> Through lawsuits and reporting, I learned that my childhood Boy Scout Troop and church was infested with pedophiles.

It's really sad to see things like this. Boy Scouts was one of the best parts of my childhood. Both my parents were heavily involved - dad was the Scout Master, mom was the merit badge counselor for backpacking and other woodland activities, my younger sisters came on many of the trips.

It served as a healthy foil to my absolute infatuation with learning about technology.

I think there are probably a multitude of factors, and both social media and too much generic screen time both are unhealthy in quantity. Many things are unhealthy in quantity after all. My oldest is 12, for context. Another factor that I think is really important is that I observe a lot of kids aren't given any responsibility at all. A lot of parents are control freaks. After all, it's easier for me to just do it myself than clean up the mess you make when you do it. 100 years ago you sent your 10 year old out to plow the field because that was the only way the family survived winter. I'm not saying those were better times, but those kids might have had the satisfaction of a job well done, and that's definitely good for mental health.

What's also interesting is that many of the kids that do get responsibility are the ones in really crappy situations. That is, responsibility is forced on them because of circumstances. So these kids might do poorly in school, but end up with a better work ethic than rich kids with education. Or they end up dead or in jail. It's all messed up and there are no easy solutions. We all just need to do better.

I played on, probably, one of the worst soccer teams in the country. Weekly double digit losses. In soccer. Still had fun. I didn't go pro as it turns out. Somehow, I suspect I wouldn't have, even if I'd been on the best team in the country... Is soccer skill actually a realistic long-term concern for your kid? Most people don't become professional athletes.

I mean, it is literally a game, he shouldn't feel the need to "fully commit." That coach just seems like a jerk, to me. Look for a lower-stakes league, maybe? Plus if your kid has put in a couple years on this super intense team, he'd probably be a super-star in a normal one.

> Through lawsuits and reporting, I learned that my childhood Boy Scout Troop and church was infested with pedophiles.

Yes! My freshman biology teacher was extradited and imprisoned in Australia for this. [1] The Marianist Church knew and shuffled them to new congregations rather than doing the right thing.

1. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/catholic-clergyman-bernard-hart...

Social media is such a double-edged sword.

Some call this "problematic" behavior of kids starting around age 10-12 puberty. I've not seen any peer-reviewed studies linking it to tablet use but of course it's possible that tablet use is a contributing factor in causing puberty in teenagers.

Yeah there's a framework for reporting abuse now at least, in the early aughts the game in my high school was to catfish dick pics from desperate boys over AOL Instant Messenger and send them to others randomly for shock value. It was vile, and at least one victim switched schools because of it, but no one ever got caught. It was reported to the police, but no one had any idea how to track down the person doing it.

If this happened to my kids today it's very likely someone would be charged with a crime (rightfully so).

So you don't have a teen yet, then. Let me know how it goes when you have teens - the transition is crazy! (or for some kids, not)