House phones are back: Why parents are taking smartphones away from kids

Right now at six, some of us can still remember the days of house phones. It turns out dialing back and going old school is one of the newest phone trends for kids. This is really interesting. As Boston 25's Lisa Pappas shows us, it's one way local families are trying to rein in social media use without being antisocial. Do you want to come play outside with me? Introducing your kids to the concept of a house phone. Can Kennedy come too? This one is called a tin can phone. You could. Type in their number or you could just like press one of these buttons to just fast call them. It works off Wi-Fi and allows kids to call each other. One of our neighbors found it and kind of sent it all out to us. And they've been using it all summer and it's really worked out well. Parents can also keep track of which phone numbers are allowed to call the phone. When I first started using it, like. You know, they would just pick the phone up, like, you have to speak. So I think it's been great for them to learn communication skills. Whether it's the tin can phone or a more traditional landline, parents are looking for a way to push off smartphones and social media. I think the longer we can wait. The better off we are. This summer, Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, settled a $17 billion lawsuit claiming the company made its apps addicting to children on purpose. I work with a lot of parents who, when they try and set limits and boundaries on their phones, their kids get aggressive, they get angry, they can't, like, it's like cutting off their arm in some ways. Dr. James McCowan at Mass General sees the addiction firsthand. Decent proportions do find it very hard to stop. And it interferes with their mood, their sleep, how much time they're outside, how much time they're socializing. McCowan says social media is impacting developing brains, causing shorter attention spans, impulse control issues, anxiety and depression. Lawmakers are now working on restrictions. These children are functionally laborers. in a system of dopamine extraction. Congressman Jake Auchincloss is co-sponsoring the 16 and Up Social Media Act along with parents over platforms to altogether ban social media under the age of 16 as a national standard. Children are actually doing work for these companies. They are, you know, the taste-making that they do online attracts other age cohorts. The feedback that they give the platform allows it to train its own AI models. Under this law, parents would enter their child's birthday into their smartphone, which would then restrict apps like Instagram and Facebook. Doctors agree these platforms may need more regulation. Just like we think about cigarette use, alcohol use, cannabis use for young people, We have age restrictions, we have Amounts that are okay and not okay, and so social media should really be thought of similarly. Parents we spoke to are looking forward to the changes so that all families can be on the same page when it comes to managing social media for their kids. I'd love for this to go into place before it becomes a problem for us. State lawmakers are also working on restrictions for social media right now. Meta is expected to make changes within the next year, and it plans to implement Daily two-hour time limits for the apps, as well as overnight lockouts between midnight and 6 a.m., hidden like counts, and beauty filters disabled for minors, just to name a few. I'm Lisa Pappas for your local station, Boston 25 News.