Tweens, Teens, and Adolescence
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Technology and Media Considerations TWEENS, TEENS, AND ADOLESCENCE GREEN MEADOW WALDORF SCHOOL ALLEN BROADMAN, TECHNOLOGY AND MEDIA LITERACY TEACHER Overview 1. What is the situation with Technology and Media? 2. Heath and Medical Organization Recommendations 3. Practical Issues and Options for Parent Responses 4. Discussion and Q & A Allen’s Background Teacher: ◦ Teacher for GMWS technology and media literacy curriculum ◦ Former 6th grade math teacher in public school Green Meadow: ◦ Former member of the GMWS Parent Council and Steering Committee ◦ Father of two children who went to Green Meadow through 8th grade Professional/Educational: ◦ Software Developer for over 25 years ◦ Academic background in sociology and philosophy Focus on Grades 5-9 Transitional years Before 5th grade there is little need to be online or have a phone After 9th grade different approaches needed Information Sources References and presentation will be available to parents U.S. National Institutes of Health World Health Organization American Academy of Pediatrics Journal of the American Medical Association Mayo Clinic Common Sense Media What is the Situation with Technology and Media? Key Ideas Getting Online You can generally assume that every electronic device has access to the internet and that most apps and games have chat and messaging built in. Personal Information Almost everything students do online is monitored, collected, permanently stored, analyzed, and bought and sold as commodity information. It’s the same for parents and everyone else. Profiling Any company interested in selling products or services and influencing people can purchase a detailed behavioral profile about you. Personal information, employment history, health data, financial background and details, education, web browsing history, property records, online purchases and in-store shopping, entertainment interests, and more. No Age Restrictions Age-restricted access for creating new accounts on websites, apps, and services do not really exist. Anyone of any age can create a new account on almost any service. Hard-core Pornography is one-click away A YouTube search for just the word “sex” returns a mix of free videos ranging from “sex education” to “the sex pistols” to hard-core pornography. A Google search with the query “sex photos” returns results filled with hard- core sex imagery and links to free, unrestricted videos. Hard-core Pornography is one-click away Demo (will not show pornography) Being Online Getting Online How Do Kids Connect to the Internet? Smart phones Laptop & desktop Computers Tablets (iPad, Amazon Fire) e-Readers (Kindle, Nook) Game Consoles (Playstation, Xbox) Portable Gaming Devices (Nintendo, DS, Sony PSP) “Plain” televisions (Samsung, Sony) Getting Online Any Child Can Create Accounts Forget preconceived notions about age-restricted apps or sites: Any child can create a free email account (Gmail, Yahoo, Live.com, etc.) Any child can register to use social media or other web sites (Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, etc.) Who has Smartphones? By age 11 ◦ 50% of children have their own smartphone By age 12 ◦ 70% of children have their own smartphone < 15% use an app to track screen time What are our Children Doing Online? Communication (texting, video chat) Social Media Entertainment (music, video) Gaming Searching for information Reading Higher-Risk Activities ◦ communicating anonymously with strangers, searching for inappropriate content How Much Time is Spent Online? Some 2019 U.S. Statistics Average consumption of entertainment media: (excludes texting) • Tweens: about 5 hours per day • Teens: about 7 hours per day Over 80% of consumption from: • Watching videos • Gaming • Social Media < 3% from creating content (writing, digital music or art) Most Popular Apps Search ◦ Google Chat: ◦ iMessage, WhatsApp Social: ◦ Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter, Tumblr Video: ◦ YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Video Music/Audio: ◦ Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, Soundcloud, Stitcher Gaming: ◦ Minecraft, Fortnite, Call of Duty, Candy Crush Troubling Apps Concerning issues are anonymity and strangers: Kik: text messaging that does NOT require a phone number Whisper: anonymous social networking Ask.fm: anonymous question and answer service Chatous: socializing with random strangers worldwide Holla: anonymous video chat Tellonym: anonymous comments about real profiles Positives and Risks Positives Social support, especially for those kids who are: ◦ isolated by geography ◦ restricted by chronic illness or disabilities ◦ identifying as LGBTQ ◦ in any kind of minority that results in feelings of alienation Educational and learning opportunities Exposure to a variety of new ideas and ways of thinking Creativity-supporting tools for the arts (photo, drawing, music) Little or no cost barriers Risks Exposure to age-inappropriate content Loss of privacy Stress from social media, including isolation and cyber-bullying Excessive use or possibly dependence on devices and media Permanent record of online activities Malware taking advantage of young and naïve users Lurkers and Predators Risks Inappropriate Content Sexually explicit materials and pornography Violence (cruelty to people and animals, self-harm promotion) Prejudice (sexist, racist, anti-LGBTQ, anti-religious) Drug / Alcohol / Tobacco / Vaping promotion Vulgarity, Profanity, Gambling Risks How is Inappropriate Content Encountered? Google ◦ The gateway to inappropriate content at other sites YouTube ◦ Mostly free, uncensored video content of every possible type Netflix, Amazon Video, Apple TV, Hulu ◦ Paid services, but once logged in, everything accessible Humor sites ◦ FunnyorDie, CollegeHumor, and others Video Games (Mature Rated) ◦ Violence, gore, profanity, sex, drug and alcohol use, smoking, vaping, gambling Concerns Screen Time Excessive screen use associated with health harms Strongest evidence is risk factors for: ◦ obesity and unhealthy diet ◦ depression ◦ social-emotional quality of life measures Healthy and important activities forced out by screen time Engineered Dependence Behavioral psychology used by app designers Casinos, Advertising, and Gaming industries doing this for decades How Apps maximize “time-on-device” ◦ “Like” buttons and followers provide social validation ◦ Streaks reinforce commitment to checking an app ◦ Push notifications interrupt you and trigger FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) ◦ Reward anticipation and structures increase engagement ◦ “Recommended for you” items maximize screen time not relevance Recommendations enable confirmation bias and extreme viewpoints Some Statistics about Children Online Content and Encounters • 30% of children have seen sexually explicit content by age 12 (65% by age 15) • 30% of children ages 12-15 have encountered sexist, racist, and other prejudiced content • 40% of children have not told anyone about the worst thing that happened to them online Anonymity and Strangers • 20% of children who have met an online stranger face-to-face did not tell or take anyone the first time • 10% of children who video chat with anonymous strangers have been asked to undress Dependence in Adolescents • 25% describe themselves as constantly connected to the internet • 50% report at times feeling addicted to their phones • 50% of their media use involves media multitasking Tween Concerns Unprepared or Underprepared Know very little (or nothing) about online risks Can catch you off guard with their tech skills Just old enough to be left alone or unmonitored Healthy curiosity can lead them astray Natural risk-takers and defiant to authority Tween Concerns Example from Grade 7 Green Meadow Curriculum Situation: Karen is 13 and she often posts questions on an anonymous social networking site. Someone on the site who has answered most of her questions, and who seems very nice, asks if they can meet her one day after school and become in-person friends. How should Karen respond? Choose: Green / Yellow / Red Part 2 HEALTH AND MEDICAL ORGANIZATION RECOMMENDATIONS Journal of the American Medical Association 2019 Pediatric Research Report ◦ children ages 6-12 should sleep 9 to 12 hours per night (8 to 10 hours for adolescents ages 14-18) ◦ all need at least 1 hour of vigorous-intensity physical activity daily ◦ both groups should limit total daily screen time to less than 2 hours per day Only five percent of adolescents in the U.S. are meeting these national recommendations for sleep, exercise, and screen time American Academy of Pediatrics Ban devices and media use an hour before bedtime No devices or TVs in bedrooms Discourage use of entertainment media during homework Designate media-free places and times (such as dinner) Watch what your kids watch and talk to them about content Don’t let media replace adequate sleep, physical activity and other behaviors essential to health Mayo Clinic Prioritize unplugged, unstructured playtime Use parental control apps for limiting time and filtering content Make sure your child is nearby during screen time Eliminate background TV Limit your own screen time Mayo Clinic Recommendations present in the GMWS Curriculum Discuss what your children are watching and educate them about advertising Encourage your child to think critically about what they see on screens Ask your child to consider whether everything on the internet is accurate Part 3 PRACTICAL ISSUES AND OPTIONS FOR PARENT RESPONSES Perspectives “Every time I'm in a restaurant and I see two parents on phones with two babies on iPads I just want to fall on the ground and weep.” “Through grade