What do teens really think about screen time?

Submitted by Rebecca Stanisic on 29 Jul 2022.

Screen time is a common topic for parents to try and manage today. Are we allowing too much? How do we make it safe? We will ask our friends and fellow parents for their thoughts or advice or learn tips from resources (like MediaSmarts!) to help us navigate this new aspect of parenting. When I was my kids’ age, we were just loading Netscape 2.0 onto our computers, and we’d check our ICQ messages before putting in a VHS to watch a movie or playing some Super Mario RPG.  The online world is so different now.

Read more
Add a Comment (0 submitted)
Digital Health, Internet & Mobile, Movies, Parents, Social Networking, Television

The summer screen plan

Submitted by Rebecca Stanisic on 23 Jun 2022.

Recently in my Facebook memories, a photo from years ago appeared. In the caption, I had written about how I was telling the kids they couldn’t spend their summer on their screens and that in reply, my eldest, likely about 10 years old at the time, pulled out his recorder from school to give an impromptu concert. The photo I shared was a picture of him playing it. I suspect, based on my post, that I not only appreciated his reply to my statement (as sarcastic as it may have been), but that they did, in fact, end up with plenty of screen time.  

Read more
Add a Comment (0 submitted)
Digital Health, Parents, Television

Electronic gifts for preteens and teens (other than video games)

Submitted by Rebecca Stanisic on 30 Nov 2021.

As your kids grow older, their gift requests may start to look a lot different than when they were younger. While they once circled all the toys in the holiday catalogues that arrived at the door, now they are sending parents text messages or Google Docs with links to their wish list items.

Read more
Add a Comment (0 submitted)
Digital Health, Marketing & Consumerism, Media Production, Parents, Video Games

The COVID-19 Letdown

Submitted by Lynn Jatania on 11 May 2021.

Lynn JataniaI feel like I should knock wood when I say this, but it feels like maybe, someday, this lockdown might be over.

We’re still in rocky days as I write this, with active cases not dropping off as much as we all would like, and shops and attractions not as open as we would hope. But the vaccine is getting out there, albeit slowly, and some of the people we know have even received it already. Progress is being made, and we can start to dream of a time when life opens up again and we feel safer and more able to do the things we love to do.

Read more
Add a Comment (0 submitted)
Digital Health, Excessive Internet Use, Parents

Cyber Choices

Submitted by Matthew Johnson on 12 Apr 2021.

Matthew JohnsonMeet Sasha. At age 8, she’s a real social butterfly, both online and off, and is very concerned with how the world sees her: she spends a lot of time making sure she looks good in photos online but doesn’t always think twice about who might see them. Violet is Sasha’s older sister and her polar opposite: she’s a hardcore gamer, and just as tough as her Level 65 Barbarian. Though she despairs of her sister sometimes, she’s also fiercely protective of her and will unleash her considerable wrath on anyone she thinks is picking on Sasha.

Read more
Add a Comment (0 submitted)
Cell Phones and Texting, Cyberbullying, Digital Citizenship, Digital Health, Excessive Internet Use, Internet & Mobile, Online Ethics, Privacy, Resources, Social Networking, Video Games

Pages