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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1234839
Connected Kids Screen Time for Gen Alphas, Gen Zs … Depends By Andy Marken We read that kids were unimpressed with screen- addicted parents. There's not much parents do impresses kids! Tell our son right, he'd say left … up, down … top, bottom. Nothing impressed the little ****! And the generation behind his, Gen Alpha, is even tougher to impress. They're already tech heavy and extremely connected. The oldest in the group is only nine +-- and they are the ones who will shape our future. Alphas got their start in 2010, when millennials decided it was time to have kids at a rate of 2.5 million births per week. And they're the first generation to be born 100 percent in the 21st century. The most difficult thing about being a parent is trying to figure out when it's the right time to let them have a device (computer, tablet, smartphone) and how much screen time they should have. What do you do when your two- year-old throws a tantrum when you take away "his/her" device; or, you catch your seven-year-old watching YouTube all night or, your nine-year-old says she/he "needs" a smartphone because "everyone else" has one or, your 10-year-old has to play adult-level video games like all his friends or, your 14-year-old is constantly on Snapchat and Instagram? Not exactly what you thought being a parent would be like! A tech CEO friend and his wife had strict limit their kids' screen time until they became "responsible" teens. They banned devices on school nights for their four children – computers for schoolwork were an exception - and established time limits on weekends.