SUMMARY
The purpose of this research study was to discover the impact that mobile technology has on families; particularly those families that had children using the mobile devices. After conducting interviews and surveys on a variety of participants, the authors were able to determine 3 main "tensions" that are created in the home because of the children using mobile devices.
The first tension caused is parents worrying about the effects of the mobile technology on their child. Parents in the study expressed that they wanted their young child to be introduced to technology that may be used in their future education; however they worried that introducing the technology so young could be causing an early addiction to the devices, lower creativity and social skills etc.
The second tension caused is parents worrying about their perceived loss of control. A couple of parents stated that they felt lost when it came to how to utilize the types of technology that their children are using, and are therefore unable to help them learn. Other parents felt at a loss because they aren't always 100% sure if their child is on safe websites/applications.
The third tension caused is family stress. Some families reported that their child using mobile devices resulted in less family time together, however also noted how helpful the devices can be to keep children occupied (during church, at a siblings recital etc.). There was also a concern from parents of lower economic status that it was a struggle for them to even provide one mobile device in the family, and felt like they were letting their child down if they couldn't provide one for them.
RECOMMENDATIONS
After looking at each of the tensions and their different perspectives, the authors were able to determine new aspects of and questions to be considering when discussing mobile technology use with young children. To alleviate parent concerns on the effects of mobile technology on their children, researchers are encouraging parents to speak with their child's clinician and discuss misconceptions of the technologies and be provided with healthy ways to use technology with their young child, and how to also include real life, hands-on experiences. Researchers noted that there was a digital divide between parents of low-income communities versus parents of higher-income communities. For each group, researchers suggested that parents empower themselves with good online resources to help assist them with creating perimeters on their child's mobile technology use. Finally in regards to family stress, researchers realized the importance of how mobile technology can be used in maintaining a peaceful household, but suggested seeking out other ways to get the same results (ex. a physical game instead of the mobile phone to keep a child occupied).
REFLECTION
Even before reading this article, I was very aware of the fact that mobile technologies are having an impact on children of all ages, and their families. You can go to any restaurant today; see a family out for dinner, and see all of the children on some type of device, totally disengaged from the rest of the family and what is happening around them. I realize that parents sometimes just want to give their children something to be occupied with so that they don't want to deal with the child, but I have always grown up to value dinner time as family time. What happened to coloring on the children's menu and playing tic-tac-toe with your sibling or parent while you wait for the food to come? After reading the article, it really hit me how there might be a certain generation of parents that aren't very familiar with the technology and are learning as their children learn. I like how the article kept referring to having parents speak with their child's clinician to see how the mobile technologies can impact their social and emotional growth. If I took one thing away from this article, it is that parents need to be provided with or seek out information on the positive ways to utilize technology with their children.
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As a parent of a 7 year old, I am often concerned with how much technology is too much or too little. She has an old phone of mine that she uses through wifi. She also has a kindle, a laptop, and several hand held gaming consoles.
ReplyDeleteAt this age, I'm not so concerned with the thought of her being on dangerous sites or interacting with people that maybe she shouldn't be. But I have wondered many times at what age I should be concerned.
She has grown up with technology and at this point there is no question that it is, has been, and always will be a part of her life. The idea of keeping technology from her has never crossed my mind. Especially now that she is in school, I receive a list quarterly of different websites and apps that she should be using to reinforce what she is learning for school. But the idea of monitoring her use of technology is always there. But quite frankly, I don't even know where to begin.
I could really get on my soapbox about this. I feel the family unit is in jeopardy (for a multitude of reasons), and the use of technology as a whole is not helping to build connected families. I like how you mentioned dinner time being a standard. Nowadays, parents are shuffling their children to this practice and to that event. The kids are able to interact with peers, but the family unit takes a hit. Between activities and electronic devices, the family unit struggles to connect in real and meaningful ways.
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