I'm a parent of two, and step-parent to two, between the ages 5 -11. I think a lot about this, and one of the biggest issues I see (besides the many valid points I feel the article raised) is that with the rise of Internet video, we are showing kids to kids more often, if that makes sense.
I grew up in the 80's, and cartoons were most of the media I consumed. You usually saw anthropomorphical characters depicting behaviors. When you did see live action, it was usually centered more around adults teaching or mentoring the kids (or Muppets), and when kids did appear, they were polite unless being used to illustrate bad behavior.
Today, with so much self-published content, kids are seeing other kids, often acting in outrageous ways to get views, likes, followers, and fans. When media became decentralized, I think we lost a powerful cultural platform for shared experience and norms, and it is starting to show.
As a parent of a two year-old, one thing I will not allow (for as long as possible) is unrestricted YouTube. I've seen my nieces watch unboxing videos and videos of kids acting like babies. It seems addictive and utterly devoid of any value.
I will disagree with the TV thing, but I think isolation and very strict control over their schedule isn't helping. For example my 3.5 year old wanted to play in our backyard, I said no because we have no fence and he could wander away plus I found some garden snakes last week and didn't want him alone down there. However part of me felt bad for him because he wanted to be outside in the grass and I was too worried to let him do it.
Do you not trust your child to not wander away if you said something like, "Yes, go play, but be careful, and remember not to go past the tree (or whatever)"?
Do you let your son ride in cars? That seems way more dangerous than letting him play in his backyard.
I don't know you, and there's all kinds of ways to parent, but it feels like you may have some unhealthy anxiety surrounding your child's safety if this is your standard reaction.
I grew up in the 80's, and cartoons were most of the media I consumed. You usually saw anthropomorphical characters depicting behaviors. When you did see live action, it was usually centered more around adults teaching or mentoring the kids (or Muppets), and when kids did appear, they were polite unless being used to illustrate bad behavior.
Today, with so much self-published content, kids are seeing other kids, often acting in outrageous ways to get views, likes, followers, and fans. When media became decentralized, I think we lost a powerful cultural platform for shared experience and norms, and it is starting to show.