper please.

I think banning TV and Computers is a little much, restricting access to certain shows and certain computer programs is far better. For example: I for one am not a big reader, I just can't get into books for fun, only learning. However i love Discovery channel, History channel and Documentaries, things i would NEVER read about. I have gained a lot of knowledge from my television and the internet.

There is no denying some television shows and computer activity is mindless and in some cases offensive and disruptive to a child's upbringing... It is the parents RESPONSIBILITY to make certain there individual child is not exposed to the "evils" of the world.

I think these folks took the easy way out and banned everything thus not allowing exposer to the "good" things of these devices. With that said, the one boy is offered a place in Cambridge University, which suggests he is turning out just fine.

 

[invlem]

Banning might be a bit extreme.

Limiting use isn't an issue, and each family would implement this in varying ways.

Cable/satellite isn't required at all, its probably one of the devices you could remove and never notice. As a result you probably wouldn't need a TV, save your TV bill and go to the movies once a month instead.

Internet access is difficult to pass up on since it provides both news and good a research tool for students.

Cell phones I'd have a tough time giving up as well, they're convenient but they're also a safety device.

 

[chaz_music]

There are no Sony products in my home. It followed the 2005 rootkit fiasco. I believe that the forced DRM that they and the media market have force fed their customers is unforgivable. They should have reduced their overhead and recognized that the unfair (and should be illegal) RIAA based monopoly is going away due to a technology change - which happens to all technologies eventually. They ignored the VOC (Voice of the Customer)and ended up alienating their customer base. Shame!

 

[Guest]

I believe that people rely too much on technology to learn, and lose the ability to find information by critical thinking. In this day and age, you have a question, you search for it, usually on Google. The whole process of finding the information is lost. While it may be argued, that this reduces the time you waste looking for information that is relevant to your study, what happens when it up to you to do the investigative work yourself.

As far as this family, to say that these kids are going to be at a disadvantage, couldn't be farther from the truth. If anything, they will be better prepared than the person that has to resort to spoon fed search results to make their argument.

 

[tenor77]

I personally feel it's a parents job to teach their children moderation in all things.
Teach them the joys of technology as well as unplugging, reading a book, going in the outdoors and you will have well rounded children.

 

[maestintaolius]

Why would you want to ban them? That seems like a good way to prep a kid for a job as a Customer Service Agent Scriptbot or maybe a barrista if the espresso maker isn't too digitized. If they're spending 20 hours a day on the machine and slipping in grades and weighing 300 lbs... then you might want to set some limits and make them go outside.

Part of the reason I'm the go-to guy at my job for fixing things is I learned how electronics and hardware worked. If I wanted to play a game on my C64, I had to dig out the book and program it (I did have a few cartridges and floppies but not many). If it stopped working, I needed to fix it. Same thing with my first car and snowmobile, if I wanted to use it and it wasn't working, I had to learn how to fix it because I sure as heck didn't have to money to pay someone to do it for me. There are plenty of other Chem/Mech Engies working here with me, but only a few of us really know how to write programs to control and operate things over GPIB, RS232/485 or other interfaces, and even fewer of us know how to fix the lab instruments or other test beds if they go down. They took all the same classes I did (or similar) but without that real world experience all they remember 10 years later is "oh yeah, I remember taking that class" and nothing else.

It's also kind of why I scowl a little bit at the "it just works" mantra/direction of today's operating systems (and by that I mean Ubuntu, Win and OSX). I feel some of the best learning experiences are a direct result from troubleshooting. It's the same reasoning behind why you get your kid a junker for their first car, so they learn how to fix it (and cheap insurance )

 

[brendano257]

I think all these "gadgets" are fine, rather than banning them, you should teach your children moderation and teach them to make their own choices. If your used to everything "bad" never being in front of you, what happens when it finally is?

I think the above comments about their necessities are true. I use my computer for assignments at least 5 times each week. Not to mention I got an official letter of hire through email, I think a child definitely needs computer use to compete in the job market and be able to easily keep up with school at the same time.

 

[omnimodis78]

Maybe if parents would realize that there are viable options, such as not buying little Johnny a laptop because all of his friends have one, instead have one family PC located in a high-traffic location so nothing 'questionable' can go on, and limiting the usage time, etc. Kids today are so way off spoiled it kills me and they don't even appreciate it. They're not even getting things for their own satisfaction (like I used to, say, buy video games with my own money), but they do it to show off, to "fit in". Try not having enough food to eat, and maybe your little $2000 macbook won't be so important after-all. Sorry, I'm a little frustrated. :s