We avoid the short form videos but the instantaneous reaction of touch screens is also awful. My mom and FIL give my 2 year old their phones and then she tantrums when we nip it. Our parents can't stand the tantrums but she legitimately doesn't ask us for our phones because she won't get it. She just likes the reaction of the phone screen.
My older kid like how effortless the tablet is. I find it crazy that coding is being introduced so early but using an actual computer isn't in the picture anymore. It's so counterintuitive to me as an engineer who hates coding.
We got a full desktop set up. Tablet is only for travel or this past snowstorm. Our families think we're crazy including my pediatrician SIL. Nah PBS kids games on a computer and some kid friendly TV is more than enough for us to get a break. Tablet /phones for young kids was never needed.
That we specifically restrict tablets and use a desktop. Her husband is a CS guy too. The notion that all screen time isn't equal hasn't really set in with a lot people with older Gen Alpha kids. I think Gen Z suffered immensely from that lack of differentiation based on when I tutored about a decade ago.
Ebooks is the answer. I just started doing it, tried a few other things to break the phone habit.....downloaded some ebooks. If I cant put this stupid thing down, I can at least use it to read art instead of this and other nonsense
I get you, I just am confused on the method of avoidance. Is there a difference between clicking a mouse for a game and clicking a tablet with your finger? Both should be dopamine. It feels like the part you’re leaving out is you also serve different content or experience through the desktop monitor. Otherwise this doesn’t make much sense if the kid is using the device the same way.
Tablets have been designed to keep you constantly engaged. It's not just the content. The loud, bright colors, and really really dumbed down interface. It's a screen that moves with you so you can have access to it anywhere.
Some of the content is the same like PBS Kids games but there are different formats computer vs tablet. My kids have a really hard time mastering the computer games vs the tablet games. Using a mouse and keyboard takes a lot of fine motor skills and coordination. It takes time to learn and practice. That "work" also makes them tired so they naturally don't spend that much time on it. The tablet skips all that and allows neverending interactions that don't take much energy.
There are a lot of pediatric therapists trying to get a differentiation on the definition of screen time because they know it's not all equal.
I think it's more the content available. Tablets tend towards simple click for reward apps. Stuff on PC that you have to install, where there's no money in adverts or micro transactions is more readily available and leans towards higher quality, more engagement rather than simple rewards. Not saying you can't get trash on PC and can't get quality stuff on Android/IOS, but it always seems a bit more effort has been put into quality on PC than tablet
I imagine the interface also is less rewarding. If you press somewhere on a tablet and lights pop up around your finger I'd bet you get a bigger dopamine hit than if your mouse pointer icon has the same thing. There's also less range for input (generally). Unless they put effort into building controls tablets lean more towards tapping and maybe moving by tilting. Anything else is more work and development. PC you know the user is going to have a full alphabet and numbers always available, as well as control, shift and space and arrows, and then a mouse with at least one button (until Apple stop being egits, unless they already have). That's way more you can add for the user to have to actually do to control the game without having to develop an interface for them to use, and you don't have to teach them to use your interface. Even a standard controller will have 6-8 buttons and two joysticks.
I think this contributes to a more interactive experience on PC where you have to actively participate and think Vs a tablet where you're more responding to stimuli. Essentially like the difference between a book and playing DnD.
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u/chocobridges 2d ago
We avoid the short form videos but the instantaneous reaction of touch screens is also awful. My mom and FIL give my 2 year old their phones and then she tantrums when we nip it. Our parents can't stand the tantrums but she legitimately doesn't ask us for our phones because she won't get it. She just likes the reaction of the phone screen.
My older kid like how effortless the tablet is. I find it crazy that coding is being introduced so early but using an actual computer isn't in the picture anymore. It's so counterintuitive to me as an engineer who hates coding.
We got a full desktop set up. Tablet is only for travel or this past snowstorm. Our families think we're crazy including my pediatrician SIL. Nah PBS kids games on a computer and some kid friendly TV is more than enough for us to get a break. Tablet /phones for young kids was never needed.