TheApple

 November 21, 2008,

Let Them Log On

By Lisa Belkin

Thank you MacArthur Foundation, for taking a smidge of “bad parenting” guilt off our shoulders.

The Foundation released a report yesterday, called “Living and Learning with New Media,” which concludes that the time teens spend socializing electronically, is not, de facto, bad. In fact, it is an important part of their development. Instead of limiting their future, things like Facebook and texting and tweeting are not only giving them social skills, but also preparing them for the world they are about to inherit.

In her article about the study, Tamar Lewin quotes Mizuka Ito, the lead researcher and a research scientist in the department of informatics at the University of California, Irvine, as saying: “It may look as though kids are wasting a lot of time hanging out with new media, whether it’s on MySpace or sending instant messages. But their participation is giving them the technological skills and literacy they need to succeed in the contemporary world. They’re learning how to get along with others, how to manage a public identity, how to create a home page.”

The MacArthur study did not set out to determine the long-term effects of technology on teens, and more research is warranted there. But what it did is provide two important and reassuring messages to parents.

First, it took on our fears that electronic automatically equals predatory. “Those concerns about predators and stranger danger have been overblown,” Ito said. “There’s been some confusion about what kids are actually doing online. Mostly, they’re socializing with their friends, people they’ve met at school or camp or sports.”

Second, it made the point that “different from when I was your age” does not equal “Must. Be. Stopped.”

Every generation of parents spends a lot of time and energy lamenting change. My parents fought the television, remembering how radio had required them to use their imagination. I, in turn, wonder why my children want to watch TV on their computer, when it’s so much more communal to flop on a couch and watch with the family. My parents were nostalgic for the time when friends actually shared their thoughts in letters, and they wondered why I lay on my bed for hours, telephone cradled to my ear. Now, a generation later, I wonder why the phone never rings, and why my children work their thumbs constantly and stare at a screen.

We can fight it. Or we can learn how to use it, and meet our children where they are.

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/?ref=education

This is right on the money. 



I too will be passing on this information to parents.  During my next class on cyber safety, I will try to make a balance of how parents must be updated on their child's activity without being too controlling (at the point where a teenager will do the opposite).



As an 18 year old, I think this article is very informative.  I sometimes read articles and am told to stop and do my homework.  While I believe homework is important, nobody should be told to stop relaxing at an activity that actually stimulates their mind.  At least that's my perspective.

Exactly John.  At this very moment I am multitasking by completing work and getting to know some of you.

I do not.  Though one of my parents is an educator.