In 2013 clinical psychologist, consultant and author Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair explained that many American children’s first encounter with the digital world is when they notice their parents are missing-in-action. Parents use the excuse that “they are just checking.”
Technology becomes indispensable as youth migrate from the real world to the digital world – all day, every day they share hundreds of millions of photos on Instagram and billions of text messages. How can we put technology in its place and not on the night stand?
References:
- “The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age” (award-winning) by Catherine Steiner-Adair
- “Full of Ourselves: A Wellness Program to Advance Girl Power, Health and Leadership: An Eating Disorders Prevention Program That Works” by Lisa A. Sjostrom and Catherine Steiner-Adair.
According to research in the journal Paediatrics & Child Health, secure parent-child attachment is linked to:
- Less high-risk behavior
- Enhanced social and coping skills and
- Fewer mental health problems
Technology ethics and conflict-of-interest rules
New school technologies have the potential to raise ethics issues. A teacher influences the promotion of classroom technology. Laptops, tablets, math-teaching sites, quiz apps, parent-teacher messenger apps etc. are broaching the comparison with the pharmaceutical industry’s hold on doctors. Are these evidence-based practices might be the question, or is it product promotion?
