coming of age in a digital world: the battle of old vs. new

Coming of Age in a Digital World

Image: Stuck in Customs

Being born in the early part

of the 90’s, childhood was

largely absent of social

connections like Facebook,

Twitter, YouTube and for a

larger portion…

…the accessible internet

Image: Stuck in Customs

Image: Jose Luis Mieza Photography

With the inception of these social mediums, the

developmental social landscape of childhood

has changed completely

Image: Stuck in Customs

Children are now being raised in

a world that is very different than

the one their parents would have

experienced….

…essentially a battle of Old Vs.

New

Raising the question: What is the best way to

connect the two together?

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Many social media sites require a minimum age to access their services and

offerings

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Yet there are 7.5 Million underage Facebook

users, two thirds of which are 10 years old or

younger

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Image: Reena Mahtani

Therefore, the message

that the websites are

producing are not being

clearly understood…

Should responsibility be put

on the parents?

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Unfortunately, 78% of parents surveyed (PEW) help their children lie to Facebook about [their] age

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Furthermore, 44% of teenagers admitted

to lying about their age to gain access to a

web site

The idealized childhood is under

attack from mobile phones and tablets

as well

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Image: Paul Mayne

A study in 2010 shows that

two-thirds of children ages 4-

7 had used an iPhone

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“As technology become ubiquitous in our

lives, American parents are becoming more,

not less, wary of what it might be doing to

their children”

- Hana Rosin

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“On the one hand, parents want their children to swim expertly

in the digital stream that they will have to navigate all their lives;

on the other hand, they fear that too much digital media, too

early, will sink them”

- Hanna Rosin

Image: Ol’1 eye

Parents end up treating tablets like precision surgical instruments, gadgets that might perform miracles for their child’s IQ…but only if they are used just so

….[or they] could end up one of those sad, pale creatures who can’t make eye contact and has an avatar for a girlfriend. – Hanna Rosen

When we look back and consult Hanna Rosen, she states that “every new medium has, within a short time of its introduction, been condemned as a threat to young people”…

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Image: S Richards Photography

Although there have been no studies on the effects of early screen time in

children I don’t think we should discount them just yet…

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Introduction of tablets, smartphones and access/membership to several websites will only help improve digital literacy and help close the divide in the upcoming years

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Mobi l e devi ces and t he i nt er net enabl e l i f e-l ong l ear ni ng as wel l as connect i ng us t o essent i al ser vi ces l i ke mobi l e heal t h and mobi l e banki ng

It is under these advantages that one must remember when trying to bridge the gap between the old style of childhood and the new style

Sources:• The Touch-Screen Generation. By Hanna Rosen. The Atlantic. March

2013.• Coming of Age in the Digital Age. By Kevin Makice. Wired

Magazine. February 2013.• Course Lectures