Scott Alexander

In any case, electronic babysitters are undeniably a lot of fun for kids, and as a cheap dependable substitute for a human babysitter, a blessing for parents too.

So why the hostility?

It's as if parents think that anything that feels good for every member of the family must be bad.

I'm not advising people to put their kids in front of the television and forget about them.

My wife and I don't let ours watch more than an hour or two a day, because we don't want them to miss out on the other joys of childhood.

I'm merely suggesting pragmatic adjustments in the way that families spend their time.

If parents feel exhausted by their kids' busy schedule, they should trim a few hours of activity from their week, even if their kids spend most of their extra hours on TV and video games.

The parents will be happier, and the kids will probably be happier too."

Scott writes, Wise words.

In 2011, when S-R-T-H-M-K was written.

What about the age of TikTok and Instagram?

We all know what argument comes next.

You think a newfangled thing is bad.

The ancients thought their newfangled thing was bad.

And now that we've had time to get used to it, we realized it's fine.

Therefore, no new thing is ever bad.

People in 2000 were afraid video games were destroying society.

People in 1960 were afraid TV was destroying society.

People in 1600 thought the novel was destroying society, and people in 500 BC thought writing was destroying society.

Therefore, nothing can ever destroy society?