[mduggles]

I support this movement. I don't think I need to sign a pledge as a parent to do it, but if this makes you feel like you aren't alone making this decision go for it. Reading through these comments, a lot of them miss the forest for the trees. "Kids should have access to all the earths information except for the stuff I don't like which then I have parental controls on (which we all know don't actually work but we'll pretend they work for this sake of this argument)"

Boredom is a powerful force in your life. It forces you to go out and find things to do, people to interact with and activities to enrich yourself. If you can craft a perfect entertainment box with a constant feeling of socialization that exists only for you, you are never bored. You are never going to go out and do those things that I think are critical for children. Being bored and learning what do you like to do to fill that boredom are a big part of being a kid. You invent games, find hobbies, discover how to live with being bored.

We hosted a foreign exchange student from Europe and it was a waste of time. He didn't make friends because he didn't have to make friends, his friends were on his phone. He didn't go out because why bother, he can sit online with his original friends. The entire concept of immersion was lost on him. He got to choose exactly what elements of place A he interacted with and exactly what elements of place B and didn't really grow or change as a result.

Forcing children to adapt to their situation and not giving them an endless dopamine drip of "things they like" is a net positive for the kind of person who you are helping to raise.