What to Know
A dad on TikTok ignited debate about iPad use after declaring he has no interest in befriending parents who raise “iPad kids,” describing them as harmful and even bordering on “abusive.”
After observing a family of five glued to their screens during dinner at McDonald’s, TikTok user Austin Coulter filmed a reaction video, emphatically stating that he wants nothing to do with parents raising “iPad kids.”
The father of two describes the scene by saying, “So everyone comes in and has their own tablet, mind you, not saying a word, this family, okay?”
He goes on to add, “And I’m immediately like, My God, I’m judgmental basically, and this reinforces the thought that I already have, which is if you are a parent … and you want to raise your kids with iPads, I, in the kindest way possible, do not want to be friends with you.”
He doubles down on this take, chiding "iPad parents" for, basically, parenting the wrong way.
Particularly because the McDonald’s in question had a Play Place where other kids were running around and playing—something he feels the family’s kids could have been doing, were they not locked in on their screens.
“It’s borderline abusive,” he claims.
While that may sound a bit extreme, plenty of people in his comments section agree with him.
“Everyone says ‘mind your business,’ but when those iPad kids grow into teens/adults who can’t focus, socialize, or self-regulate, it becomes society’s problem. It’s not harmless,” one person says.
“What people don’t understand is that their kids are hard to handle BECAUSE they have so much screen time. Screens are addictive. The kids are freaking out. It’s ruining their nervous system,” another one writes.
“I’d rather see/hear your children melt down in public than face buried in a screen at 4yo,” says another.
“Careful, iPad parents are super defensive lol. Kids need to be bored though. It’s scary what the iPad addiction is doing to their development,” writes another.
Another commenter even says it's a "modern form of neglect."
According to the University of Rochester Medical Center, Excessive tablet use in children can disrupt key aspects of healthy development, making it particularly harmful when they become “iPad kids.”
Studies show that high screen exposure may lead to attention difficulties, reduced social engagement, and impaired behavior regulation in early childhood.
In younger children, reliance on tablets can displace real‐world play and interaction, which are essential for language, executive function, and emotional development, according to attending pediatrician and developmental and behavioral pediatrics expert at New York Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital, Dr. Jennifer Cross.
Coulter also brings up a good point:
…iPad usage + kids + unfiltered access to the internet = no good.
“Your kid’s going to sit there and watch a screen. This doesn’t even touch on the fact that your four-year-old, five-year-old … has full access to the internet. That’s kind of insane,” he concludes.
