from Hacker News

Kids and smartphones – The real threat isn't screen time. It's algorithm time

by matthewsinclair on 4/28/25, 2:38 PM with 6 comments

• by delichon on 4/28/25, 3:05 PM

  If a kid is consuming media they are being manipulated by external algorithms. If they are creating it, they are developing their own algorithms. So limit and curate consumption and reward production.

• by seba_dos1 on 4/29/25, 6:38 AM

  Duh. When I used a smartphone almost 20 years ago to hack on its system middleware while riding a tram or write Python scripts to verify my high school math exam answers, it was "screen time" too. It's just as if our devices were tools that could be used in various ways with various consequences. The problem is when we let those with no regard to our best interests form and restrict these tools for their own profit.

  There's no Android or iOS on my phone and it works the way I want and need it to, as I'm lucky enough to possess the technical abilities needed to form it myself. Let's make sure that as many people as possible are also empowered to do just that, so they can take care of those less technically inclined as well. This is what "freedom" stands for in "Free Software".

• by hammock on 4/28/25, 2:44 PM

  I noticed we create our own algorithms as well. I find myself reflexively typing in the same websites in the browser bar over and over to check what's there (e.g. the news). And I would consider that an algorithm in itself.