> Early screen exposure to addictive digital content actually reduces the chance that your kid will become a genius with deep understanding of the underlying tech
While I agree with this, I'm also skeptical about people trying to cajole a generation to shield them from all that is bad or evil. Growing up, there were a great many things I was not allowed to do, including surfing the net - coz expensive and also so that phone lines would be open.
Every generation tries this futile attempt to thrust their opinions authoritatively on the next. All these kids growing up dealing with ads and interstitials could surprise us by, say, being totally immune to advertising.
Depending upon your age, surfing the net was expensive and did tie up phone lines when you were a kid. That's not about harm. That's about resources.
There were boogiemen in the past. In some respects it was legitimate and in some respects in was overblown. But you have to know the child as an individual to know which category it falls into.
While I agree with this, I'm also skeptical about people trying to cajole a generation to shield them from all that is bad or evil. Growing up, there were a great many things I was not allowed to do, including surfing the net - coz expensive and also so that phone lines would be open.
Every generation tries this futile attempt to thrust their opinions authoritatively on the next. All these kids growing up dealing with ads and interstitials could surprise us by, say, being totally immune to advertising.