Kids & Screen Time: Two Perspectives
As the author of a book on the impact of technology on children and families, Raising Generation Tech, I have a strong professional interest in the role that the myriad of devices and screen time now found in the hands of children and their parents alike plays in the development of young people and the […]
Read MoreAre Smartphones Replacing Drugs?
Here is a fascinating article offering a provocative new theory that the decline in drug use in the past decade is due to the rise in smartphone use. Epidemiological data has demonstrated that young people are using alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs significantly less than 10 years ago. This relationship between drug and smartphone use has […]
Read MoreParents are Worse Than Kids with Media Use
You have probably already heard about the research that found that children spend as much as 7.5 hours a day on non-school-related media. That is a crazy amount of time spent in front of a screen if you do the math of having 24 hours in a day, about 8 hours of sleep, and another […]
Read MoreIs the American Academy of Pediatrics Copping Out on Kids’ Screen Time?
According to a recent article titled, “Pediatricians to tweak ‘outdated’ screen time recommendations for kids,” the American Academy of Pediatrics, that esteemed organization charged with protecting the health and well-being of children, has decided that their recommendations of limited screen time—basically no screen time for children under 2 years old and only two hours a […]
Read MoreHow the Internet is Changing Your Brain
See a fascinating infographic from onlinecoursereport.com (read the basic findings below) that describes how the Internet is changing the way our brain works (for both good and bad). Distracted? 7 Ways the Internet is Changing Our Brains The Internet is a marvelous thing. Games, vast information, shopping, friends, medical advice: all at our fingertips. […]
Read MoreIs Coding Camp a Good Thing? Answer: Not to Me
One of the booming trends in the ‘youth-achievement-industrial complex’ is computer coding camps (and after-school coding programs). Here is an article in which I was interviewed that discusses this new, and to me, troubling development. I think this trend is driven by two unhealthy forces. First, economic uncertainty that has created immense anxiety in parents for their children’s futures. […]
Read MoreIs Google Killing Wonder?
“I wonder.” How often you have made this simple statement? I’m going to guess quite frequently. How often have you heard it from others? I’ll bet even more often. Anytime an interesting question is asked, “I wonder” seems to naturally appear in our psyches. It’s only two words, yet those two words are far more […]
Read MoreDo You Spend Too Much Time on Your Smartphone?
A slightly unsettling, article about new apps to help people track and monitor their smartphone use. Isn’t it ironic to spend time on your smartphone to learn how much time you spend on your smartphone. But I digress. Knowing how much time you spend on your smartphone, particularly for personal as opposed to work use, […]
Read MoreThe Digital World is Full of Possibility and Worry
The Huffington Post recently asked me to write a blog post on the influence of technology on the lives of children, parents, and families in connection with the new film Men, Women and Children. The request inspired me to put my ideas on (digital) paper wearing both my professional and personal hats. I come to […]
Read MoreTech Savvy Doesn’t Mean Tech Skilled
Parents getting their children involved in technology as early as possible has become a societal imperative and a source of great pressure on parents these days. The belief is that if children don’t get on the technology train at an early age, they will be left behind and be doomed to a life of Luddite failure. […]
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