I usually write about other people's work – especially that of the researchers I've followed through the years. But now that I've just passed the 20-year mark in writing about youth and digital media (yikes!), I thought I'd share with you my own top takeaways as a participant observer of Internet safety's early years (1997-now). Here's Part 1 (Part 2 on this page): 1. A generalization about … [Read more...] about 6 takeaways from 20 years of Net safety: Part 1
screen time
About the AAP’s media guidelines for parents
The American Academy of Pediatrics has updated its guidance on screen time for families by de-emphasizing the term "screen time." The AAP's focus is now more on the "how" of media use than the "how much." "The key is mindful use of media within a family," the AAP's press release quoted Megan Moreno, MD, lead author of the Academy's policy statement for school-aged children and … [Read more...] about About the AAP’s media guidelines for parents
The real goal of unplugging
I love the parenthetical in the headline of "Five Ways to Break Your Kids’ Screen Addiction (and Yours, Too)," by Yahoo family tech columnist Dan Tynan. Because – if there's such a thing as screen addiction and it's not just something fashionable to (anxiously) joke about – what we model for our kids in our own use of phone and other screens has huge influence on them. [You've probably seen videos … [Read more...] about The real goal of unplugging
‘No negative impact’ from videogame play: Study
Contrary to what parents have heard about videogames, a UK study that followed the videogame play and TV viewing of more than 11,000 children for three years found that "exposure to videogames had no effect on [their] behavior, attention or emotional issues," reports New York-based GamesandLearning.org. The story was a little different with TV viewing, though. The University of Glasgow researchers … [Read more...] about ‘No negative impact’ from videogame play: Study
Perspectives, data on little kids’ media use
Research findings characterized negatively in the US as "the digitization of young childhood" could be seen as a sign of growth and prosperity in countries where the Internet is mostly mobile. Even in the US, the growth of young children's use of cellphones and tablets could be saying as much about American families' shift away from computers to the mobile platform as it does about early … [Read more...] about Perspectives, data on little kids’ media use