Erika Christakis discusses the challenges of parenting in a digital age. This all comes down to distractions and as I have touched on before, this is
not always digital. I really like
danah boyd’s strategy for dealing with this, that is to say why you are using a device. This openness offers a useful point of reflection. I think that the conclusion to this article says it all though:
Parents should give themselves permission to back off from the suffocating pressure to be all things to all people. Put your kid in a playpen, already! Ditch that soccer-game appearance if you feel like it. Your kid will be fine. But when you are with your child, put down your damned phone.
via Doug Belshaw
Sonia Livingstone outlines six myths associated with children and their:
Children are ‘digital natives’ and know it all.
Parents are ‘digital immigrants’ and don’t know anything.
Time with media is time wasted compared with ‘real’ conversation or playing outside.
Parents’ role is to monitor, restrict and ban because digital risks greatly outweigh digital opportunities.
Children don’t care about their privacy online.
Media literacy is THE answer to the problems of the digital age.
She then highlights many of the contradictions associated with these beliefs. Along with the work of Alexander Samuel, Anya Kamenetz, Erika Christakis, danah boyd and Doug Belshaw, they provide a useful point of conversation and reflection.
via Doug Belshaw