MediaSmarts Blog

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Has the pandemic changed how we engage with media?

Submitted by Matthew Johnson on 25 Oct 2021.

Matthew JohnsonThey say the future comes when you aren’t looking. This Media Literacy Week, we are reflecting on how the pandemic has changed how we interact with media and each other. Certainly a few years ago, not many of us could have imagined we’d be spending a fair portion of our lives doing video chats, which were considered obsolete and mostly reserved for keeping in touch with friends and family far away.

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Authenticating Information, Digital Citizenship, Internet & Mobile, Parents

Good Role Models Onscreen

Submitted by Lynn Jatania on 11 Oct 2021.

Lynn JataniaRecently our youngest, who is 14, decided she wanted to watch Keeping Up with The Kardashians. 

 

 

 

 

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Body Image, Marketing & Consumerism, Parents, Television

The Family Chat

Submitted by Lynn Jatania on 13 Jul 2021.

Lynn JataniaOur youngest is about to turn 14, and that means it’s time for the last member of our family to get her own cell phone.

We decided back when our oldest was heading off to high school that age 14, Grade 9, is cell phone time for our family. We’ve been happy with that decision – it seemed like the right time in terms of maturity, and also it became clear that having a phone to use in class at high school was beneficial and even expected.

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Cell Phones and Texting, Excessive Internet Use, Internet & Mobile, Parents, Social Networking

Managing Your Passwords Online

Submitted by Lynn Jatania on 08 Jun 2021.

Lynn JataniaOur older two teens are close to finishing high school, and we’re starting to think about moving them into the adult phase of their lives. That means managing their own online presence and technology, and making sure they have full ownership of their profiles.

And that led to the big password talk.

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Cyber Security, Parents, Privacy

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.

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Digital Health, Excessive Internet Use, Parents

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