Retro-Tech Parenting
A technologist parent describes using retro technologies (CDs, landlines, offline computers) to give kids enriching tech access without surveillance capitalism.
The author, a technologist concerned about AdTech and surveillance capitalism, describes strategies for letting his children experience technology's benefits while avoiding engagement-optimized platforms. He purchased a mini CD boom box and sourced CDs from the library for his daughter. He installed a wired landline using a VoIP provider and Tin Can adapter, whitelisting contacts and blocking calls during dinner and morning hours. For computing, he set up a used tower PC next to the kitchen with separate logins per child, configured a pi-hole DNS filter, and whitelisted specific domains (Wikipedia, Minecraft, shoe-tying tutorials) while blocking YouTube and Spotify. Kids can rip CDs onto the computer and explore independently. He notes these approaches aren't universally accessible and require technical skill, but the core philosophy of refusing convenience-at-the-cost-of-privacy remains available to all parents.
What HN community is saying
The top-ranked comment reframes the issue: retro tech's benefit is that it sits idle until kids act, unlike engagement-optimized platforms. The actual challenge is social isolation; opting out of addictive layers can exclude kids from group chats. Commenters described similar efforts in their communities, though one noted the "social tax" remains painful (kids missing sports team group chats). A correction emerged: the article's header image appears AI-generated, with unhistorical details like a pristinely-labeled floppy disk and unrealistic device reflections. Other parents shared their own retro-tech strategies: large physical libraries, internet-disconnected family computers loaded with creative software, and piano instruction.