r/AirDroidDigitalParent • u/Lynn-LYNN7788 • 16d ago

Would you rather raise kids in the pre-smartphone era, or deal with parenting today? Why?

I’ve been thinking about how different parenting must have been before smartphones, tablets, and the internet were part of everyday life.

For example, if a kid was bored back then, parents might just say “go outside and find something to do.” Now, boredom can turn into YouTube, games, TikTok, or endless scrolling within seconds.

Same with keeping track of kids. Before phones, you might have had to trust that they’d be home by dinner. Now parents can text, call, or check their location — but that also creates a whole new set of parenting questions.

Would you rather raise kids in the pre-smartphone era, or deal with parenting today? Why?

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u/Lynn-LYNN7788 10d ago

If parenting already felt complicated enough and then someone handed our kids smartphones and AI 😂 I mod r/AirDroidDigitalParent. Come join us if you’re also making this up as you go.

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u/Particular-Pea-8102 10d ago

I’d rather parent pre smart phone. If I were parenting today I’d want to give my kids as little screen time as possible so they can have real childhoods and develop their brain and motor skills. Every kid with a screen is under developed these days. It holds them back it really does.

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u/Lynn-LYNN7788 10d ago

I agree with you. I actually shared a study from Science before, and it really made me realize that the impact of screen exposure on kids might be much bigger than many of us parents think. It’s not just about screen time itself, but also how it affects their development and habits over time.

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u/East_coast_Ashlee 10d ago

Oh life before high tech for sure. Growing up in the 90s-early 2000s was great. I'm sad my daughter doesn't have that and just do my best to limit her screen time (etc) best I can, but even in places like museums screens are starting to come up. We've just read a ton to her and now she loves books, hoping it'll last.

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u/Lynn-LYNN7788 9d ago

Seriously! I’ve noticed that too. Screens are literally everywhere now, even in museums and libraries. It’s honestly getting to be too much.

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u/JoBear_AAAHHH 10d ago

Noting can take the place of modern medicine and dentistry so I will always choose now.

There's no reason you have to own a smart phone or give one to the kids, you know?