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Parental Internet Mediation strategies. What works?
A recent study tested how different parental mediating strategies affect children’s disclosure of private information while online (Lwin, Stanaland, & Miyazaki, 2008). Privacy is a critical issue facing not just children, but also adults, but youth may not have the understanding that the Internet allows almost any digital use to leave a permanent footprint. The…
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Neurodiversity and Autism
“She’s autistic.” I explained to the cashier as ten year old Peggy ran her hand lovingly along the wall of the skating rink and screeched about Teletubbies. “Artistic?” The cashier was confused in a way that few people would be now, six years later. Autism has become a well known word for a condition that…
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More school, better test scores?
The results of the recent PISA tests, an international assessment comparing countries around the world in reading, math and science, posted extraordinary scores for students in Shanghai, China. Meanwhile, 15 year olds in the US ranked 23 out of 34 countries! Why is the US falling so far behind other countries in Math and Science? …
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Is ADHD a real disorder?
Despite overwhelming scientific evidence that approximately 5 percent of children have a specific deficit in attention compared to children of their same age and sex, many people still question whether ADHD (and some still call it it’s former name: ADD) is a real disorder. A recent article in the New York Times takes on this…
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Online Sexual Predators – Myths… and Facts
A few years ago, the popular NBC television show Dateline aired a special called To Catch a Predator, using hidden cameras to film a “parade” of men who had approached teenage girls online for a sexual liaison. The men thought they were coming to the teenager’s house when her parents were not home. After the men entered the…
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Is bullying going digital? Cyber Bullying Facts
The suicide of a young girl named Phoebe Prince in January of 2010 received a great deal of media attention. Phoebe was the victim of bullying, manifested online by classmates who posted disparaging remarks about her on Facebook. A few months ago, digital bullying was again in the news when Tyler Clementi, an 18-year old…
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Should we blame the media?
The NY Times using nearly all anecdotal evidence based on one child, says the media may be responsible for poor grades and lack of focus. Don Tapscott rebutes this argument and cites much research. This is such an interesting example of how even a respected newspaper like the NY Times can flame the fire. I…
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Race to Nowhere
A documentary called Race To Nowhere is making its way around the schools in my neighborhood. The film was made by a mother who was disturbed by the amount of homework that schools were assigning, as she felt her children were focusing too much on homework and not enough on play. This has been a…
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Digital Media Are a Tool
A recent article by James Fallows in the Atlantic reminded me that digital media are a tool and not an entirely new state of being and behavior. The article says: “Technology, to them, is neither a sedative that dulls our alarm nor a rocket ship that will spirit us away from our problems; it is…