Recently, I had a opportunity to attend an online workshop on "Better Digital Parenting" organized by CyberSafeKids. As parenting in the digital world, such as controlling smartphone usage for kids, is a significant concern for us, I decided to participate in this online event to gain further insights into the topic. It turned out to be a beneficial decision for me, and I would like to summarize the key takeaways here in case they are helpful for other parents.
I like the simple and neat principle mentioned at the beginning - "the same rules apply" - which refers to the idea that the same rules about parenting in offline world also apply to the online world.
If we think about it, it actually makes a lot of sense, as we would not allow our kids to be exposed to danger offline or have inappropriate conversations with strangers. And the same rules should apply to the online world.
Another alarming perspective arises when you allow your kids to access the online world; simultaneously, the online world gains access to your kids.
In addition to the principle, the panels also shared many useful tips for parents on how to control devices and apps for kids. With the age at which children acquire smartphones becoming younger, one panel mentioned that the average age is around 11-12, and even younger for exposure to apps, such as playing games on iPads. It is important to establish rules to keep kids safe while using devices and apps.
Tips
Check if an app or content is age-appropriate. This is straightforward, and as parents, we need to ensure that the apps and content to which our kids are exposed are suitable for their age. Usually, apps and online videos have age indicators.
Ensure you know what they are watching. In line with the above tip, we also need to have an idea of the kinds of content they are watching. For example, the age limit on YouTube Kids is based on a predefined range for each group, but there might still be some inappropriate content for your kids depending on their ages.
Use them in family spaces, not behind the door. This could be one way to stay aware of what they are watching. We don't need to watch everything with our kids, but having some awareness if they are watching in family spaces can be helpful.
Limit the time spent using those. For each age group, there are recommended time limits for using such devices. Additionally, excessive exposure to these contents, games, and devices can lead to addiction in children.
"Safe mode" enabled search. For example, Google's feature, SafeSearch, helps you manage explicit content in your search results, such as sexual activity and graphic violence.
Turn off the "auto feed" feature on YouTube. This feature is designed to allow us to keep watching with zero effort, and we all know it makes it hard for us to stop watching, and of course, even harder for our kids. I would also recommend to turn off the recommendations feature, simply don't let the algorithm decides what our kids to watch next.
Use parental controls on devices. This feature is available on almost any device nowadays, such as iPhone, Android phones, and Nintendo Switch, among others. It allows us to monitor the time spent on the device and set limits on which apps can be downloaded and installed.
Pair mode for Snapchat. The panels also mentioned that this mode can allow you to know who they are messaging.
No device in the bedroom, especially in the evening. We all know it will make it difficult for us to sleep, especially when we start watching something on them.
While applying these rules or guidelines is important, simultaneously, building a relationship where 'you are not going to be in trouble' between us and our kids is also crucial. We implement these measures to protect our kids, not to distance them from us.
Finally, to effectively enforce these rules at home, we must make a conscious effort to model behavior as parents. For example, no devices in the bedroom in the evening or during meal times.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has maintained a high interest rate for the past couple of months. The following figure shows the current rates effective since September, 2023, sourced from the centralbank.ie. Consequently, this has also kept mortgage rates elevated. Given this situation, will we witness a decline in prices in 2024? To explore this question, we will analyze various data points, including mortgage drawdowns and the availability of properties for sale on Daft.
Mortgage Approvals
The record-high mortgage rates indeed have some impacts on the number of mortgage drawdowns. The figure below shows the number of mortgage approvals from BPFI (Banking and Payment Federation Ireland). As evident from the figure, the number of mortgage approvals has been decreasing over the last couple of months. Therefore, fewer people are seeking mortgages to buy properties due to the high rates, which should exert downward pressure on property prices.
Property Price Trends
So... How about the property price in the last few months actually?
The figure below is the Irish property price index from CSO (Central Statistics Office) up untill the last November. The price index is based on the price of 2015 as 100, and we can observe that the index has increased to almost 180 nationwide, around 155 for Dublin, and 200 for the rest of Ireland. The prices in the last few months have been increasing after slowing down a bit, as evident from the figure. Why is this happening? Let's delve into other data a bit more in the following...
Population
First of all, the population has been increasing in the past years and has now surpassed 5 million. This includes the last 2-3 years as well. Obviously, to accommodate this population growth, we need more housing in Ireland. Additionally, this increasing population will exert upward pressure on property prices if demand exceeds supply. How about our supply?
Supply is a big issue
If we examine the supply—the number of available properties to buy on Daft—we notice something concerning.
The figure below illustrates the number of properties for each month over the last two years. Following the pandemic, there was an increase in the number of properties for sale from 2022, peaking at 20,000 nationwide. However, this trend did not continue last year, and we can observe a decrease in supply over the past year instead. Currently, the number of available properties is more or less similar to that of two years ago, despite the increasing population over this period. Therefore, we can see that there is a significant supply issue to meet the current demand, which is leading to upward pressure on property prices.
A similar trend can be noticed for the number of available properties in Dublin, with only around 2,500 properties available in the main city.
One good news here is that the number of available properties for rent in Ireland and Dublin appears to have been increasing. This might be a positive factor, as it provides more choices for renting over buying a property, especially if the available rental properties have reasonable rent prices.
One major change in mortgages this year is the increase in the amount to four times your income, which I personally believe will exert upward pressure on prices as well.
To sum up, with an expected decrease in ECB's rates this year, and considering all these above-mentioned factors, it is hard to anticipate a price fall in 2024; instead, I personally expect a steady increase.
