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Daron has a Soapbox moment!

Kids and Smart Phones, by Pr Daron Pratt

 
Hold on to your kids…. Hold off giving them a smart phone for as long as possible. If your kid has a smart phone you can guarantee they are being targeted by predators.

The estimated half a million predators that are known to be online at any time know the internet is a vast playground for children that are online upwards of eight hours a day, most of them unmonitored, unfiltered, unrestricted.

Two-thirds of children interact daily online with people they don't know despite grooming fears.

Boys can now create their own porn or create an AI companion who will do anything they want meaning that they don't have to negotiate and learn the nuances/hardships/awkwardness of courtship and wooing an actual girl.

The average first age of exposure to pornography is 11 years, (thats the average many are younger than that) with 100% of 15-year-old males and 80% of 15-year-old females reporting that they have been exposed to violent, degrading online pornography. Our children take this as normal and into their sexual experiences.  Add on toxic influencers like Andrew Tate and it is a recipe for disaster.

Most Australian teenagers have their own smartphone. According to a 2023 survey, 91% of young people between 14 and 17 owned a smartphone

Nearly a quarter of five-to-seven-year-olds now have their own smartphone. (Because we don't want our kids to be the odd one out) Social media use also rose in the age group over last year with nearly two in five using messaging service WhatsApp, despite its minimum age of 13.

We need to actively parent more than ever.  Especially when it comes to technology.  Hold on to your kids. Hold off on the smartphone.

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