Kids, Cellphones and Digital Hygiene
By Lynne Bell
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听听听听听听听听听听听 听The results of a recent survey- by nonprofit organization MediaSmarts- of more than 5,000 Canadian students in grades four through 11 from each province found that almost all of them had their own cellphone. Even among the youngest kids surveyed, one in four owned a mobile device, while a full 90 percent of young people in high school said they owned their own phone.
听听听听听听听听听听听 While the stats regarding the older kids' phone ownership didn't surprise the researchers, MediaSmarts director of education Matthew Johnson said of the youngest kids surveyed: 鈥淭he numbers were definitely higher than we expected at the younger end. The surprise is definitely in those early three grades (four, five and six) and the fact that in Grade 6 we're almost up to 40 per cent.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淐ertainly, it highlights the fact that we're seeing earlier and more Internet access for kids.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 And therein lies the rub.
听听听听听听听听听听听 Like any tool, mobile phones-and the accompanying Internet- can be used positively or negatively.
听听听听听听听听听听听 The dangers are well-documented-with cyber-bullying, child-luring, and privacy risks topping the list of worries for parents and guardians.
听听听听听听听听听听听 However, smartphone usage can also aid in relationship responses. Busy families can stay in touch in a myriad of ways via their phones, and for most parents, this is the overriding reason their kids carry cell phones, especially if they're very young.
听听听听听听听听听听听 The results of the MediaSmarts survey stated that 59 per cent of young people played games on their devices, while 51 percent said they downloaded or streamed music, movies , nd TV shows. Facebook was the most popular social networking site- followed closely by Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter. And in the case of Facebook, even though the platform states users must be 13 years of age to join, many young users circumvent this requirement easily.
听听听听听听听听听听听 Nearly 75 percent of students surveyed in 2005 stated that they had received the 鈥渄igital hygiene鈥� talk- outlining proper online behavior and safety- either at home or at school. And some parents even stated that the responsibility of phone ownership was a valuable aid in learning about money management.
听听听听听听听听听听听 However, more recently, researchers found that parents and guardians were much less听听 concerned about potential pitfalls for their kids online.
听听听听听听听听听听听 According to Johnson: 鈥�(In 2005), parents were treating the Internet or viewing the Internet much more as a source of fear and concern... and young people were feeling they were constantly being supervised, that their parents were watching over them to an excessive extent.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 But in 2014, only 44 percent of students stated that their parents had set rules for them regarding online usage and behavior.
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淲e were really surprised to see the number of rules about the use of the Internet has actually declined by quite a bit,鈥� added Johnson. 鈥淎nd that's something we're not sure about the cause of.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 Perhaps the use of mobile phones has become so common that parents have become more听 complacent about the online safety of their offspring. But as mobile phone users become younger, maybe it's time to revisit the idea of 鈥渄igital hygiene.鈥�
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What鈥檚 the right age?
By Kelly Running
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听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Kids and technology鈥� it鈥檚 something that many parents are navigating, but ultimately it鈥檚 something anyone with a phone is having to realize proper etiquette and avoid being addicted to the handheld device that now goes everywhere with us.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 There were cell phones in school, those sweet flip phones. I didn鈥檛 have my own cell phone until I was in grade 12, prior to that my parents would send one with me for sports trips, so I could call them and let them know what time I needed to be picked up. We lived half an hour from town, so if the team went to Maple Creek, I could call when we got to Gull Lake and the timing would work out well for my ride the rest of the way home.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Personally, I like texting though. I鈥檝e always been one to get a little bit of anxiety when talking on a telephone, I鈥檓 not sure why, but when it comes to ordering a pizza even, I would toss the phone to someone else and let them handle it. And I sound like an idiot when I have to leave a message on an answering machine. I鈥檒l apologize to anyone I鈥檝e left messages with right here and now: I ramble and say 鈥渦mm鈥� a lot.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Technology is important because it is literally the world we live in. Kids need to know how to work a computer because they鈥檙e literally used for everything these days. Jump in a combine and I know I鈥檓 blown away by the bells and whistles in there. So, it is important to learn how to work everything, but not at the expense of a childhood.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 It seems as though limiting the amount of screen time is the way to go and that once kids hit the 10-year-old mark maybe it鈥檚 good to start talking about cell phones, apps, and all that. By no means do they need a top of the line smart phone at 10-years-old; but, teaching them technological etiquette is important and it鈥檚 said that children develop a moral code, knowing what鈥檚 right and wrong, by the time they鈥檙e 12-years-old so it seems logical to teach them proper safety and etiquette surrounding technology at a young age.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Televisions and games have become 鈥渂abysitters鈥� in a sense, however, and I don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 the best route. Kids still need to learn how to interact with others and form meaningful connections with people. Many in this world experience depression and it seems possible that although you鈥檙e looking for connection online, even if you find it, there鈥檚 a disconnect. Are you really the person you portray online? Do you say things in that medium you likely wouldn鈥檛 say in real life to someone? But humans are very much social creatures and ensuring youngsters have the ability to interact with others face-to-face is important.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Technology has allowed me to keep in touch with friends from university. Technology allowed me to see my family via video calls when I was living in Australia. It鈥檚 not all bad. But, we have to encourage kids to be kids, to develop social and emotional skills, and to put more emphasis on the world around them than on the television or cell phone screen.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Even the inventor of the Apple, Steve Jobs, limited the amount of screen time and technology his kids used. Apparently tech execs and engineers actively shield their kids from technology, sending their kids to non-tech schools where they can focus on hands-on learning.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Obviously there鈥檚 a place for technology and it can be an amazing thing. But, I鈥檓 not convinced tablets and iPods should be thrust into the hands of such young kids.
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