40 minutes on "What is the impact of children having their own devices, and how do we manage this?" at #PremDac17
See more: https://www.premierdigital.info/conference
Visual Culture: How Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram Drive Social Med...John Caswell
Visual content is disrupting the web and real world. This panel will focus on key strategies used across creative industries, such as Media, Fashion, Music, Food and Entertainment that demonstrates how the use of Visual Storytelling is driving engagement with Consumers and Fans. The panel will discuss how each panelist is using photography, video and visual across social platforms such as pinterest, instagram and tumblr to tell stories to delight, educate and connect with their customers.
Visual Culture: How Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram Drive Social Med...John Caswell
Visual content is disrupting the web and real world. This panel will focus on key strategies used across creative industries, such as Media, Fashion, Music, Food and Entertainment that demonstrates how the use of Visual Storytelling is driving engagement with Consumers and Fans. The panel will discuss how each panelist is using photography, video and visual across social platforms such as pinterest, instagram and tumblr to tell stories to delight, educate and connect with their customers.
Lego Beowulf and the Web of Hands and Hearts, for the Danish national museum ...Michael Edson
This talk was delivered at the awards ceremony for the 2012 Bikuben Foundation Danish Museum Prize in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Ideas about what museums are, who they serve, and the role they play in society are changing with dramatic speed, driven largely by social media and the participatory culture of global networks.
Denmark supports world-class museums, with remarkable collections, expert staff, and beautiful architecture. But how can museum leaders balance the traditional concepts of organizational mission and outcomes with the disruptive possibilities being demonstrated by those who love and use museums in new ways?
A text version of this presentation, with hyperlinks and footnotes, is available at http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/michael-edson-lego-beowulf-and-the-web-of-hands-and-hearts-for-the-danish-national-museum-awards-13444266
Ten minute presentation discussing to role of community attachment in building loyalty to "host" of online communities.
Presented at the International Association of Business Communicaters, 2009
Facebook: A Platform for Social ActivismAlex Gault
iThink is a powerful advocacy and campaign resource on Facebook that nonprofits use to engage new supporters and activists. With iThink, nonprofits can post opinions which declare their positions on specific causes. IThink users then agree or disagree on those opinions, share them with friends, and debate and comment upon them in open forums.
The strategy of leveraging social media to be in the right place at the right time.
With the astounding impact social media has had on our society, business and individuals are hard at work trying to figure out how to leverage its power. While most can easily see the benefit as a tool for engaging their audience from a digital perch, few companies are leveraging it as a tool to make IRL ( in real life) connections with their audience, customers and/or prospects Tactics such as virtually attending industry events, using twitter hash tags and mentions to facilitate IRL meetings and assessing the power in the room using Foursquare.
This is an edited version of a presentation given to Harvard Business School's Alumni Career Development Webinar series.
Arc 211 american diversity and design lei zengLei Zeng
The following pages document my
responses to the online discussion questions in the Spring 2017 version of ARC 211
American Diversity and Design at the University at Buffalo – State University of New
York.
Children - and a Digital Age, for Reimagine Faith FormationBex Lewis
A presentation prepared for Reimagine Faith Formation (http://reimaginefaith2016.com/), to be presented online on Friday 26th August 2016 (7am UK time!).
Lego Beowulf and the Web of Hands and Hearts, for the Danish national museum ...Michael Edson
This talk was delivered at the awards ceremony for the 2012 Bikuben Foundation Danish Museum Prize in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Ideas about what museums are, who they serve, and the role they play in society are changing with dramatic speed, driven largely by social media and the participatory culture of global networks.
Denmark supports world-class museums, with remarkable collections, expert staff, and beautiful architecture. But how can museum leaders balance the traditional concepts of organizational mission and outcomes with the disruptive possibilities being demonstrated by those who love and use museums in new ways?
A text version of this presentation, with hyperlinks and footnotes, is available at http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm/michael-edson-lego-beowulf-and-the-web-of-hands-and-hearts-for-the-danish-national-museum-awards-13444266
Ten minute presentation discussing to role of community attachment in building loyalty to "host" of online communities.
Presented at the International Association of Business Communicaters, 2009
Facebook: A Platform for Social ActivismAlex Gault
iThink is a powerful advocacy and campaign resource on Facebook that nonprofits use to engage new supporters and activists. With iThink, nonprofits can post opinions which declare their positions on specific causes. IThink users then agree or disagree on those opinions, share them with friends, and debate and comment upon them in open forums.
The strategy of leveraging social media to be in the right place at the right time.
With the astounding impact social media has had on our society, business and individuals are hard at work trying to figure out how to leverage its power. While most can easily see the benefit as a tool for engaging their audience from a digital perch, few companies are leveraging it as a tool to make IRL ( in real life) connections with their audience, customers and/or prospects Tactics such as virtually attending industry events, using twitter hash tags and mentions to facilitate IRL meetings and assessing the power in the room using Foursquare.
This is an edited version of a presentation given to Harvard Business School's Alumni Career Development Webinar series.
Arc 211 american diversity and design lei zengLei Zeng
The following pages document my
responses to the online discussion questions in the Spring 2017 version of ARC 211
American Diversity and Design at the University at Buffalo – State University of New
York.
Children - and a Digital Age, for Reimagine Faith FormationBex Lewis
A presentation prepared for Reimagine Faith Formation (http://reimaginefaith2016.com/), to be presented online on Friday 26th August 2016 (7am UK time!).
How can digital and social media be used by youth leaders?Bex Lewis
Prepared for a Skype presentation, considering how digital and social media can be used by youth leaders (within churches).
Join the online session: https://lukewhyte.mykajabi.com/p/summit
Social Media for Youth Leaders, May 2014, for @c_of_eBex Lewis
A new course for youth leaders who want to learn about how social media can be used positively.
As a youth leader, you may feel the responsibility for helping keep the children that you work with stay safe online, but also want to know how they - and you - can use it to its full advantage. In this day course, developed from Raising Children in a Digital Age (Lion Hudson, 2014), internet scare stories and distorted statistics are put into context, and clear and sensible guidelines are offered. You’ll have the opportunity to discuss your hopes, fears and experiences with others in a similar situation, and study examples of how others have used social media successfully with youth. We’ll discuss understanding privacy, permanency, identity, values and relationships in a digital age (including cyber-bullying)
http://www.churchcommstraining.org/smtyouthleaders.php
Original article from the Flevy business blog can be found here:
http://flevy.com/blog/tethered-to-technology/
Note from the Editor: This article was originally published in the Reading Eagle’s Business Weekly and is re-posted with their permission. It was contributed by Dr. Santo D. Marabella, The Practical Prof(R).
* * * *
Today, The Practical Prof makes a stunning revelation: I suffer from a serious syndrome known as TTT – Tethered To Technology.
Here’s how I know. I currently manage: 9 social media accounts including Twitter, LinkedIn, and multiple Facebook pages or groups; 7 different email accounts – 6 of which are business, and one for community and personal activities; 4 different websites; two laptops, a desktop computer, an iPad, a smartphone and a landline phone with four extensions.
Ridiculous? Yes. Alone? Nope. Sadly, there are many who suffer with me. Let’s look at some consumer data from Civic Science based on about 9000 responses:
• 64% use a smartphone
• 43% own a tablet computer
• 28% own an e-reader
• 52% watch 2 or more hours of TV per day, not so surprising perhaps, but nearly half of those people are multi-tasking with a second screen device – checking email, playing games, sending texts
Plus, the same study reports that 60% of people with technology never (43%) or seldom (a few times per year) (17%) disconnect from their technology. While there seems to be no demographic pattern to who unplugs, children 13-18 and people over 55 are the most likely to disconnect daily.
But, isn’t technology making our lives easier, making communication faster, and the quality of communication better? Perhaps. But, I worry that in a time when we have never had more ways to communicate, we have never been less communicative. Here are some of the drawbacks I see to being tethered to technology.
Aliaksandra Zuyonak English 12 Freshman Writing I Kevin Kolk.docxdaniahendric
Aliaksandra Zuyonak
English 12: Freshman Writing I
Kevin Kolkmeyer
November 3, 2019
Is it good or bad that we are so dependent on technology?
People can hardly imagine their lives without modern technologies nowadays. We are used to the fact that all our phones and important contacts are recorded in phones, computers, laptops, and other portable gadgets. We fully rely on technology, we might be depending on it. Calculate how many computers, monitors, phones you have at home! A lot of? There are probably more phones than the number of people in your family, and everyone probably has a computer. These devices have become an important part of our life. Moreover, almost every day either a new technology is being invented or an old one is being improved.
Different people appreciate new inventions differently. Some suppose that sophisticated gadgets are really useful and necessary, while others find them absolutely awful as they influence people badly and called it an addiction. As for me, I am pretty sure that gadgets make people's lives easier.
Firstly, they do all kinds of dirty and hard work and save a lot of time. Secondly, people won't be to stop and will work more on new innovations, to helps people in different spheres. For instance, put computer programs into the phone or make robots likeness to people for getting extra help.
According to the article ”Meet Zora, the Robot Caregiver” By ADAM SATARIANO, ELIAN PELTIER, and DMITRY KOSTYUKOV. It is one of the good examples of do not be scared and does not think that we may be addicted to technology. Zora is an experimental robot that helps change care for elderly patients. ” When Zora arrived at this nursing facility an hour outside Paris, a strange thing began happening: Many patients developed an emotional attachment, treating it like a baby, holding and cooing, giving it kisses on the head” from the article ”Meet Zora, the Robot Caregiver” By ADAM SATARIANO, ELIAN PELTIER, and DMITRY KOSTYUKOV. I would like to repeat the sentence ”Many patients developed an emotional attachment, treating it like a baby, holding and cooing, giving it kisses on the head” because it sounds very joyful and people may have a chance to be happy again and share their love to someone else such as Zora. All nursing can control the actions and communication of Zora from a laptop and it's useful to remind what is scheduled for patients and furthermore takes more care of individuals to all patients. However, patients have told the robot things about their health they wouldn’t share with doctors. It means patients trust more to robots than to people since people may hurt or offend hardly and the patient won't trust them. The robots have artificial intelligence and all action is under control, so why it's bad to be addicted to technology?
Furthermore, everybody has a good chance to be happy and enjoy their lives. All new technologies, innovations, programs were made to make life easier. In the presen ...
Raising Children in a Digital Age for Emmanuel Community ChurchBex Lewis
An evening event, in which I share the knowledge from my book, and take questions, on 13th October - http://drbexl.co.uk/event/stockport-raising-children-digital-age-eccmanchester/
What Do You Need To Know For Marketing To Digital, Mobile And Social Teens?Dr. William J. Ward
What Do You Need To Know For Marketing To Digital, Mobile And Social Teens?
- The digital landscape from a teen's perspective
- Social media facts and figures related to teen media usage
- Five tips to sparking valuable conversations through engaging content
Raising Children in a Digital Age for West Auckland Vineyard ChurchBex Lewis
On 1st October, I'll be coming to West Auckland Vineyard Church for the afternoon, along with some local organisations keen to engage, and speaking about Raising Children in a Digital Age.
iCAAD London 2019 - Dr Don Grant - LEFT TO OUR OWN DEVICES: PRACTICING HEALT...iCAADEvents
Recommended for both professionals and individuals, this presentation will explore how our digitally-based devices and behaviours have and will perpetually continue to affect, effect, and alter our lives, lifestyles, and careers.
A session with the diocesan youth workers to consider the digital and the questions that that raises for them in their work - giving young people the best choices, aiding their work, and protecting themselves and their charges.
'Parenting in the digital age' on slideshareDave Truss
There is an accompanying wiki with this presentation: http://raisingdigitalkids.wikispaces.com/Engaging-with-kids
and here is my blog post about it:
http://pairadimes.davidtruss.com/parenting-in-the-digital-age/
See the 'notes on slides' for presentation suggestions.
Similar to 'Left to their own devices' for #PremDac17 (20)
Premier Digital: Online Church as Real Community Bex Lewis
Slides prepared for Premier Digital Webinar on 7th October 2020: https://drbexl.co.uk/event/webinar-digital-church-webinar-online-church-as-real-community/
Mini Pecha Kucha: Public Engagement Activity Bex Lewis
A mini-pecha kucha (10 slides that auto-move forward after 20 seconds) prepared for #ERA1819, second of three workshops, summarising what we've been up to since the last workshop.
IPM placing the christian church in a digital ageBex Lewis
See abstract for this conference paper, to be given 8th September 2017: http://drbexl.co.uk/2017/08/18/edit-conference-abstract-inclusive-placemaking-placing-christian-church-digital-age/
Raising Children in a Digital Age - Cavendish SchoolBex Lewis
Evening event to be held 16th May, at Cavendish School, West Didsbury. http://drbexl.co.uk/event/manchester-raising-children-digital-age-cavendish-school/
Social Media, Peer Surveillance and Spiritual FormationBex Lewis
A session prepared for AHRC workshop on Religion and Surveillance. Taken a lot of prep, and still feel it needs more. Got me thinking about a lot of things in further layers than in the past ... let's see how it goes! I typically use more slides than minutes so...
Designed to introduce a group of ordinands to the potentials and the pitfalls of social media in ministry - huge topic - 1.5 hours ... let's get that debate going!
For Manchester Diocese ordinands
The French Revolution, which began in 1789, was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France. It marked the decline of absolute monarchies, the rise of secular and democratic republics, and the eventual rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. This revolutionary period is crucial in understanding the transition from feudalism to modernity in Europe.
For more information, visit-www.vavaclasses.com
Unit 8 - Information and Communication Technology (Paper I).pdfThiyagu K
This slides describes the basic concepts of ICT, basics of Email, Emerging Technology and Digital Initiatives in Education. This presentations aligns with the UGC Paper I syllabus.
We all have good and bad thoughts from time to time and situation to situation. We are bombarded daily with spiraling thoughts(both negative and positive) creating all-consuming feel , making us difficult to manage with associated suffering. Good thoughts are like our Mob Signal (Positive thought) amidst noise(negative thought) in the atmosphere. Negative thoughts like noise outweigh positive thoughts. These thoughts often create unwanted confusion, trouble, stress and frustration in our mind as well as chaos in our physical world. Negative thoughts are also known as “distorted thinking”.
Palestine last event orientationfvgnh .pptxRaedMohamed3
An EFL lesson about the current events in Palestine. It is intended to be for intermediate students who wish to increase their listening skills through a short lesson in power point.
The Art Pastor's Guide to Sabbath | Steve ThomasonSteve Thomason
What is the purpose of the Sabbath Law in the Torah. It is interesting to compare how the context of the law shifts from Exodus to Deuteronomy. Who gets to rest, and why?
Operation “Blue Star” is the only event in the history of Independent India where the state went into war with its own people. Even after about 40 years it is not clear if it was culmination of states anger over people of the region, a political game of power or start of dictatorial chapter in the democratic setup.
The people of Punjab felt alienated from main stream due to denial of their just demands during a long democratic struggle since independence. As it happen all over the word, it led to militant struggle with great loss of lives of military, police and civilian personnel. Killing of Indira Gandhi and massacre of innocent Sikhs in Delhi and other India cities was also associated with this movement.
Ethnobotany and Ethnopharmacology:
Ethnobotany in herbal drug evaluation,
Impact of Ethnobotany in traditional medicine,
New development in herbals,
Bio-prospecting tools for drug discovery,
Role of Ethnopharmacology in drug evaluation,
Reverse Pharmacology.
2024.06.01 Introducing a competency framework for languag learning materials ...Sandy Millin
http://sandymillin.wordpress.com/iateflwebinar2024
Published classroom materials form the basis of syllabuses, drive teacher professional development, and have a potentially huge influence on learners, teachers and education systems. All teachers also create their own materials, whether a few sentences on a blackboard, a highly-structured fully-realised online course, or anything in between. Despite this, the knowledge and skills needed to create effective language learning materials are rarely part of teacher training, and are mostly learnt by trial and error.
Knowledge and skills frameworks, generally called competency frameworks, for ELT teachers, trainers and managers have existed for a few years now. However, until I created one for my MA dissertation, there wasn’t one drawing together what we need to know and do to be able to effectively produce language learning materials.
This webinar will introduce you to my framework, highlighting the key competencies I identified from my research. It will also show how anybody involved in language teaching (any language, not just English!), teacher training, managing schools or developing language learning materials can benefit from using the framework.
The Roman Empire A Historical Colossus.pdfkaushalkr1407
The Roman Empire, a vast and enduring power, stands as one of history's most remarkable civilizations, leaving an indelible imprint on the world. It emerged from the Roman Republic, transitioning into an imperial powerhouse under the leadership of Augustus Caesar in 27 BCE. This transformation marked the beginning of an era defined by unprecedented territorial expansion, architectural marvels, and profound cultural influence.
The empire's roots lie in the city of Rome, founded, according to legend, by Romulus in 753 BCE. Over centuries, Rome evolved from a small settlement to a formidable republic, characterized by a complex political system with elected officials and checks on power. However, internal strife, class conflicts, and military ambitions paved the way for the end of the Republic. Julius Caesar’s dictatorship and subsequent assassination in 44 BCE created a power vacuum, leading to a civil war. Octavian, later Augustus, emerged victorious, heralding the Roman Empire’s birth.
Under Augustus, the empire experienced the Pax Romana, a 200-year period of relative peace and stability. Augustus reformed the military, established efficient administrative systems, and initiated grand construction projects. The empire's borders expanded, encompassing territories from Britain to Egypt and from Spain to the Euphrates. Roman legions, renowned for their discipline and engineering prowess, secured and maintained these vast territories, building roads, fortifications, and cities that facilitated control and integration.
The Roman Empire’s society was hierarchical, with a rigid class system. At the top were the patricians, wealthy elites who held significant political power. Below them were the plebeians, free citizens with limited political influence, and the vast numbers of slaves who formed the backbone of the economy. The family unit was central, governed by the paterfamilias, the male head who held absolute authority.
Culturally, the Romans were eclectic, absorbing and adapting elements from the civilizations they encountered, particularly the Greeks. Roman art, literature, and philosophy reflected this synthesis, creating a rich cultural tapestry. Latin, the Roman language, became the lingua franca of the Western world, influencing numerous modern languages.
Roman architecture and engineering achievements were monumental. They perfected the arch, vault, and dome, constructing enduring structures like the Colosseum, Pantheon, and aqueducts. These engineering marvels not only showcased Roman ingenuity but also served practical purposes, from public entertainment to water supply.
Model Attribute Check Company Auto PropertyCeline George
In Odoo, the multi-company feature allows you to manage multiple companies within a single Odoo database instance. Each company can have its own configurations while still sharing common resources such as products, customers, and suppliers.
2. Left to their own devices
Dr Bex Lewis
Senior Lecturer, Digital Marketing, Manchester Metropolitan
University; Director: Digital Fingerprint; Author: Raising Children
in a Digital Age (2014)
@drbexl
6. @drbexl
HAVE smartphones destroyed a generation?
“Giving lip service to the difference between correlations and causality, as
Twenge does at several points, is not enough. ‘Of course, these analyses don’t
unequivocally prove that screen time causes unhappiness’, she writes (her
emphasis). ‘[I]t’s possible that unhappy teens spend more time online’. In
fact, the analyses she refers to don’t prove causality at all, let alone
unequivocally. At another point Twenge writes that ‘Depression and suicide
have many causes; too much technology is clearly not the only one’. In fact,
we don’t know (at least from the evidence she presents) that it is a cause at
all.”
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/parenting4digitalfuture/2017/08/11/some-thoughts-on-the-
atlantic/http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/parenting4digitalfuture/2017/08/11/some-thoughts-on-the-atlantic/
8. • What age would you give a
child a phone and why?
• Is there a fixed age, or does it depend upon
the child and what you know of them?
Discuss: What age is OK?
@drbexl
11. An ideal time to discuss mobile phone boundaries with your
child is the day you buy their first one. These should include:
– sticking to a budget
– the use they can put it to/any access you may have
– understanding what to do about security if the phone gets
stolen/limiting the chances of it being stolen
– knowing what will happen if they lose or break it
Mobile phone boundaries?
@drbexl
17. • Interactive: The child should be required to do something, otherwise they may just as well be
watching TV; interaction means they will be engaged in what they are doing and learning
from it.
• Complementary: A link to current school subjects, hobby or a day’s activity. Repetition and
variation will support learning.
• Variety: Learning happens every day in a variety of ways, both direct and indirect. Children
benefit from variety and making choices. Interactive screens are part of the variety.
• Moderation: Don’t let it be the only way they learn. Too much of any single thing can be
detrimental. Keep mixing it up.
• Age-appropriate: Just as we consider the appropriateness of the films our children watch, the
same consideration needs to be given to the content they consume on a tablet.
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/parenting4digitalfuture/2017/09/06/tablet-totalitarianism/
It’s not about the time, but the content
@drbexl
19. It is interesting to note that we’ll frequently talk about internet
addiction, but this accusation is not made at those whose noses
are buried in a ‘good book’, or a newspaper. There’s something
about the digital that attracts particular criticism, and we need
to consider whether it is valid condemnation, or whether any
of our habits or lifestyles, when viewed as a whole, require
more consideration.
Question of addiction?
@drbexl
20. Charlotte Robertson, the co-founder of Digital Awareness UK,
said: “We speak to thousands of students on a daily basis about
safe internet use and while it’s a matter of concern to see the
emotional impact social media is having on young people’s
health and wellbeing, it’s encouraging to see that they are also
employing smart strategies such as digital detoxing to take
control of their social media use.
http://bit.ly/GuardianSocMedChildren (05/10/17)
Social Media Backlash?
@drbexl
21. “Some have tested extreme detoxes. Susan Maushart, writing for the Daily
Mail, undertook a six-month “technology blackout” for her entire family,
which she viewed as a consciousness raising exercise rather than a long-term
strategy.7 Paul Millar, a technology journalist, disconnected from the internet
for a year but found that, after the initial feeling of “freedom”, he picked up
other bad habits. He ignored his post and his friends, allowed the dust to
gather on his exercise equipment, failed to turn boredom into creativity, and
sat and did nothing. On analysing this for an article for The Verge magazine,
he was able to make more informed technology choices once he
reconnected.” Raising Children in a Digital Age, p181
Tech ‘time out’
@drbexl
22. “In some ways, it seems difficult to explain the power of social media on my
everyday life, including my academic life, because I’m so embedded within it,
that many things have just become ‘normal’. If I need some ideas, some
quotes, some suggestions of readings, I will just put a post up, and see what
catches people’s attention, but it goes much deeper than that! I always want
to emphasise the importance of online/offline interactions, and how the lines
between them have blurred more and more as the years have gone on.
Potential collaborations start online, and lead to offline meet-ups, or a
conversation starts offline, and the ideas continue flowing online. Sometimes
they stay fully online, and that’s fine too!”
‘Bex Lewis’, in Ord, T. Theologians and Philosophers on Social Media, 2017
It’s not just ‘the kids’…
@drbexl
23. 1. Should we resist giving (smart) phones
to children until as late as possible?
2. Should we recognise that phones now have multi-
functional uses and we need to help our children to
use them well?
Which/Why?
Discuss
@drbexl
24. Be involved
• Seek to understand what/how they are using
– Not just the latest ‘moral panic’
• Negotiate boundaries: write family agreements
• Talk to them, listen to them
• Be alongside them - especially in the early years
• Consider your own habits
Do not … leave them to their own devices
@drbexl
40 mins inc settling & questions. What is the impact of children having their own devices, and how do we manage this?
Just for the LOL’s, wanted to add this into a slide – BBC archive posted this last month – when they first demonstrated a ‘mobile phone’, and took it out into the Blue Peter garden to test a call to a ‘normal phone’ as they described it! Is this where “IT” (whatever it is) all started?
6 mins if you want to go and watch it…
So, wanted to kickstart with something that has fairly recently been doing the rounds on Facebook (editing the swearword out of it)….
Always think that humour can get at things pretty well, and it’s certainly a topic of conversation in universities…
(*See the Simon Sinek video - https://youtu.be/hER0Qp6QJNU though don’t agree with it all…)
It’s SO EASY to blame the technology for everything (the zombie jokes, etc.), and of course there are some who use phones in unhealthy ways…
How many of you saw this article in September? Again, it did the rounds – and the rounds again – on the social networks!
In brief Jean M Twenge, who researches generational differences [something I’m a little sceptical of anyway – human beings are still individuals], noted from 2012 that this is the year that American ownership of smartphones passed 50% and saw many generational differences… Born 1995-2012? She calls you iGen, you don’t remember a time before the internet was to hand at all times… and believes that this is causing a mental health crisis, and a generation that is putting off the responsibilities of adulthood (Because social life is on the phone, so no need to engage with ‘real life’, lonely, distressed, feelings of being ‘left out’, not interacting with parents – time onscreen is equated with unhappiness – self-declared levels of happiness). Described as addiction, lack of sleep, leading to suicide, etc… if you don’t know anything else, then this is the kind of writing to cause panic, rather than a feeling of empowerment to do anything…
This is a very powerful piece of writing, that speaks into many people’s fears, and is in a reputable and widely read newspaper, so a lot of people have taken this on board, though TBF, it chimes with many people’s fears anyway *moral panics
As always, the internet has useful information, and less useful information – and one of my first ports of call for information related to children and the internet is a project at London School of Economics, headed up by Sonia Livingstone – which has done long term research into digital, and balances its research well on the benefits and constraints of digital on children – and the realities of young lives lived in a digital age.
IF we focus on mobile phones as the damaging aspect, we’re not putting the time and resources into where the real work needs to be done, in young people’s mental health, and pressures they are under from many directions (as that original ‘joke’ demonstrated). If correlation is tied to causation, we need to be clear which way that causation is flowing! E.g. those suffering from depression may be online a lot seeking help/information, connecting with friends; or those who have depression are growing up in homes without a lot of attention, and digital gives them that… there’s a lot of research to be done there. Digital may augment things that are already happening, but large scale research in 2012 demonstrated that 5% teens said socnet made them more depressed, 10% less depressed, and rest didn’t make a difference.
See also: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/once-more-feeling/201708/no-smartphones-are-not-destroying-generation - research is cherry picked, it all correlational/not causational, research used ignores social contexts and individual differences, and ignores the positive benefits.
No one is saying don’t look at new research, or new data, and take some time to head out into the fresh air, but this kind of panicky content can be scary when this was our mobile phone! We are dealing with something new – something we didn’t have when we were growing up – the way young people use them may seem unfamiliar, scary, and therefore hard to deal with… we need to take it seriously, and ask questions of it – but it needs to be studied objectively and responsibly – not as an expectation that it will be all the technology’s fault.
Image: https://unsplash.com/photos/8H9ph_Jp3hA
If conversation stalls, one of these video – each about 3 mins:
https://youtu.be/k9o-lpKktbs (US)
https://youtu.be/BpmoLgWGI9w (Aus)
A brief overview of the changing capabilities of children, drawing upon psychological insights – essentially younger = ‘walled garden’, older = ‘deeper insights/awareness of support’ (drawn from my book):
Pre-school: Children’s lives are focused strongly on family and the home, especially on developing relationships with the key adults in their lives. At this age children have little ability to differentiate between reality and fantasy, so find violence and emotional scenes hard to handle. Their “online diet” needs to be supervised and restricted in respect of both content and time.
Five to 11 years: As children start school, they begin to develop relationships with more people outside the family, including learning the social norms of friendships with other children, learning right and wrong, and distinguishing reality from fantasy.
At this age parents need to allow greater freedoms, but still within boundaries and accompanied by more discussion, enabling the child to develop their own critical evaluation and self-management skills as well as being supported when they cannot, or maybe, choose not to.
11 to 14 years: This is typically an era characterised by hormones as puberty strikes, and the emphasis for children moves largely from home and the family towards the external world, their peers, and “idols” in the quest to become “independent”. This means a shift from parental identification to peer identification, requiring a degree of experimentation that may involve taking risks.
Brain changes cause an inherent drive to seek out social experiences, especially online as outdoor, offline socialisation has become more restricted. They may start to actively seek out age-restricted material and games that are designed for adults, so keep the communication channels open for discussions of risk and challenging content.
From 15 years onwards, officially the last stage of ‘childhood’, children take increasing responsibility for their own decisions and identities, as abstract thinking, judgement making, and own values and beliefs become fully developed.
http://motherland.net/features/internet-safety-a-parents-guide/
These are the latest stats from Ofcom, which were released 16 November 2016 – so the latest information must be due in the next couple of weeks… we see here, the purple = smartphone, the green = non-smartphone. *Acres of other diagrams on this report!
As smartphones have become cheaper (and the default hand-me-down phone) we see that there is a growing number of smartphones as default, and people don’t feel empowered to change the settings….
*What about those resisting, are they just ‘being hipster’ – there was a story about it earlier in the year – can’t find it now!
There’s the social consequences of having aspects of the phone shut down – that needs a bit of parental peer discussion, and maybe leadership from schools, so parents know they’re not the only one saying no, or shutting aspects off, or investigating their children’s phones, etc.
You may decide to buy, but don’t chuck them into that world without support, any more than you would chuck them in a pool without swimming lessons, on a bike without stabilisers, or in a car without lessons…
If the child of one of my friends leaves their mobile carelessly lying around, or leaves it behind at an event, they lose the use of it for the length of time it would have taken to replace it, in order to teach them responsibility. (Raising Children, p140)
You might also consider, e.g. that everyone in the family puts their phones downstairs to charge overnight – so no phones in rooms after a certain time, no phones at the dinner table, etc. The more this can be done in discussion rather than as dictates, the better…
You could even go as far as Janell Hofmann, who gave her son an iPhone but with a “contract”….
”… which finishes with: “You will mess up. I will take away your phone. We will sit down and talk about it. We will start over again. You and I, we are always learning. I am on your team. We are in this together.” This went viral in 2012, and demonstrates a good awareness of technology use – and of parenting (so far as I can see)
This is the core of much of what I say – it’s about education, and it’s about digital literacy. I wrote my book Raising Children, because many people seemed unprepared and assumed that children are ‘digital natives’ who can work this stuff out on their own. You need to be prepared for difficult conversations about what they’ll see online, about the fact that what they share online can’t be pulled back, encourage them to learn how to use the settings to manage their own privacy settings, but also those of their friends (move beyond liberal individualism towards a care for the wider community, and the possibilities the tech gives them to help the world) … NSPCC has moved towards discussing the positives of digital with children, and have found this gets a better response to the more difficult content that needs to be shared…
Now, we know that kids are always going to push boundaries, and if children are now getting phones as young as e.g. 8, then they’re far too young for social networks (something the Children’s Commissioner is discussing with the social networks). 13 is the official age, so this social media contract for under 13s is a curiosity in some ways – it’s a balance between allowing children that you know are capable into the space, and breaching terms and conditions which doesn’t seem to provide the best role model (and some of them may be thankful to be spared the pressures of social media by just saying ‘my parents won’t allow it’).
There are plenty of examples online, different ones providing inspiration for different ages… sit down and talk about it as a family, and there might be different rules for different members depending upon age/ability, etc.
As young people develop their identities they need guidance and support, particularly from the significant adults in their lives. The behaviour that those adults model, whether it’s with regard to digital technologies or great historical events such as the Holocaust, or even in the way the cleaner is treated, is important in helping children define their own identity, values, and attitudes.
Elaine Halligan of The Parent Practice warns that 80 per cent of parenting is modelling: “If your mobile is surgically attached to your hip 24/7, don’t be surprised if your teenagers have trouble letting go.” A friend of mine said their child would bring their phone to them, as this was what seemed to get the most attention. They made a decision to put all phones down at the door, at least until the child went to bed. (Raising Children, p101)
On the other hand, you can also model good ways to use the technology – e.g. my 5 year old niece uses my brother or SIL’s account to talk to me – using lots of emojis, and gets a bit of excitement talking to her aunty and brightening my day! She’s learning from a young age to use it as a natural – but not overwhelming part of her life!
We need to move beyond the assumption that children on phones = bad!
Anyone know what they are actually doing? Yes, researching the painting – between themselves!
Hear a lot about teenagers being engaged in their phones ALL the time – lots of debate about whether it’s because they are limited by living inside (outside world not safe), by parents spending too long online, etc… (typical media headline, look behind the picture… )
Look at the way the CofE has been using social media to reach out in new ways to people who may not come through the front door…
New way to reach people – 22,000 using the daily prayer app, which would fill St Pauls Cathedral x 6, most Instagram users are under 34, etc. there’s opportunities there, but we need to get past the things we think we know are bad about mobile phones!
https://www.facebook.com/thechurchofengland/photos/pcb.10155871826756385/10155871807631385/?type=3&theater
See reports - https://www.churchofengland.org/media-centre/news/2017/09/2017/10/church-of-england-reaches-more-than-a-million-on-social-media-every-month.aspx
Dr Rachel Jordan, the Church of England's National Mission and Evangelism Adviser, said: "The Church of England has taken seriously the challenge of ageing congregations and is sharpening its focus and work on the opportunities of reaching new generations in different ways - church growth starts young. Our digital presence has been boosted by the work of the Renewal and Reform programme investing in an excellent team communicating effectively with millions through digital campaigns."
Returning to another article (different author, but still the LSE blog), I wanted to mention the question of screentime, as parents are continually told to ‘put down that tablet, take them outside, etc.’, rather than considering that, as with food, there is some that is better quality than others, and it’s less about the time itself (though Am Assoc Pediatrics 2 hour rule is constantly raised, although they re-assessed it last year too), than about what they are DOING (again, related to what you know about the individual child)….
*E.g. niece and use of Facebook has been great this past month…
If you want them to go outside think about last summer’s big mobile gaming hit Pokemon – still a steady number of dedicated users… and it got me in conversations with my nieces and nephews, and lots of others found a way to get themselves outside on a regular basis (I can’t go to the gym at the moment, so I go out and push myself to the next Pokestop – and every day for the streak), conversations with others at Pokegyms, etc.!
Geocaching has a steady family fan base – basically digital treasure hunt, where you’re looking for geocaches by using their GPS location points, then swapping items in/out, registering that you’ve found them – although ensuring that the ‘muggles’ around you don’t see what you’re doing..
Other apps come and go too… and can use e.g. enthusiasm for a topic such as football to look up tips on YouTube, and then go out and try them … or fix a puncture, etc… gives a certain amount of independence!
Image: https://19mvmv3yn2qc2bdb912o1t2n-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/science/files/2016/07/Geocache-860x484.jpg
https://unsplash.com/collections/379314/addiction?photo=xsGApcVbojU
From my book chapter awaiting publication: We have heard of four-year-olds addicted to iPads, requiring expensive detoxification therapy, Chinese children sent to military boot-camps for addiction therapy, but the 2012 EU Kids Online project discovered that nearly half of the children questioned were happy to describe themselves as addicted (if no specific definition was offered), as in many ways the term is seen as a “badge of honour”. It was also found that only about ten per cent demonstrated true signs of addiction. It can be an unhelpful term to use, for children and adults, in the same way that we wouldn’t describe most of those who drink alcohol as alcoholics, even if they drink to excess on occasion. Those who do tend to struggle with digital technologies are those who are likely to struggle no matter what – their addictive personality is more likely to be at the root of the problem, rather than the technology itself. With the ubiquity of digital, in the same way as police crime figures are noted as containing more references to Facebook and Twitter – because more people are using them – increasing addiction to technology, or the material that it gives access to is incredibly unsurprising.
Antony Mayfield, a digital consultant, notes that we like to believe that we’re in thrall to our devices (2010): “Oh, I must take this call”, but the machines don’t care what we do. Signs of true addiction will be the same as for any other addiction, increasing activity to get the original ‘high’, withdrawal symptoms when disconnected, increasing conflict or disconnection with those in the social circle, the likelihood of relapse, and evidence of the ‘sunk cost’ fallacy: not wanting to abandon something after so much time has been sunk into it. It is interesting to note that we’ll frequently talk about internet addiction, but this accusation is not made at those whose noses are buried in a ‘good book’, or a newspaper. There’s something about the digital that attracts particular criticism, and we need to consider whether it is valid condemnation, or whether any of our habits or lifestyles, when viewed as a whole, require more consideration. In contemporary society, the outside world can feel unsafe, particularly for children, and therefore, we spend more time inside our homes, where it becomes natural to pick up our mobile devices and engage with our online connections. We regularly hear in the news that melatonin production is being affected by the lights on our electronic devices as kept in our rooms. It’s worth keeping up to date with the debates on the latest health discussions relating to technology, experiment with, for example, leaving your phone out of the room, and see if life changes for the better.
This is an extract from a piece looking at a study of independent school use of phones – all the media outlets spun it as a negative story, but within it was this kind of content … demonstrating that many children are working out how to use digital intelligently … again, talking to each other, peer reinforcement, parental guidance, and not demonising the technology is going to help this!
Sherry Turkle claims that lack of disconnected downtime disrupts ties to other people and adds emotional stress. In conversation with eighteen-year-olds, she asked when they last were able to be free of interruptions, but they didn’t see digital media as interruptions but as the beginning of connections. Research indicates that a large number of teenagers would love to be able to unplug, especially as they feel that their online communications are being so heavily monitored. A significant number, however, said that this would make them feel more stressed, because they have invested so much time in their “digital space”, and even more because their parents fear letting them out of the door.
Phones have become embedded in our lives, we use them for everything, as do children … if we suggest that the solution is to take their phones out of their hands and pretend they’ve never been invented – we’re not really dealing with the issues at hand!
What does the phone really have ‘in it’ – diaries, books, people, etc. and it’s not so much about an online/offline dichotomy as I wrote in that recent book chapter…
Clearly you can tell from how I’ve worded it where I stand…