I don’t believe that exposure to technology is tantamount to child abuse as some uber-crunchy trads might insist. That said, they're reacting to a culture that pushes tablets and phones on the very young, despite fairly convincing evidence suggesting that too much screen time may harm kids’ cognitive, linguistic, and social-emotional growth. 'Prolonged exposure to high-stimulation shows, even those with virtuously 'educational' packaging such as 'Baby Einstein,' primes children for inattention.'Is it possible to stake out a reasonable middle ground? In my view, yes — provided you have a clear-eyed understanding of just what pitfalls to avoid. Sheer quantity is obvious enough. Consuming six hours straight of uninterrupted screen time is the dopamine-overdose equivalent of binging a family-sized bag of Reese’s cups: pretty clearly a bad habit to indulge. Of course, most "content" today is designed for passive binging, putting the onus on the parent to keep time. You don't want to forget your child in front of "Bluey" any more than you'd want to forget your roast in the oven.Then, you have to consider the ideology (trans, critical race theory, etc.) smuggled into the average children’s television programming these days. What makes it particularly insidious is the difficulty of knowing where exactly it comes from. Vaclav Havel foretold this in his essay “The Power of the Powerless,” in which he describes life under communism through the story of a greengrocer. The greengrocer put a communist slogan in his shop window, not because he particularly liked its content, not because the content was true, not in the hope that someone might be persuaded by it,but to contribute, along with thousands of other slogans, to the panorama that everyone is very much aware of. This panorama, of course, has a subliminal meaning as well: it reminds people where they are living and what is expected of them. It tells them what everyone else is doing, and indicates to them what they must do as well, if they don't want to be excluded, to fall into isolation, alienate themselves from society, break the rules of the game, and risk the loss of their peace and tranquility and security.That is to say, it is an utterly gratuitous form of psychological torture. What a good reason to cancel the show, and the network, for good measure.But quality doesn’t begin and end with the message itself. Canadian philosopher and father of media theory Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase “the medium is the message,” the idea that the manner of communication can often say more about the culture, and the messages that culture communicates, than the explicit messages themselves. Illustrating his point, wokeness as a form of political manipulation and psychological terrorism entered its heyday in tandem with high-stimulation special-effect media. Dr. Dimitri Christakis says that the pace of the media has a significant impact on its quality, at least in terms of a child’s neural development. His research indicates that prolonged exposure to high-stimulation shows, even those with virtuously "educational" packaging such as “Baby Einstein,” primes children for inattention. The type of input that the mind learns to crave is not available in the real world, so the child becomes addicted to the constant, unchallenged emotional gratification of the screen.Suppose, however, that parents enforce strict time limits and vet all shows for messaging. Is the occasional hour or two of curated screen time fine?The study I linked to at the beginning suggests that it is, especially if we balance it our with “green time."Here, I’ve curated some of my favorite high-quality, low-stimulation, and actually child-appropriate shows that my kids watch when they’re sick or I need to get something done. This list is not exhaustive, so please share in the comments: What morally and aesthetically wholesome shows have you found that get the sort of crunchy, Christian mom stamp of approval?Little BearAdventures from the Book of VirtuesHeidi, and most things with Shirley TempleMister Roger’s NeighborhoodMy Neighbor Totoro, and most things by Hayao MiyazakiClassical Ballet via Marquee TV or YoutubeZoboomafoo with the Kratt BrothersMadeleinePrince of Egypt

Joe Biden can’t be faulted for his audacity. After obliterating the value of the U.S. dollar by sending prices 19.3% higher than when Donald Trump left office, he put the economy on course for the hardest “soft landing” you can imagine. Now, Bidenomics is making a bold move to offshore even more of America’s manufacturing jobs — to China, no less.One of Biden’s signature policies, massive tax credits to buy electric vehicles, features a China-shaped loophole. Though Congress wrote the law with the intention of having these credits go only to U.S.-made EVs, in adherence to the pseudo-religion of climate alarmism, Biden had other plans.For Democrats, stopping climate change tomorrow is simply more important than ensuring American prosperity today.The Biden administration is handing out tax credits for EVs. Even though many of their key parts — notably batteries and rare minerals — come directly from China. Even worse, if you lease rather than buy an EV, there are virtually no restrictions on where any of the parts can be imported from.As you might imagine, the proportion of EVs rolling off the lot that are leased has jumped from 10% to 30% to take full advantage of this pro-Chinese Communist Party loophole. Exporting our jobs, not our products, is a classic case of Bidenomics hard at work.Some Democrats recognize the danger in Biden’s overreach. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.), just a few weeks ago, attacked this executive rule-making from Biden. Their aim is to fulfill the original intent of the law and block these Chinese imports. The pressure seems to be working, at least a little. The administration has tried to tighten the loophole on Chinese imports of EV parts, but unfortunately Biden is still dangerously committed to disastrous energy policies.America’s energy industry is the foundation of our country’s prosperity, especially our gas-powered cars. So, this latest round of attacks on the foundation of our way of life shouldn’t come as a surprise. Indeed, it is part and parcel of the Biden administration’s longstanding goal of transforming our economy.Consider, for example, that President Biden has approved more than $1 trillion in subsidies to buy EV cars over the next 10 years. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. This administration has also made numerous aggressive attempts to halt the production of conventional energy resources and to block the production and sale of technologies that afford us the convenience of modern-day life: such as gas-powered cars, natural-gas stoves, and many other appliances.These subsidies alone will steal more than $7,500 from each American household, adding to the inflation fire and sending mortgage and small-business loan rates even higher.For Democrats, stopping climate change tomorrow is simply more important than ensuring American prosperity today. Never mind that the government’s own climate models show that if the United States could, overnight, achieve net-zero emission of greenhouse gases, global temperatures 76 years from now would be virtually unchanged.This latest decision to sign these subsidies into law shows more clearly than ever that promoting the well-being of American households isn’t a priority for the Biden administration. These subsidies are funded by American families’ hard-earned money and are funneled to companies that prioritize catering to unelected bureaucrats and the Chinese Communist Party over making good products.If the Biden administration continues down this course, it may face a tough choice between the false religion of climate alarmism or the integrity of its own political coalition. Audacity only gets you so far.

Final Fantasy 14 converted me to MMORPGs. I’ve steered clear of World of Warcraft, Guild Wars 2, Elder Scrolls Online, and Runescape my whole life; but the community, gameplay options, world, and characters of FF14’s Eorzea are nothing short of superb. With Dawntrail on the horizon, you might be considering diving in too, so I’m here to tell you there’s no better time, and you can even save 60% on the complete package if you act now. Continue reading The best MMORPG on PC is 60% off right now, and totally worth it MORE FROM PCGAMESN: The best MMOs, FF14 Dawntrail release date, FF14 Island Sanctuary guide

What is Minecraft archeology? The Minecraft archeology system was an exciting new mechanic first announced as part of the massive, but controversial, Caves and Cliffs update. A number of announcements made at the same time were eventually shelved, including bundles and archeology, while The Warden and its Deep Dark biome were delayed as part of the update being split in two. This was no bad thing, as it was due to so much more content being added than originally planned, and now, the archeology system is officially back in business. Thanks to the delays, changes, and disappointments of previous updates, Minecraft 1.20 evolved a little differently, with no features being revealed until they were definite. Archeology became one of the official features of the crafting game thanks to the Tales and Trails update, so here’s how Minecraft archeology works. Continue reading Minecraft archeology, pottery sherds, and decorative blocks MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Minecraft seeds, Minecraft skins, Minecraft mods

Civilization 6 is gigantic, ambitious, and so deep and detailed you can get lost in it for hundreds of hours, but it’s missing a certain kind of personality. This is where Crusader Kings 3 normally picks up the slack, the Paradox dynasty simulator where your imperial family feels very much your own, warts and all. But imagine a combination of the two. From the publisher behind Warhammer 40k Gladius, and an esteemed 4X developer, an enormous new grand strategy game gives you expansive, world-conquering power with a familial twist, and it’s out on Steam today. Continue reading Huge new grand strategy game from Warhammer 40k publisher hits Steam MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best strategy games, Best grand strategy games, Best 4X games

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