TV as Essential Socialisation

Many parents these days (myself included) prohibit screen time for their infants in an science-backed countertrend to the kids casually addicted to their iPad screen. Parents that prohibit screen time believe that they are doing what is best for their children and usually institute a blanket ban on all screened devices, despite the vast differences that exist between not only mediums but also the sort of content their kids can consume (ranging from short-form brain rot to classic family films that have anecdotally been shown to not induce the sort of behavioural problems we see with screen-addicted children). Again, as someone who has instituted a blanket ban, I’m beginning to doubt (abstractly) that this is what’s best for the development of 21st-century children. The problem is that technophobes isolate screens as uniquely malicious and believe that they can raise their children in a pre-technological way in this regard only. However, every other aspect of their life will still be subject to a very non-traditional lifestyle, and this might require non-traditional means of socialisation.

One of the defining features of modern life is its overwhelming complexity. Globalisation, information overload — and no community to help shoulder the burden of existence. This requires an immense amount of preparation on the part of our children, who are essentially (and always have been) required to…