Keeping track of a number of stories relating to ‘Raising Children in a Digital Age‘ in the news:
Digital dementia – the new danger to humanity
The Worldwide Web, smartphones, games, Ipad’s are disruptive technology. Compared with two decades ago, life has changed to such an extent that it’s hard to imagine how we would have lived without the Internet. For children this isn’t even an option. They haven’t the slightest idea how their lives would be without all those devices and social media’ like Twitter, Facebook and so on. But now we have to deal with a disruptive wake-up-call from the German neuro-psychiatrist Dr. Manfred Spitzer. In his book he warns of “digital dementia.” The Internet, he claims, is making us, and especially our children, dumb!
Parent-child contracts for using digital devices
All through high school, Laila Kazmi bore one of the most serious teenage social stigmas of the 21st century: She had a lowly flip phone.
Her friends all had smartphones, yet she could not get one until she graduated this spring. It wasn’t because of a lack of desire or because of financial inability. It was because her mom said so.
A Case for Letting Kids Read Books on Digital Devices
With the debut of each new technology for storytelling, we hear ourselves worrying that this may finally be the “death of reading and of books.” It happened with radio, TV, and now of course apps, video games, and all the other endless digital distractions. What will happen to reading … to books? I have say, I don’t share this concern. Storytelling is as old as mankind and really began around the fire when we were ancient hunter/gatherers. Humans need to share stories. From fireside stories to plays to movies and of course books, we have always had, and always will, have stories to tell.
Don’t be afraid to embrace digital tools to help your child learn
Recently, a friend was telling me about her 3-year-old daughter’s recent obsession with screens. She received a LeapPad for Christmas and has been spending long hours alternating between using it and playing games on the family computer. And while the games she’s playing are all educational, my friend worries about how absorbed her daughter becomes in the devices and how angry she gets when they’re turned off or taken away.
Should Children Play With Tablets, Smartphones And Other Touchscreen Devices? Study Finds That Most Already Do
A new study has found that touchscreens are the most popular plaything for children under 12. Young children are playing with tablets and smartphones more frequently than traditional toys such as dolls, action figures, construction blocks, and board games. Roughly 62 percent of children 12 years and under are playing with touchscreens very often or often, the next most popular toy category is dolls and action figures with about 58 percent.
New study reveals kids choose to play with tablets, not toys
Forget the days of overflowing toy boxes. A new study reveals children are playing with tablets and other touch-screen devices more often than any other toy, including game consoles.
