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posted by martyb on Saturday January 16 2021, @11:55PM   Printer-friendly
from the Video-superstition dept.

At last someone recognizes that it matters what you do on a screen.

"It is really hard to quantify time now. Technology is fully embedded in our lives. But what's more important is what's happening on those screens, the quality of the interaction," she told Goldman.

For example, one hour of pornography for a 14-year-old is "highly toxic, whereas two hours of FaceTime with your grandparents is healthy."

Dr. Kang admitted that parents can be "overwhelmed" at the thought of reining in their kids' screen use.

She said an easy guideline is to compare tech to nutrition: consume healthy tech, limit junk tech, and completely eliminate toxic tech.

[...] Healthy tech, according to Dr. Kang, is tech that is actually good for you. That includes any tech that releases endorphins or oxytocin (exercise and meditation apps) or creates a meaningful connection (video conferencing with friends) or leads to creativity and learning (coding, robotics, art or music).

Junk tech releases dopamine and includes "mindless scrolling, mindless zoning out video gaming. It's like eating a bag of chips. Once in a while is OK, but it's empty calories. So limit and monitor the junk tech," said Dr. Kang.

And avoid toxic tech altogether "just like we avoid toxic foods like aspartame and spoiled milk," she said. "Toxic tech causes your child's stress and is linked to the release of cortisol...The negativity, the hate, the cyberbullying, but also things like prolonged sitting, sleep deprivation and also FOMO or fear of missing out."

Finally someone online knows the difference between "rein" and "reign".

[Ed. note: This story lacks supporting research, but the hypothesis presented seems plausible and reasonable. So, I decided to take a chance and put this story before the community. What has your experience been during the pandemic? How well does your experience match up with the story's premise? How much, if any, do you ration your child's (and your own) screen time? --martyb]


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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by krishnoid on Sunday January 17 2021, @12:11AM (3 children)

    by krishnoid (1156) on Sunday January 17 2021, @12:11AM (#1101309)

    Healthy tech, according to Dr. Kang, is tech that is actually good for you. That includes any tech that releases endorphins or oxytocin (exercise and meditation apps) or creates a meaningful connection (video conferencing with friends) or leads to creativity and learning (coding, robotics, art or music).

    If something like ESRB or MPAA ratings [youtu.be] were available for the tech as an advisory label for this sort of stuff, that would probably help parents a lot for both their kids' consumption (and their own). Who has time to audit/gatekeep *everything* their kids are looking at online, particularly nowadays? (until child-implantable bluetooth-enabled endorphin/oxytocin/serotonin sensors are available, that is).

    I gotta wonder how reading and posting on Soylentnews (or even the green site, perhaps in its earlier days) would rate against these guidelines too.

    This story lacks supporting research, but the hypothesis presented seems plausible and reasonable.

    Well, it's from Canada, so if it's wrong, they'll apologize instead of doubling down. That at least would be a helpful change.

    • (Score: -1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Sunday January 17 2021, @12:36AM (1 child)

      by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Sunday January 17 2021, @12:36AM (#1101322) Homepage

      " whereas two hours of FaceTime with your grandparents is healthy. "

      No, seeing your grandparents in person is healthy. The challenge is convincing the stupider ones that COVID was a hoax and that you're not gonna kill granny with a visit like all the noisy Jews said you would.

      " Dr. Kang admitted that parents can be 'overwhelmed' at the thought of reining in their kids' screen use. "

      Because Jewish psychiatrists believe that discipline is tantamount to child abuse, all the better of an excuse to put the kid in foster care. Nevermind that the lockdown hoax will cause severe psychological problems with a whole generation who will distrust all authority and need meds (good for Jewish psychiatry and Jewish big pharma) to live a normal existence.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @09:03PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @09:03PM (#1101673)

        Proof that stupid is as stupid says.

    • (Score: 2) by driverless on Sunday January 17 2021, @07:40AM

      by driverless (4770) on Sunday January 17 2021, @07:40AM (#1101420)

      In terms of "lacks supporting research", the author has quoted noted experts in the field, so it's actual expert advice, not mommy47@babyblog telling you that unless your child drinks only wholemeal prune juice they're going to turn into Trump/Biden (choose one) supporters when they grow up.

  • (Score: 5, Funny) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday January 17 2021, @12:18AM (16 children)

    by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Sunday January 17 2021, @12:18AM (#1101313) Homepage Journal

    An hour of pornography highly toxic for a 14 year old? Someone has obviously forgotten what it's like to be a 14 year old.

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @12:28AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @12:28AM (#1101318)

      ok coomer

    • (Score: 5, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @12:43AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @12:43AM (#1101325)

      Two hours of watching your grandparents make pornography will definitely mess up a 14 year old, though.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @01:02AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @01:02AM (#1101333)

        Then again, that's really healthy for the grandparents.

    • (Score: 5, Funny) by Tork on Sunday January 17 2021, @01:02AM (3 children)

      by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Sunday January 17 2021, @01:02AM (#1101332)

      An hour of pornography highly toxic for a 14 year old? Someone has obviously forgotten what it's like to be a 14 year old.

      At 14 I stumbled across a vhs tape I wasn't supposed to while my parents weren't home. I never did see that tape in its entirety because every time headlights shone through the window I'd have a panic attack because I did NOT find that tape at the beginning, and I just KNEW if it started up again in the wrong spot my dad in particular would know what was up! Have you ever gone outside your house just to see what from your TV is visible on the street?!

      Pretty sure if for whatever reason I did endure that whole hour of a porno ... which I admit may require some stamina training on my part... it would have ended me.

      --
      🏳️‍🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️‍🌈
      • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @05:39AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @05:39AM (#1101399)

        Have you ever gone outside your house just to see what from your TV is visible on the street?!

        Yes. Yes I have.

        Just wanted you to know you're not alone.

      • (Score: 3, Touché) by driverless on Sunday January 17 2021, @07:45AM

        by driverless (4770) on Sunday January 17 2021, @07:45AM (#1101421)

        At 14 I stumbled across a vhs tape I wasn't supposed to while my parents weren't home.

        Hey, your mom was young... she needed the money [youtube.com]...

      • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday January 18 2021, @02:06AM

        by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Monday January 18 2021, @02:06AM (#1101801) Homepage
        I believe the only review of a movie I've ever uploaded to IMDb was for a porno that I watched the entirity of, which was a first. The only reason I watched it was because it was jokingly, but respectfully, mimicking Mythbusters, a program I was a big fan of, and I just had to know what it was all about. Like Mythbusters, it was mostly mechanical.
        --
        Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
    • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Sunday January 17 2021, @01:19AM

      by krishnoid (1156) on Sunday January 17 2021, @01:19AM (#1101336)

      Or maybe you *do* remember what it was like to be a fourteen-year-old [penny-arcade.com], but should also consider the current media landscape in perspective.

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @11:50AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @11:50AM (#1101464)

      Masturbation releases both endorphins and oxytocin so by their own account it should be good screen time. Maybe they mean watching porn *without* masturbation. Now, that would be harmful!

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by fakefuck39 on Sunday January 17 2021, @01:33PM (2 children)

      by fakefuck39 (6620) on Sunday January 17 2021, @01:33PM (#1101481)

      yes, it is highly toxic for a 14yo. because when a 14yo goes on pornhub and his first knowledge of porn is a 50yo german man pissing in the mouth of a tiny 18yo innocent looking schoolgirl, picked up as a passenger in their taxi and offered money to, who is now having her asshole stretched by two black dicks, while a guy in a gimp suit is flogging her face with a horse whip, that 14yo thinks that's "regular sex."

      you see, a 14yo does not have the life experience to understand that they're role playing and it's not normal to do in the real world.

      I think you definitely forgot it was like to be 14. you remember watching that? you remember going on a laptop and finding that in about 30 seconds, then watching as much as you want? Because I remember sneaking some dithered softcore gifs of scanned playboys, that took an hour to download.

      now, as far as this bullshit article:
      >That includes any tech that releases endorphins or oxytocin. Junk tech releases dopamine.

      this is a false statement, and since it's released by an educated researcher who knows better, the article is anti-porn propaganda, and his education is likely from Religion Pseudoscience University.

      Watching porn releases plenty of oxytocin.
      https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-blame-game/201506/view-or-not-view-is-the-question [psychologytoday.com]

      Oh look, "Dr" Kang is of the Sikh faith, and has received awards from the Young Women's Christian Association and the Sikh Centennial Foundation. Not a lot of real scientists can say they have awards like that. She must be on to something.
      https://darpanmagazine.com/magazine/cover-story/dr-shimi-kang-taking-the-road-less-travelled/ [darpanmagazine.com]

      If she was a man, I'd call her a dumb faggot. Alas, she's a woman, so I'll just call her a handmaid. Not a Handmaid like Barrett. A handmaid like in German pissing porn.

      Actually scratch that. They're both faggot handmaids like in the German pissing porn.

      • (Score: 4, Funny) by EEMac on Sunday January 17 2021, @05:08PM

        by EEMac (6423) on Sunday January 17 2021, @05:08PM (#1101548)

        his first knowledge of porn is a 50yo german man pissing in the mouth of a tiny 18yo innocent looking schoolgirl, picked up as a passenger in their taxi and offered money to, who is now having her asshole stretched by two black dicks, while a guy in a gimp suit is flogging her face with a horse whip

        While I understand your point, you might try being a bit less specific with your PornHub searches.

      • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday January 20 2021, @08:52PM

        by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday January 20 2021, @08:52PM (#1103082) Homepage Journal

        Okay, Puritan. You can go back to protesting skirt lengths that show ankles now.

        --
        My rights don't end where your fear begins.
    • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @03:44PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @03:44PM (#1101514)

      An hour should be beyond toxic, especially since all it takes is 30 seconds. This reminds me of a fellow I played an online game with who went by the handle of "Cereal Killer", and without being asked volunteered a life story of his bout with chronic masturbation addiction, that caused his penis to become so chafed now he had extremely hard time having sex with his much older single mom girlfriend.

      Also, there is a lot of "weird" porn out there. And if your segway into human sexuality is "corn-hole stuffer 13", then you will end up with extremely unhealthy juvenile.

      For my part, when I was 14 I had 4 very wrinkly pages froma Hustler magaizine, which i got from a friend of a friend. Even that seems a bit excessive after some self-reflection. I miss the simpler times of my homeland, where sex was beyond taboo, and something you got to discover for yourself on your wedding night. There really isn't much priminig required, well at least there wasn't a need before the whole world became awashed in hormone disruptors... but that's another story.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 18 2021, @01:13PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 18 2021, @01:13PM (#1101965)

      Who at 14 could last a whole hour? Who could last at their current age?

  • (Score: 5, Informative) by progo on Sunday January 17 2021, @12:28AM (1 child)

    by progo (6356) on Sunday January 17 2021, @12:28AM (#1101319) Homepage

    Oddly enough, I feel much better after reading a 40 year old book for an hour, compared to spending an hour of reading people freak out about politics on alternative social media sites.

    • (Score: 3, Touché) by SpockLogic on Sunday January 17 2021, @04:19AM

      by SpockLogic (2762) on Sunday January 17 2021, @04:19AM (#1101383)

      So scrolling through random stories on Soylent News is toxic? Worse than porn?

      Surely not ...

       

       

       

      ... OK, you got me.

      --
      Overreacting is one thing, sticking your head up your ass hoping the problem goes away is another - edIII
  • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @12:31AM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @12:31AM (#1101320)

    Lesbian anal sex is not the same as black gang bang on tiny Japanese trans gender shogun.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @01:35AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @01:35AM (#1101339)

      Yes well whatabout metal fetishists and engineers?

    • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday January 17 2021, @08:43AM (3 children)

      by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Sunday January 17 2021, @08:43AM (#1101434) Journal

      Okay, sample size of 1 here? But I do *not* do butt stuff. It's off the table. Even a little background in microbiology, or ever having had a hemorrhoid, should be enough to put someone off the very idea.

      --
      I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @12:09PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @12:09PM (#1101468)

        Two words: rectal prolapse. That's just off-putting.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @12:47PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @12:47PM (#1101475)

        This is no way shape or form explains a very large number of anal videos on various internet sites.

        That said, I have watched this stuff for years without things much of it until one day in the middle of one particular action piece the male star casually reaches in to pull a piece of something out of her ass then continues on like nothing happen. Then I noticed her legs are covered in splatter. You have to look but it is there. This has kind of put me off this type of porn. Let alone doing it myself. Not that I ever could because that would require having someone willing to do it with.

        You are right in your insight that this type of activity is best done with great observance to the potential spreading of problematic biological matter. The young kids of today think anal is so normal that in some schools they hand out leaflets on do's and don'ts.

      • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @03:48PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @03:48PM (#1101515)

        Agreed. Surprising how little actual EDUCATION is contained in these Sex Ed courses. They try to make it seem like it's cool and acceptable, but reality is quite quite different. Having had some diet-related issues with constipation (get your fiber in!) which lead ot anal fissure I can tell you that the place back there is not party-town. Everything seems good and dandy while everything works, that's why the young often engage in behavior that can be very harmful to their bodies.

  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by darkfeline on Sunday January 17 2021, @12:47AM (8 children)

    by darkfeline (1030) on Sunday January 17 2021, @12:47AM (#1101328) Homepage

    > one hour of pornography for a 14-year-old is "highly toxic, whereas two hours of FaceTime with your grandparents is healthy."

    Citation needed. Most of the students getting knocked up in college had been deprived of sexual knowledge by insane adults (and ditto for other activities like drugs).

    > mindless zoning out video gaming

    Citation needed. Humans have played games for millenia to learn and practice invaluable skills. Zoning out means focused concentration, exactly what younger generations are lacking with social media and FOMO.

    The idea of good vs bad screen time sounds reasonable, but Dr. Kang's categorization is almost exactly the opposite of what it should be.

    --
    Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
    • (Score: 5, Interesting) by barbara hudson on Sunday January 17 2021, @02:24AM (2 children)

      by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Sunday January 17 2021, @02:24AM (#1101347) Journal

      They said the same thing about television. They said the same thing about movies. They said the same thing about games. "They" make claims that seem logical, but don't stand up under scrutiny.

      I'd say that overexposure to religion causes far more damage. Just the damage to critical thinking skills, the delusional beliefs, the mandatory suspension of disbelief that extends into every facet of their life …

      --
      SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @07:07AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @07:07AM (#1101415)

        Go back far enough and you can see the same claims about reading and writing.

      • (Score: 3, Interesting) by maxwell demon on Sunday January 17 2021, @07:21PM

        by maxwell demon (1608) on Sunday January 17 2021, @07:21PM (#1101610) Journal

        At some time reading novels was considered a damaging time waste, and today the worries are that children don't read enough.

        There surely will come the time when people will point to computer games as the sensible alternative to whatever new means of entertainment is then popular. People will praise the advantages of computer games, compared with the totally detrimental features of that new stuff. If only the children showed more interest in computer games!

        Oh, and that new form of entertainment will certainly be responsible for whatever actual or perceived problems there will be with the young people in that time.

        --
        The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by corey on Sunday January 17 2021, @02:34AM (1 child)

      by corey (2202) on Sunday January 17 2021, @02:34AM (#1101351)

      Dunno what ethical porn you’re watching but the professional stuff I’ve seen usually is flavoured by male domination and a bit of masochism. Or just a bit rough and aggressive. Sans any kind of love or affection. Amateur can be a bit softer.

      Point is to get the 14 year old to understand that it’s not normal and is there for entertainment purposes only.

      Having said that, a 14 year old lasting an hour is indicative of too much porn.

      • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 18 2021, @02:05AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 18 2021, @02:05AM (#1101800)
        Use keywords like x-art or erotica x that sort of stuff might be more to your taste.

        Don't see much male domination in the lesbian category either... ;)

        If you keep seeing porn you don't like, you're doing something wrong or you better be paid to do so.
    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by hendrikboom on Sunday January 17 2021, @03:16AM

      by hendrikboom (1125) Subscriber Badge on Sunday January 17 2021, @03:16AM (#1101361) Homepage Journal

      Most of the students getting knocked up in college had been deprived of sexual knowledge by insane adults (and ditto for other activities like drugs).

      Better a sex education book than porn. Porn teaches what might e fun to look at, and (maybe) to do; Sex education teaches you how to do it safely, among other things.

      -- hendrik

    • (Score: 2, Interesting) by multistrand on Sunday January 17 2021, @04:20AM

      by multistrand (13836) on Sunday January 17 2021, @04:20AM (#1101384)

      There's a difference in my mind between zoning out and concentration. Both are valuable in their own way. Zoning out to me is that weird semi-dream space that's almost like a hallucination. For me this is not often useful though it is often interesting or amusing, Concentration is different - I get wholly subsumed by the task and the entire world narrows down to that one single thing. Programming can be like this when the problem is interesting.

    • (Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Sunday January 17 2021, @04:29AM

      by hendrikboom (1125) Subscriber Badge on Sunday January 17 2021, @04:29AM (#1101387) Homepage Journal

      Citation needed. Humans have played games for millenia to learn and practice invaluable skills. Zoning out means focused concentration, exactly what younger generations are lacking with social media and FOMO.

      I suspect it makes a difference whether you are paying attention, merely having your attention attracted.

      Is the person or the thing in control?

  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Sunday January 17 2021, @01:12AM (2 children)

    by Rosco P. Coltrane (4757) on Sunday January 17 2021, @01:12AM (#1101334)

    For example, one hour of pornography for a 14-year-old is "highly toxic, whereas two hours of FaceTime with your grandparents is healthy."

    Says who? I learned a lot from dirty magazines as a kid (a bit earlier than 14 years old actually) and they helped un-demonize sex for me in my rather stuck-up family, while my grandmother was a nasty piece of work who hated kids, didn't wash all too often and smelled of stale urine.

    She was more toxic than the dirty pictures.

    • (Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @02:02PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @02:02PM (#1101489)

      I don't know the specifics for your own grandmother, but many people in her generation were raised in religions that traumatized them and taught them self-loathing. Plus, the women were often in marriages where they were slaves to the man of the house, and he got to abuse her or fuck her at will and her own sexual pleasure wasn't relevant.

      If I grew up like that, I'd probably hate kids because I would hate everyone.

      My ultra-religious mother buried me in Catholic guilt, and she hated anyone that had sex outside of marriage. But at least she did mention that within marriage, both people should enjoy sex. She didn't explain how, which is great because that's not the kind of thing kids want to hear from their parents. But even at 12 or 14 I had the general idea that women could enjoy sex if it was done right.

    • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @09:30PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @09:30PM (#1101688)

      It would have been much better if she hadn't procreated.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @01:31AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @01:31AM (#1101338)

    It is really hard to quantify time now.

    No it's not. It's never been easier. I'm surrounded by clocks that are all automatically adjusted to match the official planetary date and time to within tens of millis. The only time I have trouble quantifying time is when I'm in Tamriel, but there is probably a mod for that.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @01:55AM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @01:55AM (#1101342)

    This is just more "be happy and productive" Protestant-slave-mentality. We are not all identical, and what is good for one night not be so for another. Broadly labeling activities as toxic is probably one of the more toxic behaviors out there.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by hendrikboom on Sunday January 17 2021, @03:22AM (2 children)

      by hendrikboom (1125) Subscriber Badge on Sunday January 17 2021, @03:22AM (#1101363) Homepage Journal

      Yes. But some activities are toxic for many people. And others are good for many. I'd hesitate to ban any kind of media absolutely for everyone.

      When I still had children in the house I did not ban media. But I did monitor what my children were reading and watching so I'd know when advice would be needed. Thanks to that I got to see My Neighbour Totoro about sixty times.

      -- hendrik

      • (Score: 0, Redundant) by multistrand on Sunday January 17 2021, @04:23AM (1 child)

        by multistrand (13836) on Sunday January 17 2021, @04:23AM (#1101385)

        Thanks to that I got to see My Neighbour Totoro about sixty times.

        This is not a bad thing.

        • (Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Sunday January 17 2021, @04:35AM

          by hendrikboom (1125) Subscriber Badge on Sunday January 17 2021, @04:35AM (#1101388) Homepage Journal

          Not a bad thing at all.

          I'm now at the point that, even though I do not know Japanese, I can watch the film in Japanese without subtitles and still know what they're saying.

    • (Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Sunday January 17 2021, @03:23AM

      by hendrikboom (1125) Subscriber Badge on Sunday January 17 2021, @03:23AM (#1101364) Homepage Journal

      But classifying things as good or bad beats the widespread attitude that all screen-time is bad for children.

  • (Score: 0) by TomTheFighter on Monday January 18 2021, @02:43PM

    by TomTheFighter (9781) on Monday January 18 2021, @02:43PM (#1101987)

    My cat spends hours a day watching Neko chase my mouse pointer around the screen - is that Healthy ?

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