<story><title>Ask HN: What is your policy regarding smartphones for your children?</title><text>Recently, there are more and more studies that smartphones harm learning and not a single study with the opposite results. However, very few parents have the guts not to buy a smartphone for their child. At what age do children in the HN crowd begin to have censored access to proprietary software (personal supervision) and uncensored (smartphone with or without parental controls)? Are there families where children have access to computers with only FOSS before they have access to proprietary software?</text></story><parent_chain><item><author>yumraj</author><text>Smartphone in high school, not before.&lt;p&gt;No social media &lt;i&gt;apps&lt;/i&gt; on the phone. Parental control (iOS) so need Parent permission before installing apps&lt;p&gt;At home most&amp;#x2F;almost every non-professional social media is blocked via pi-hole&lt;p&gt;I’m not on FB, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok etc. I think this is very very important for the above since kids see that parents are also not on social media. Most people, IMHO, run into trouble when they use it but want to restrict kids.&lt;p&gt;This mostly worked for a kid who just went to college. Will see if it works for the other.&lt;p&gt;Edit: have Switch and PS5, but multiplayer internet games are not allowed. Offline games only.&lt;p&gt;Edit2: I occasionally remote login into computers to tell the kids that I can do that. I think&amp;#x2F;hope it reduces temptation.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>gizmo385</author><text>As a person who grew up and found very valuable social connections in online spaces, connections that helped me figure out who I am as a person, these feel very controlling and overbearing to be a bit blunt. For kids who don’t fit society’s typical mold, whether they be queer or whatever, being able to meet people who have lived their experience is invaluable.</text></comment>
<story><title>Ask HN: What is your policy regarding smartphones for your children?</title><text>Recently, there are more and more studies that smartphones harm learning and not a single study with the opposite results. However, very few parents have the guts not to buy a smartphone for their child. At what age do children in the HN crowd begin to have censored access to proprietary software (personal supervision) and uncensored (smartphone with or without parental controls)? Are there families where children have access to computers with only FOSS before they have access to proprietary software?</text></story><parent_chain><item><author>yumraj</author><text>Smartphone in high school, not before.&lt;p&gt;No social media &lt;i&gt;apps&lt;/i&gt; on the phone. Parental control (iOS) so need Parent permission before installing apps&lt;p&gt;At home most&amp;#x2F;almost every non-professional social media is blocked via pi-hole&lt;p&gt;I’m not on FB, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok etc. I think this is very very important for the above since kids see that parents are also not on social media. Most people, IMHO, run into trouble when they use it but want to restrict kids.&lt;p&gt;This mostly worked for a kid who just went to college. Will see if it works for the other.&lt;p&gt;Edit: have Switch and PS5, but multiplayer internet games are not allowed. Offline games only.&lt;p&gt;Edit2: I occasionally remote login into computers to tell the kids that I can do that. I think&amp;#x2F;hope it reduces temptation.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>shmde</author><text>Sounds draconian af. This would just... make a kid hack into the iPhone and find out ways to remove restrictions.</text></comment>