[Tainnor]

The whole article hinges on this "we need to protect our children!" argument, but I'm baffled that anyone would think it's a good idea to give your one-year old an iPad.

Technology is a tool. It is dangerous precisely because it is powerful. Don't give technology to people who are not responsible enough to understand this, instead of trying to restrict its power for those people who can actually deal with it. I hate how the big tech companies continue to infantilise their users.

Incidentally, is it just me, or does it seem that Americans are obsessed with trying to protect their children from all possible harm?

[fakedang]

Americans and Brits have always been obsessed with trying to protect their children, from experience. Mainland Europe is slowly joining the bandwagon too, what with all the "Let's think about the children" talk, which never was much of an issue 10-20 years back. The wealthier folks of East Asia and Latin America behave similarly to Americans, while the not so wealthy take a totally hands-off approach, perhaps being able to do so because kids are already brought up to be wary of ads and scammy marketing. The situation is reversed in the Middle East, where wealthy parents take a hands-off approach to raising children, relying on one or more nannies, while less affluent parents aggressively monitor content (largely to prevent kids from vulgar content or hidden monetary charges).

Disclaimer: these are all just my honest observations, not assertions.

[Tainnor]

This is totally a tangent now and not related to the original topic anymore, but I'm just curious: is it only a trope from movies and TV shows or are American parents really so afraid of their teenage kids having sex? Because, apart from maybe very religious families, I've never seen this to be that much of an issue where I grew up (Western Europe), people just know that teenagers are going to have sex.

[fakedang]

I'm not American, hence can't speak for them, but I think it has a lot to do with America's religious roots in orthodox Protestantism and largely Catholic immigration.