Do you talk with your kids — about what’s appropriate for posting to social networking sites and what’s not — every so often?
Kids post crazy things on their Facebook walls sometimes. Parents that can clearly see what their kids are saying if they just reviewed their kids walls once in a while don’t seem to worry too much about what their kids are saying either. It’s mostly foul language, but once in a while, criticisms of peers (pre-cursors to online bullying perhaps), and sometimes sexually inappropriate remarks.
Teens will be teens, but what’s said amongst a group of friends in study hall or on the school bus is different than broadcasting to the entire network of 350 friends and family that follow you on your social channel.
Is it completely lost on parents that an expanded audience can see the posts? If Johnny posts something beyond the pale on Sally’s wall, then all of Sally’s friends can read. Sally’s friends might include her aunt who happens to be a college admissions officer at the college that Johnny wants to get into. Or it could be her uncle who is a cop. Or maybe she’s friends with the pastor. Be careful what you say, or you could go straight to hell! Just kidding.
Adults on facebook often post things that make them look like idiots to. I see idiotic comments from people I don’t even know personally. Lots of stupid political beliefs get shared. I have a list of people in my head now that I believe have very poor judgement, and idiotic beliefs. Then there are the people that I feel sorry for. Is your life really that boring? Wow. Thanks for the daily glimpses into the inanities of your days.
Big Brother Might Be Watching.
Beyond what your friends see and read about you, what if the government also pays careful attention to what’s in these social networks.
Who do you think has anxiety the most from kids having to unplug from their devices when they go to summer camp for two weeks? The kids? Or Mom or Dad?
In some cases, both.
Having gone through an Internet connectivity outage that went on for over twenty four hours, I can understand what it is like to feel unable to communicate via email, keep up with the outside world, and get work done. I work from home. So my Internet connection is important to me. I experienced significant frustration, a feeling of helplessness, perhaps some anxiety. But within a few hours, I realized that I would survive and that my connectivity would be restored at some point, and then I was able to move on to enjoy my forced vacation from being online.
Sounds like the kids who experienced the forced disconnection from tech at summer camp go through the same thing. But they do survive and quickly find out that their time can be filled with enjoyable things to do with other people. And many find that they even don’t miss their connectivity.
But the helicopter parents mentioned in the article appear to be the most anxious ones. Gasp! They can’t be in constant contact with their kids! And what is their reaction? Fear! The idea that their kids can’t pick up after a couple of rings to reassure them that they are safe makes Mom really uneasy… Does Mom resolve to let go and just get a grip? No. Instead she reassures herself that she can bug the camp counselors frequently to check in on her kid.
And what do the camp counselors have to do to fend off the barrage of worrisome parents constantly calling? They have to reassure parents that their kids are still alive by posting photos of them on an online gallery. Oh brother.
When I was a kid, my parents dropped me off for two weeks at camp, and then hopped on a ship to the Bahamas for at least a week if not longer. There was no way that either of us could get in touch with each other even if there was some kind of emergency. Maybe some kind of telegram could have been sent to let them know that I was eaten by a bear. But I have a feeling that my parents would have rather waited to hear about that when they got home. Why spoil a fun vacation in the Caribbean with news of my unfortunate death?
In my previous post, I mentioned my daughter’s desire for a laptop and how I’m currently just saying “no”.
Here is a thought provoking video created by Michael Wesch in collaboration with 200 students at Kansas State University which illustrates the changing landscape in education.
It’s a very different world now. The older generation has to adapt if it wants to reach the younger generations more than it has in previous generations due to the way that technology in the past twenty to thirty years has changed the way we communicate information.
Oh, by the time my kids are in college, they’ll have laptops. It’s a tool no college student can do without in my opinion. But not right now, in middle school. Right now the allure is just to have an expensive, cool toy.
If you’re a parent of a teen, what are your laptop plans for your kids?
The concerns about Families and Technology extend beyond this blog. SoftwareTime is a company founded on the idea that technology affects families in many ways. Balance and responsible use of technologies is important. SoftwareTime's products will help.
