Parental controls on children’s tech devices are out of touch with child’s play
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The "protection of children" has been the cited reason for a lot of controversial laws and measures recently. A common response is that parents should use parental controls to manage that on their own instead of relying on the government to do it to everyone. I found this article interesting since it touched on how the existing tools aren't that good, and addressing that problem might be a better thing to focus on
Authors:
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Sara M. Grimes | Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy and Professor, McGill University
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Riley McNair | PhD Student in Information Studies, University of Toronto
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The "protection of children" has been the cited reason for a lot of controversial laws and measures recently. A common response is that parents should use parental controls to manage that on their own instead of relying on the government to do it to everyone. I found this article interesting since it touched on how the existing tools aren't that good, and addressing that problem might be a better thing to focus on
Authors:
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Sara M. Grimes | Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy and Professor, McGill University
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Riley McNair | PhD Student in Information Studies, University of Toronto
It takes a combination of a few technologies to be effective imo
- Screentime limits: have a "bedtime" set for each device. Some applications are excluded from this purely from an emergency communications perspective.
- Family-friendly DNS services enforced: Use a trusted DNS service that can block access to anything adult themed. It needs to be customizable though so that additions and exclusions can be made. Lock down devices so that DNS cant be changed without proper permissions.
- pre-approval of apps: be the judge of which apps are allowed on their devices. Do some research before installing anything, and keep up with those apps so that you can make changes if the apps start doing different things later.
- kids have their own wifi network: this makes management much easier. You can set the hours and protocols that are allowed on their network. Makes it easy to change DNS servers if needed.
None of this is easy to do, and honestly, it just seems inhumane for parents to have to go through this. If they don't do it though, the children can have much more exposure to various content (some which won't be ideal).
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It takes a combination of a few technologies to be effective imo
- Screentime limits: have a "bedtime" set for each device. Some applications are excluded from this purely from an emergency communications perspective.
- Family-friendly DNS services enforced: Use a trusted DNS service that can block access to anything adult themed. It needs to be customizable though so that additions and exclusions can be made. Lock down devices so that DNS cant be changed without proper permissions.
- pre-approval of apps: be the judge of which apps are allowed on their devices. Do some research before installing anything, and keep up with those apps so that you can make changes if the apps start doing different things later.
- kids have their own wifi network: this makes management much easier. You can set the hours and protocols that are allowed on their network. Makes it easy to change DNS servers if needed.
None of this is easy to do, and honestly, it just seems inhumane for parents to have to go through this. If they don't do it though, the children can have much more exposure to various content (some which won't be ideal).
wrote last edited by [email protected]The other approach is not to try to block out all non-approved internet sources, and instead teach your child about the dangers out there, and how to handle them.
If a young child becomes addicted to online porn for instance, it's an indication of deeper issues and it seems to be missing the point to put the blame on network operators for not blocking children effectively enough. I don't think a healthy well developed child would become addicted to porn in the first place.
That's the real challenge for parents: they don't need to be a part-time network über-wizard but rather a stable trustworthy figure for their children to rely on who can guide them through the often difficult journey of growing up.
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The "protection of children" has been the cited reason for a lot of controversial laws and measures recently. A common response is that parents should use parental controls to manage that on their own instead of relying on the government to do it to everyone. I found this article interesting since it touched on how the existing tools aren't that good, and addressing that problem might be a better thing to focus on
Authors:
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Sara M. Grimes | Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy and Professor, McGill University
-
Riley McNair | PhD Student in Information Studies, University of Toronto
Raising a kid into all this is tough
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The other approach is not to try to block out all non-approved internet sources, and instead teach your child about the dangers out there, and how to handle them.
If a young child becomes addicted to online porn for instance, it's an indication of deeper issues and it seems to be missing the point to put the blame on network operators for not blocking children effectively enough. I don't think a healthy well developed child would become addicted to porn in the first place.
That's the real challenge for parents: they don't need to be a part-time network über-wizard but rather a stable trustworthy figure for their children to rely on who can guide them through the often difficult journey of growing up.
They are going to be introduced to it, regardless if you manage their devices or not. If they are socializing at all, they will be introduced toit. But if their friends come over to your home, and your network doesn't have any kind of safeguards, Then you might be enabling their friends to influence your child in ways that are not appropriate right in front of you.
I do agree with what you're saying, but I think there's a way to do both methods. It could be something that is gradually introduced insteadof just straight up opening Pandora's box for them.
