Lieve Swinnen - Kinder- en jeugdpsychiater bij 'De Hoeksteen' Mediaopvoeding is een ontdekkingstocht die kind en ouder samen moeten ondernemen. Lieve Swinnen is mede-auteur van het boek 'Help! Mijn kind leeft online!' en maakt de balans op van de positieve en negatieve effecten van het internet op kinderen.

1. #Help!
My child is (always) online
APESTAARTJAREN 7, 2018
17/5/2018
DR.LIEVE SWINNEN
CHILD&ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRIST

2. Believer…
Lina & Jean-Marie.
Your house became a home to
our children. Their journey
around the world is mainly a
meeting with wonderful people.
That they do not live next door,
we accept.
We are lucky to behold and
participate. A wealth awarded to
us thanks to social media.

3. A changing world…
 Do we have to worry?
 About who/what?
 Digital native vs NOOB
 Input/output
 Around the clock?
 Health risks: radiation, lack of sleep
 interesting, disturbing, caring…
Digital is the new native language

4. Demonstrate, discover together, coach and
eventually let go
 Parenting in change
 Generations: from mistrust to naive admiration.
 Media wise: from consuming to producing.
 Safe learning process: demonstrate, discover together, coach and let go
 Act: technical and pedagogical
 Tools: talk and set borders; set an example; respect: always and everywhere
No screen can replace you as a parent/teacher/counselor!

5. Brainchains
The problem is not what
children do with ICT, but
what they don’t do with
it.
Prof Dr. Theo Compernolle
Discover your brain.; Lannoo, 2014

6. Yes & No
 Swiping to discover the world...
 Me, myself & I
 When chatting online, never lonely again...
 Stip it!
 Sexting
 Extraordinary: vulnerable group!
Should it go wrong: your child is not the only one! Don't allow extortion, block
those who posted material, save images as evidence.

7. Digibesitas
 Digibesitas : We look more at our smartphone than at our television screen
 Digital dementia
 The proper functioning of our brainsystems – reflex brain, reflective brain and archiving brain - is
undermined by the so-called brainchains (Prof. Theo Compernolle) : being always online, multitasking
and task switching, constant low level of stress, lack of breaks and sleep, brain-hostile open offices
 Constant stream of stimuli = constant learning ?
 Success at school: motivation, self regulation, and attention
 Focus : on the present and the future
First things first: digital activities must be in balance with other responsibilities.

8. Game Over
 Life is a game: games exist for every audience!
 Overcome challenges
 Flow-feeling
 Normal use – problematic use (average age 15 years – 9.5% of 12-17 year olds) – addiction (1%)
 Problematic internet use
 'Problematic internet users spend twice as much time online than their peers. They feel lonelier and more
depressed, less confident, less happy to go to school and also get fewer good grades.
 Parents of youngsters who experience problematic internet use, are more often single or divorced.‘
A habit is not an addiction unless it affects your functioning in other areas of your life.

9. Offline behavior is the best indication for online
behavior
 Seven fears of parents
 My child gets in touch with strangers
 My child is being bullied online
 My child loses contact with the real world
 My child alienates itself from me
 My child is acting differently on the internet and this affects his self-image
 My child risks a cognitive gap by the constant multitasking
 My child is not sleeping well
Who is doing well offline, will also do well when he or she is online.

10. To measure is to know
 We underestimate the time we engage in social media
 Distractors: we pick up our smartphone on average150 times per day
 Students look on their smartphone every 6 minutes
 72% of smartphone users cannot stay away from their device for one hour
If screen time replaces other activities, it is too much.

11. To measure is
to know
Test yourself
www.radio1.be
How addicted are you to
your smartphone?
websnacker
digiyogi
to-do-goeroe
FOMO sapiens
chitchatbot

12. Advice screen time
Advice screen time (Justine Pardoen, specialist youth & media)
0-2 years: 5 minutes/day watching tv together, a few times a week surfing together
2-4 years: 5 to 10 minutes at a time; up to 30 minutes/day
4-6 years: 10 to 15 minutes at a time, up to 1h/day
6-8 years: up to1h/day, divided in periods of up to 30 minutes
8-10 years: maximum 1 to 1 ½ hours screen time/day
10-12 years: up to 2 hours screen time/day
12 years & older: up to 3 hours screen time/day
Set reasonable boundaries and make clear agreements.

13. Works every time
 Turn it off
 Sleep is top priority
 First things first
 Think/act location dependent
 Offer other activities

14. Conclusion
#ilike

15. From #Help! Mijn kind leeft online to #Vindikleuk!
 Digital is normal
 Positive effects of social media outweigh the negative
 No screen can replace you as a parent/teacher/counselor
 Talk, talk, talk…
 I repeat: Demonstrate, discover together, coach and eventually let go