[dajbelshaw]

OK, well I wrote my doctoral thesis* on digital literacies, so this is a hot topic for me as a parent of an almost 15 year-old boy and almost 11 year-old girl.

TL;DR: we're way stricter than other parents I know both in the UK and other western countries.

For example: we allow them WhatsApp, but no other social media apps on their phone (including YouTube). Devices automatically switch on at 08:00 and off at 20:00. Certain apps, like browsers, have maximum time limits of two hours.

Like me, they're both gamers, but aren't allowed games on their phone - only on tablets and consoles.

This sounds harsh when I write it down in black and white, but as a consequence they both read a lot and are really into sport (both represent the county at football and athletics).

The reason this stuff is so hard is that we're the first generation of parents having to deal with all this. And there are no accepted rules in wider society yet...

* https://dougbelshaw.com/thesis/

[bogle]

Why no social media in particular? Is it a blanket ban because there isn't time to talk to them about it or is it simply, in your opinion, too toxic for teenagers, or something else?

Why no games on their phones? Is this a way to control the time spent on games or to prevent the time wasted on games when out and about?