In March of 2014, The Huffington Post Parents Blog shared a post by Cris Rowan entitled “10 Reasons Why Handheld Devices Should Be Banned for Children Under the Age of 12“. Listing her credentials as a pediatric occupational therapist, biologist, speaker, and author, Ms. Rowan cited several studies and observations for her assertion. This post and others like it continue to be shared far & wide.
Following are blogs and memes generated in response to such a sweeping sentiment:
Adventure Mobile: 10 Reasons Why Banning Hand Held Devices for Children Under 12 is A Bad Idea
Hipmombrarian’s Blog: 10 Reasons Why I Will Continue to Give my Children Handheld Devices
Huffington Post Healthy Living: 10 Reasons Why We Need Research Literacy, Not Scare Columns
Aspiring Something: 10 Reasons Why Handheld Devices Should Be Banned for Children Under the Age of 12 – A Rebuttal
No, Strike That: 10 reasons why the “10 reasons to ban handheld devices” article is wrong, stupid
Jo Ashline: Why Banning Devices for Kids is a Stupid Idea
Not directly a response, but this article from 2009 on Salon.com explains the history of reacting negatively to new technology: Is the Internet melting our brains?
I’ll continue to update this post with more resources as they become available. Do you have a favorite blog, article, or study we should include? Post in the comments below and we’ll add it.
~Rachel
I’ll be at the Free to Be Unschooling Conference in Phoenix, Arizona this October. Would love to meet you there.
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