Consider substance addiction. Being a heroin addict might actually teach you how to hide things, steal things, and stick needles into yourself without dying. And eventually you might clean up, 'grow' out of it and use what you've learned for good.
And yet I think most people would agree that prohibiting or strongly discouraging heroin use, at least by children, a good thing.
Obviously heroin is an extreme example. My point is that the things we enjoy lie on a continuum, and with some of these things it's good to discourage or even prohibit, and not 'let people figure it out for themselves', especially not at a young age.
Computer use probably covers most of this continuum. Non-stop candy-crush? Probably more on the bad side of things. Games that involve group activity (WoW, etc.)? Probably a lot better. Games that also involve creation and even 'programming' such as Minecraft? Even better.
When you let children do what they want, there's no guarantee that they will gravitate towards the good stuff in the same way that letting children eat what they want is unlikely to turn them into adults with healthy diets.
Finding the balance between letting children discover for themselves and strictly prohibiting their behavior is very tricky. And that's why it's good to care about these things and discuss them.
And yet I think most people would agree that prohibiting or strongly discouraging heroin use, at least by children, a good thing.
Obviously heroin is an extreme example. My point is that the things we enjoy lie on a continuum, and with some of these things it's good to discourage or even prohibit, and not 'let people figure it out for themselves', especially not at a young age.
Computer use probably covers most of this continuum. Non-stop candy-crush? Probably more on the bad side of things. Games that involve group activity (WoW, etc.)? Probably a lot better. Games that also involve creation and even 'programming' such as Minecraft? Even better.
When you let children do what they want, there's no guarantee that they will gravitate towards the good stuff in the same way that letting children eat what they want is unlikely to turn them into adults with healthy diets.
Finding the balance between letting children discover for themselves and strictly prohibiting their behavior is very tricky. And that's why it's good to care about these things and discuss them.