I remember when I was growing up (decades ago), my dad instilled in me to never put a magnet up to a computer or TV because they would cause irreparable damage to the screen. While I’m sure that SOMEWHERE out in the world there’s a magnet strong enough to cause damage if given enough time or whatever, but in terms of what I can buy from a store, would it be safe to keep my cell phone and a magnet (say, one of those ‘clicking’ fidget toys with half a dozen or so small magnets) in the same pocket, or am I just asking for trouble?
Edit: Thank you everyone for all your answers! I now know far more than I expected to from this silly question 😁
The damage magnets did to the old CRT TVs was pretty much reversible.
The damage they do to modern LCD screens is irreversible. But it’s also way smaller than they did to CRTs. The damage they do by strongly snapping pieces of metal around is irreversible too. But if it’s a toy, the magnets are probably not strong enough to damage anything.