A few days ago I was on the bus, sitting in front of a father and his 5 or 6 year old daughter. They came home after school, he seemed nervous and busy, too many pending emailshe said between his teeth. Her phone rang and as she answered she took a tablet out of her carry-on bag. The girl’s face lit up with joy as she placed it on her skirt. In just seconds, her little fingers came across a cartoon video. Instant sorcery. A few minutes later, the father hung up and announced that they had to come down soon. I asked him to turn off the tablet without taking his eyes off the phone. She grunted and whimpered for more drawings, her gaze also fixed. The conflict lasted until they went down.
It is an example of common situations for thousands of families. There is a lack of references in digital education and surely we have not resolved our digital habits as adults. Digital hygiene (or the lack of it) runs through us, because it is actually the digital culture that we are cultivating (actively or passively). We still have a hard time understanding the implications of educating in a digital world, where it seems that the creatures know more than we do for the simple fact that the screens are designed so that you can use them without reading or writing. Swiping your finger and reaching the favorite video does not imply understanding what is happening there, what companies are behind or why mobile phones sometimes seem to us a kind of black hole of time. Instead, we are inundated with catastrophic headlines that penalize and flag problematic and abusive behavior. They push us into dissonances that are difficult to resolve, ignoring opportunities, creative uses, and positive pedagogies.
Without going any further, a couple of weeks ago UNICEF published a study on the impact of technology on adolescence, where it should be noted that despite the intensity of connection, most adolescents are positive emotions (joy, fun, understanding). They are a place where claim their identity and feel part of their groups, two fundamental needs at any stage of life. It is true that in adolescence it is a problem that the sources of recognition come only from those digital links, and how much more they depend on them, in the moments of fragile self esteem connected experience is more likely to weaken her. Other revealing figures went unnoticed from the study: the parental attitude It is a key predictor of problematic use and 40% of the adolescents surveyed affirm that their parents use the mobile regularly during meals.
Related news
For families who are frustrated and lost, it only serves to add pressure and zero solutions. I am especially concerned about those who, due to ignorance, let the little ones explore the devices at their ease. Conscious families, who can dedicate time and educational resources, begin to realize that what works are the shared digital experiences. Using the screens as allies to explore your own interests or to enjoy with the family offer many possibilities. First, because they are an infinite window to multiple universes, but above all because they allow us to see what do they like, what catches their attention and prompts us to ask them questions and be interested in their games, their ‘influencers’ or their favorite activities. In fact, the passive uses (I go in to see what the others have posted) or the active uses (I join a team to play or look for a tutorial to solve a challenge, be it a cooking recipe, a painting technique or a math problem). Connecting with a purpose, with a starting intention allows us to activate the criteria, which in this case can be something as simple as if a content brings me closer to or away from what I am looking for. What about adults? The same.
Lead by example It is a timeless maxim, so when we know where to shoot, let’s look at what we are doing (ergo, what are they going to imitate). The difference is that we could teach them to cross the street without saying a word, by imitation they would end up learning and even understanding. In digital it does not happen spontaneously, so you have to create spaces for shared use. With everything, it is a deep social challenge, not just educational. Supervision and accompaniment should be a children’s right to guarantee if we do not want to consolidate the gaps that already exist.
Reference-www.elperiodico.com