Don't give them full access to the internet until college.
this post was submitted on 13 Jan 2026
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That's a little unrealistic, is it not?
i can't tell if alot of these answers are sarcastic or not...
i know social media as a whole is predominantly affluent rich people with too much time on their hands, so maybe that's just what this demographic is about idk. but surely these people know if you coddle too much the second these kids leave the nest they're going to make an absolute shitload of mistakes
better to make those mistakes young in relatively controlled environment, teach critical analysis/how to avoid scams/watch out for predatory behavior etc. than to try and pretend it doesn't exist through a walled garden
you can't stay in walled garden forever, at some point someone is either escaping, breaking in, or the walls just crumbling down
i can't tell if alot of these answers are sarcastic or not...
I was being serious. Maybe college is an exaggeration but I really do think kids shouldn't get internet until at least highschool.
I admit it's mostly bias. I turned out fine therefore I think the way I was raised is good.
Just teach them how to use the internet safely and properly. Not to say their age and their address, not to add random people on discord, stuff like that. If you isolate your kids from the internet, then at this point in time, you're kind of isolating them from a decent chunk of human culture, which from personal experience (anecdotal, not very useful, I know), is a terrible idea. I was raised Mormon, I know how restricting access to things goes for kids. They'll end up buying a phone off of a friend with less of an idea of how to use it safely. Maybe check their youtube homepage once in a while, make sure it isn't slop, ask them about what they're doing on there, answer any questions they have. Might wanna filter some stuff before middle school though. Block gore sites, those tend to fuck people up quite a bit.
I won't have kids anyways I was just saying what I would do.
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It's not really that hard with my son 13, I monitor what he's doing discreetly using apps and just listening to what he's doing. I make sure to explain to him what I find acceptable and I give him space and freedom to make mistakes but I'm also clear about the consequences. I don't let him out of sight or ear shot.
My daughter 5 on the other hand is much tougher, she likes to watch slop and I have to limit it block shows or apps that have "free streaming" because the garbage is everywhere. She doesn't understand or know the difference, she doesn't see the overt government or corporate propaganda and low effort quality, she just sees bright colors and happy cartoons and signing. Here's hoping my efforts aren't for not.
Otherwise, just keep them off the black hole that is social media (Facebook/Instagram/tweeter and their clones) because there's nothing good or redeemable there, limit YouTube and similar sites, take part in their lives while also giving the space to make decisions, don't completely cut out AI but encourage creativeness using all of the tools available to them, encourage quality over quantity, instill healthy values, be flexible, and treat them like young humans. Treating them like young humans also means setting boundaries, being firm, standing your ground and being consistent. They're humans not flowers. The values part is probably the hardest part to impart because what everyone themselves value doesn't necessarily mean the same thing to everyone else and life is full of contradictions so they need to be able to decide who/what/when/where is the right choice and completely denying everything will blow up in your or their faces.
The values we teach them as parents is what will allow them to decide when is the right time to allow AI content as something acceptable and give them the knowledge for how to use it to their advantage. AI isn't going away so don't run away from it, but that doesn't mean we have to accept the shit corporations are cramming down our throats or allow it to run our lives and raise our kids.
It's a long war and a lot of people give up or declare victory too soon. Never give up, never surrender, because one day you will be old and AI will be running your life support machines and I hope someone's lazy kid didn't half ass train it because they grew up watching Cocomelon.
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You can’t unless you block social media which includes YouTube. At the end of the day, with my 8yo, I’m taking the approach of using parental controls to limit exposure to content he shouldn’t see and then doing my best to ensure he knows how to spot AI videos in their current state.
Raise them in the woods with no access to the outside world until the age of forty.
You can't, it is not possible, until parental controls include something about filtering AI, anyway it's like the cat and mouse one day an AI filter came out the next day an anti-AI filter came out and so on.
All platforms are full of AI now, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram have always been since filter stuff.
Social engineers are hard working people.
I think the best approach could be to teach children to recognize AI stuff when they see it but it is hard with the actual educational system anyway the government will not spend a dime on it. About older people a big amount is just doomed.
Last point: you can almost control what your kid does with some exceptions, but you can't control what other parents don't and as we live in a society not in the woods your kid can and probably will be exposed to something.
In a socialist country, would AI be discouraged for video-making?
In a socialist country, I would guess that there's much less incentive to pump out slop. So if you make videos with AI, it's more likely that you've actually put some thought into it and are making something of actual value to someone.
As far as I know in North Korea the government can see what you do on your phone even without being a kid, so I believe not just that so even they will use AI to catch you doing it or another "evil" stuff faster.
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"If I find out you've been watching AI slop, there will be consequences. And don't think hiding it from me will make sure I don't find out. Watching slop makes people stupid in a very particular way, and you can't stop yourself from catching stupid from it, so I'll be able to tell."
It's up to you what "consequences" means in this instance. You could even reveal that the consequence was the stupidity they developed along the way, and now they have to live with that.
(By all means, modify this message to be less cold and more kind and loving. I am not good at that sort of thing.)
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I feel sorry for parents. I almost replicated but thank god I did not. I obsered others and kept a record. My findings since I was a child is things are only gonna get worse. I might be a broke, I might be a joke but I sleep with the gravity of a thousand suns. Good luck out there. Thoughts and Prayers