When I was young, the family computer was a luxury. My sister and I cannot use it on school days. Dad will only put out the computer during summer vacations, and some weekends, if we’re lucky. And even then, we cannot use it until we have completed all our chores.
In college, I was introduced to the personal computer. It had Windows, and it was the coolest thing ever! To top it off, there was the Grolier Interactive Encyclopedia with its multimedia features. My sisters and I took turns in using the computer, and exploring Paint and Word. It was a wow time for learning, but we didn’t spend all of our time in it.
Today we are raising Generation Z, children born from 1996 to 2010, and life has never been the same. How our generation interacted with computers, gadgets, and technology is totally different from how this generation does now.
The Media Policy Project (July 2016; http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/mediapolicyproject/) by the London School of Economics illustrates these differences:
#1 Technology use was optional for Generation X and Y. For Generation Z, it is integral.
My generation had the typewriter, dot matrix printer, and then the computer. Give us a dial-up internet connection, and we’d think we had hit the jackpot. We know how to look things up in the dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, and other library books We get the work done.
This generation not only needs gadgets, their internet connection has to be fast, too. Gen Z kids want to have their own mobile phones so that they can do group chats with their friends and group mates to check who will do what and who will bring that. They thrives in online connections. They not only use the internet for research and information, they discuss and complete school works through the digital sphere, too.
#2 The parents of Generation X and Y focused on the risks that technology brings. The parents of Generation Z, while being cautious and aware of the risks, focus on the opportunities.
We can keep talking about risks. I am concerned about how digital exposure affects young kids, especially toddlers and preschoolers. Too much exposure can affect the cognitive, physical, and socio-emotional development taking place at these stages. By the time a child is in the latter years of grade school, digital exposure is another story. Parents need to prepare these digital citizens for wide range of opportunities in the digital sphere. This goes beyond digital literacy. It is about using technology as a tool to enhance the skills they are developing in real life.
#3 It is not just about quantity, but more importantly, quality.
When parents ask if media is affecting their children, I ask, “How long is your child expose to digital media?” This is followed up by: “What is your child viewing, doing, or accessing online?”
Preschoolers and primary grade kids appear to be problematic when they are overly exposed to online games for more than two hours a day. This is especially so if the games are role playing games, which were actually developed for men. The kids cannot handle the violence and fast-paced stimulation.
When the parent shares that his child watches YouTube tutorials on basketball, crafts, hacks, and baking, the little one copies and applies what he sees online at home. The first case may be problematic. The second is what we are after: maximizing technology use to build real skills for children.
“The quality of content is more important than the platform or time spent with media.” – MEDIA POLICY BRIEF 17, Families and screen time: Current advice and emerging research (The London School of Economics and Political Science Department of Media and Communications, July 2016)
It is a tricky time for parents raising Generation Z. Yet, we need to embrace what we have, so we can be one foot ahead of the game in managing our wired kids.