# Wait Until 8th? How Taiwan Is Curbing Children's Daily Technology Exposure **URL:** \ **Category:** Parenting\ **Created:** [December 2, 2024, 5:20am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/wait-until-8th-how-taiwan-is-curbing-childrens-daily-technology-exposure/246790 "2024-12-02T05:20:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Celeborn](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/celeborn/32/26102_2.png) [@Celeborn](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Celeborn)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 5:20am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/wait-until-8th-how-taiwan-is-curbing-childrens-daily-technology-exposure/246790/1 "2024-12-02T05:20:01Z")
> A lot of parents worry that their children are spending too much in front of phones and tablets. Parents in Taiwan are now legally obliged to do something about it, though the parameters of the rule are unclear. > **[Parents in this country are now legally obliged to stop their kids spending...](https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/01/how-taiwan-is-curbing-childrens-daily-technology-exposure/384830/)** > > But the law doesn't say exactly how much time is unreasonable. I am curious what you might think the chances are for a Wait Until 8th type of movement to catch hold in Taiwan today might be. > **[Wait Until 8th](https://www.waituntil8th.org/)** > > The Wait Until 8th pledge empowers parents to rally together to delay giving children a smartphone until the end of 8th grade. Here are some recent developments in Taiwan that echo the concerns of the Wait Until 8th movement > (From 2024) Chen ya hui (陳雅慧), editor-in-chief of Parenting (親子天下) said a survey on the psychological resilience of elementary and middle school students showed that internet addiction among youths is already evident. Chen believes these issues are inseparable from family education. > [https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/5954358](https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/5954358) > (From 2023) Child Welfare League Foundation (CWLF) released “2023 Survey on Children and Youth Online Safety and Digital Literacy in Taiwan.” … On average, children and youth spend nearly five hours online after school, and this screen time could potentially double during summer vacation. > [Hidden Traps on the Internet, Max Out Your Defense!::最新消息(英)::Child Welfare League Foundation](https://www.children.org.tw/english/news_detail/OnlineSafety) > (From 2022) Over 90 percent of Taiwanese children aged between 3 and 5 use personal electronic devices at home, with 3-year-olds averaging an overall screen time of two hours and 17 minutes per day, … > The survey of 1,732 parents, which counted the use of all types of so-called 3C devices (computers, communication, and consumer electronics), … > [NTNU- National Taiwan Normal University\<](https://en.ntnu.edu.tw/news-show.php?id=12652) ---
**Author:** ![nz](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@nz](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/nz)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 6:31am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/wait-until-8th-how-taiwan-is-curbing-childrens-daily-technology-exposure/246790/2 "2024-12-02T06:31:40Z")
That’s not going to work since a lot of (all?) counties have given iPads to every single elementary kid since COVID (and they’re supposed to use them for homework). Teachers are getting in trouble for no integrating iPad use into classrooms, since so much money was spent on the devices. Meanwhile, some eye doctor in the US was bragging on Taiwan’s behalf in some interview I watched recently that Taiwan was making sure elementary-aged kids were getting at least 90 minutes of outdoor time per day to combat the rise of myopia. To which I said “what the actual eff are you talking about?” cuz that would mean kids are actually sent OUTSIDE during _every_ break to actually play and that sure as heck is not happening. ---
**Author:** ![Celeborn](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/celeborn/32/26102_2.png) [@Celeborn](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Celeborn)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 7:04am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/wait-until-8th-how-taiwan-is-curbing-childrens-daily-technology-exposure/246790/3 "2024-12-02T07:04:10Z")
Do you mean this story…? > **[Want to protect your kids’ eyes from myopia? Get them to play outside](https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/05/31/want-to-protect-your-kids-eyes-from-myopia-get-them-to-play-outside)** > > If you’re a parent struggling to get your kids off their devices and outdoors to play, here’s another reason to keep trying: Spending at least two hours outside each day is one of the most important things your kids can do to protect their eyesight. > Morgan’s research caught the attention of [Dr. Pei-Chang Wu](https://www.changgung.hospital/en/m/doc-info.aspx?id=1230), an ophthalmologist in Taiwan. As a retina specialist at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Kaohsiung, he’d seen the consequences of high myopia in patients as young as 10 with tears in their retina. Some even had retinal detachment — which can result in blindness if not treated quickly. > > At the time, Wu’s young son was starting first grade, and he worried about Taiwan’s sky-high rates of myopia. Around [90 percent of teens there](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0161642020306795#:~:text=Prevalence%20and%20Trends%20of%20High%20Myopia&text=The%20prevalence%20of%20high%20myopia%20in%2015%2Dyear%2Dold%20schoolchildren,0.039%3B%20Fig%201B) have it by the end of high school. Wu says the academic culture in Taiwan’s primary schools didn’t allow for much outdoor recess. “Many teachers want students to practice their homework during recess,” he says. > > But Wu convinced his son’s elementary school to increase outdoor time. He also recruited a control school. A year later, his son’s school had half as many new myopia cases as the other school. “We saw the results — they were very successful,” Wu says. ---
**Author:** ![the\_bear](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/the_bear/32/192391_2.png) [@the\_bear](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/the_bear)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 7:09am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/wait-until-8th-how-taiwan-is-curbing-childrens-daily-technology-exposure/246790/4 "2024-12-02T07:09:36Z")
I mean it’s not the kids. It’s the adults. Do a random inspection of any mrt carriage and 87.6% of passengers are not only glued to their screens but are consuming the most vacuous content imaginable. ---
**Author:** ![Leggat](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/leggat/32/126250_2.png) [@Leggat](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Leggat)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 7:10am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/wait-until-8th-how-taiwan-is-curbing-childrens-daily-technology-exposure/246790/5 "2024-12-02T07:10:14Z")
And those adults thankfully avoid procreating. Except for the ones that don’t (grammer is importent!) ---
**Author:** ![the\_bear](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/the_bear/32/192391_2.png) [@the\_bear](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/the_bear)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 7:11am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/wait-until-8th-how-taiwan-is-curbing-childrens-daily-technology-exposure/246790/6 "2024-12-02T07:11:56Z")
Some avoid procreating by having cats and dogs. Which is even worse. ---
**Author:** ![SK1](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SK1](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/SK1)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2025, 2:28am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/wait-until-8th-how-taiwan-is-curbing-childrens-daily-technology-exposure/246790/7 "2025-04-11T02:28:15Z")
The Waituntil8th movement is going on in Taiwan just now ! A group of Taipei American School (TAS) initiated the movement… anyone can join and sign the pledge. The goal is to have a wider reach than just TAS. Hopefully, more parents are aware and more kids will have a better childhood. Let’s spread the message… > **[Home首頁 | Wait Until 8th TW](https://www.waituntil8th.tw/)** > > Wait until 8th -Taiwan. Dedicated to understanding social media use and its impact on our children ---
**Author:** ![foc](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@foc](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/foc)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2025, 2:37am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/wait-until-8th-how-taiwan-is-curbing-childrens-daily-technology-exposure/246790/8 "2025-04-11T02:37:47Z")
The American School is completely irrelevant to what Taiwanese schools will or won’t do. ---
**Author:** ![Celeborn](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/celeborn/32/26102_2.png) [@Celeborn](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Celeborn)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2025, 7:09am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/wait-until-8th-how-taiwan-is-curbing-childrens-daily-technology-exposure/246790/9 "2025-04-11T07:09:34Z")
> [@foc](#): > > The American School is completely irrelevant to what Taiwanese schools will or won’t do. Ahem, you were saying? # [Taiwan weighs school smartphone ban](https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/5954358) Digital detox camps for students among other options proposed Article from 18 Oct 2024 15:24 [Deputy Minister of Education Chang Liao Wan-chien speaks at a Legislative Yuan hearing on smartphone use in schools.](https://image.taiwannews.com.tw/2024%2F10%2F17%2F43d7c2d4d9c24bdabbfb4022005f2351.jpg) (CNA photo) ---
**Author:** ![Celeborn](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/celeborn/32/26102_2.png) [@Celeborn](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Celeborn)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 11:31pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/wait-until-8th-how-taiwan-is-curbing-childrens-daily-technology-exposure/246790/10 "2025-05-17T23:31:20Z")
Another article on Taiwan schools going phone free: [https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/6112386](https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/6112386) ---
**Author:** ![Celeborn](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/celeborn/32/26102_2.png) [@Celeborn](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Celeborn)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 10:30am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/wait-until-8th-how-taiwan-is-curbing-childrens-daily-technology-exposure/246790/11 "2026-08-18T10:30:10Z")
This IG post popped up in my feed ## “The brain that scrolls is not a neutral brain. It is being actively trained for distraction, and every swipe is a small rep in the opposite direction from the one reading builds.” This is one idea from many to think about that were mentioned in the post: [https://www.instagram.com/p/Db33iwbDl8q/](https://www.instagram.com/p/Db33iwbDl8q/) ---
**Author:** ![bz](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/ec9cab/32.png) [@bz](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/bz)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 7:03pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/wait-until-8th-how-taiwan-is-curbing-childrens-daily-technology-exposure/246790/12 "2026-08-18T19:03:52Z")
> [@Celeborn](#): > > “The brain that scrolls is not a neutral brain. It is being actively trained for distraction, and every swipe is a small rep in the opposite direction from the one reading builds.” I disagree\*, humans are already naturally curious, feed scrolls are just a way for websites to leverage that trait. 🤷‍♂️ \*(Just my personal opinion with nothing to base it on, I am not a psychologist, or any other kind of \*-ist.) ---
**Author:** ![Celeborn](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/celeborn/32/26102_2.png) [@Celeborn](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Celeborn)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 11:22pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/wait-until-8th-how-taiwan-is-curbing-childrens-daily-technology-exposure/246790/13 "2026-08-18T23:22:46Z")
| **From the Quote** | **Science** | **Data** | | --- | --- | --- | | **“The brain that scrolls is not a neutral brain.”** | Neuroplasticity dictates that prolonged exposure to high-speed digital media environments structurally alters grey matter density and functional connectivity in cognitive control regions. | [NIH / National Library of Medicine Study on Media Multitasking and Brain Structure](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4174517/) | | **“It is being actively trained for distraction…”** | Variable reward schedules and algorithmic feeds utilize behavioral reinforcement principles, conditioning the brain to crave rapid novelty and continuous task-switching. | [PubMed / NIH Review on Media Multitasking and Prefrontal Activity](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27063068/) | | **“…and every swipe is a small rep in the opposite direction from the one reading builds”** | Empirical human-computer interaction research demonstrates that digital interfaces have compressed average screen attention spans to under a minute, deconditioning mental stamina for deep, linear processing. | [Dr. Gloria Mark’s Attention Span Research at UC Irvine](https://gloriamark.com/attention-span/) |