Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World

by Devorah Heitner

Overview

Screenwise offers a realistic and optimistic perspective on how to thoughtfully guide kids in the digital age. Many parents feel that their kids are addicted, detached, or distracted because of their digital devices. Media expert Devorah Heitner, however, believes that technology offers huge potential to our children-if parents help them. Using the foundation of their own values and experiences, parents and educators can learn about the digital world to help set kids up for a lifetime of success in a world fueled by technology. Screenwise is a guide to understanding more about what it is like for children to grow up with technology, and to recognizing the special challenges-and advantages-that contemporary kids and teens experience thanks to this level of connection. In it, Heitner presents practical parenting "hacks": quick ideas that you can implement today that will help you understand and relate to your digital native. The book will empower parents to recognize that the wisdom that they have gained throughout their lives is a relevant and urgently needed supplement to their kid's digital savvy, and help them develop skills for managing the new challenges of parenting. Based on real-life stories from other parents and Heitner's wealth of knowledge on the subject, Screenwise teaches parents what they need to know in order to raise responsible digital citizens.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629561455
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/13/2016
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	210,517
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Devorah founded Raising Digital Natives for parents and educators seeking advice on how to help children thrive in a world of digital connectedness.

Devorah is an experienced speaker, workshop leader, and consultant, and a professional development resource for organizations wishing to cultivate a culture of responsible digital citizenship.

Since earning her Ph.D. in Media/Technology and Society from Northwestern University, she has been working with excellent public and independent schools across the United States and beyond.

She is delighted to be raising her own digital native.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Raising Digital Natives 7

Chapter 2 The Kids Are Alright 29

Chapter 3 Assessing Your Own Digital Literacy 45

Chapter 4 Becoming a Tech-Positive Parent 63

Chapter 5 Empathy Is the App 83

Chapter 6 Family Life in the Digital Age 107

Chapter 7 Friendship and Dating in the Digital Age 135

Chapter 8 School Life in the Digital Age 167

Chapter 9 Growing Up in Public 189

Conclusion Digital Citizenship for the Next Generation 215

Acknowledgments 221

Notes 225

References 231

Index 235

About the Author 245

Editorial Reviews

08/01/2016
Acknowledging the impossibility of fully sheltering children from the world of digital media, Heitner (Connecting Wisely in the Digital Age), founder and director of the consultancy Raising Digital Natives, provides guidance for parents navigating this ever-changing landscape. She covers common concerns about children of different ages, from preschool to young adult, and even looks at how the digital world influences adults. Heitner also reports that researchers have found that “the number of young people who produce as well as consume content has risen dramatically,” even among those as young as five. She suggests that parents and educators shouldn’t monitor a child’s every move but should act as guides and mentors, helping children make good decisions and fostering their creativity. Heitner reminds readers that children learn by example, advising parents to break the habit of checking cellphones constantly and to join their children in playing digital games. She pairs examples from what she has found working with families in her consulting firm with research in the field, such as into the ways kids use social media. This book provides useful advice for the parents of children of all ages and will serve well as a guide to help the different generations communicate, in person or online. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"The book is largely practical advice that focuses as much on parent-child relationships as it does on technology... She walks through numerous dangers that children can encounter — not just pornography, but privacy, data-slurping, and plagiarism — and provides common-sense suggestions for dealing with the consequences."— Wendy M Grossman, ZDNet UK Book Reviews

From the Publisher

11/01/2016
Heitner, founder and director of Raising Digital Natives (RaisingDigitalNatives.com), presents parents with tips for becoming their child's media mentor by encouraging them to be "tech literate" if not a tech whiz. The author provides helpful insight into how today's youth not only consume online information but create it, and that kid-friendly sites such as Google's safe search and the YouTube Kids app can only go so far in helping to guide digital behaviors. She further delivers firm tips for parents to model in their own tech use (clearly defined boundaries, unplugged times, etc.) and solid examples for evaluating kids' readiness to form friendships in the digital world (ability to utilize privacy settings and understand their importance, knowledge about when to take conflicts offline, etc.). In addition to the informative narrative, Heitner also includes valuable questions for parents to ask children that may yield surprising answers (e.g., "Does social media ever stress you out?"). VERDICT All in all, a solid offering for the tech-education collection. Recommended.

Library Journal