Parenting in the Digital Age

Psychology Today, September, 2013

ARTICLE:

Northwestern University conducted a study on parenting in the digital age, and how parents perceive technologies impact on their parenting and the experience of raising a child. The findings show that in general, parents in the digital age are confident, and relatively unconcerned about the effect of technology on their kids. They believe it attributes to positive academic skills, works as a pacifier or parenting tool, and in general, they don't believe it affects their kids social activity. What's interesting about these findings (and others) is the lack of distinction parents see between how adults should consume tech and screen time versus kids. Despite warnings, expert concerns and our own anecdotes, parents set the tone for a families usage with digital devices, and for the most part, they show little concern in practice. Digital devices make parenting easier, so they rationalize it as a positive; but with studies showing how digitally distracted parenting affects kids in areas like learning how to speak, you've got to wonder if a digitally easier parenting experience is a better parenting method. Are we too attached to our devices to practice what we preach with our kids?


SITE: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/tech-support/201309/digital-life-8-surprising-findings-about-what-parents-think