I'm stating the obvious – that perfect digital-age parenting doesn't exist – but let me explain why it doesn't. Writer Heather Havrilesky got me thinking about this with her commentary "The 'Mommy' Problem" in the New York Times this weekend. She focuses on mothers (since our culture does so much) and on offline parenting. I'll add the digital part. She writes that "the current culture demands … [Read more...] about Perfect digital parenting doesn’t exist
adolescent development
Online harassment, bullying far from ‘kid stuff’: Fresh data
A new study from the Pew Internet Project confirms yet again that no particular demographic has a monopoly on online harassment and bullying, certainly not kids and teens. "Fully 73% of adult Internet users have seen someone being harassed in some way online and 40% have personally experienced it," Pew reports – and, astoundingly, 70% of the youngest adults … [Read more...] about Online harassment, bullying far from ‘kid stuff’: Fresh data
Does digital downtime fix FOMO?
Maureen O'Connor at New York Magazine calls it "the Band-Aid of Luddism." Not that anybody who takes days off from digital media is a Luddite. Certainly not. It's just that band-aids don't fix problems; they make them less visible (yes, and help keep things clean, but stay with me for a minute, here). "We have a tendency to blame technology-mediated problems on the technology itself," … [Read more...] about Does digital downtime fix FOMO?
More clarity on teens’ ‘Am I pretty?’ videos
The thoughtful New York Times story begins with a 13-year-old New Jersey girl posting her "Am I pretty?" video on YouTube. I won't steal its thunder, so I hope you'll read it. But I do want to highlight the points most helpful to parents of young teen girls: Ages 13-15: "Nearly all the people in these videos" are in that age range. Developmentally normal: The videos' sources are in that age … [Read more...] about More clarity on teens’ ‘Am I pretty?’ videos
A bit of videogaming is good for kids: Study
What?! A little videogame play a day is actually good for children? That's what an Oxford University researcher found in a study of 5,000 UK 10-to-15-year-olds that looked into both the positive and negative impacts of videogaming. "Young people who spent less than an hour a day engaged in video games were better adjusted than those who did not play at all," the BBC reports, citing the study … [Read more...] about A bit of videogaming is good for kids: Study