PTA Technology Corner

We TV is broadcasting an important new series that has been in development for the past four years called “High School Confidential.” It’s the real stories of 12 high school girls. It was created by Sharon Liese, a single mom of a 12-year old daughter who saw the challenge girls have in creating their own identity while dealing with the pressure from friends.

The first episode starts tonight at 10pm/9 central on the We Television Network (check your local listings or cable provider for the channel on your system)

To learn more, visit their website:
highschool.wetv.com

The topic of conversation among friends has increasingly turned to what our kids are doing online - probably because some think of me as “the geek in town” or they know I have a technology blog to help educate parents. One research study and one television report came out yesterday that might make you as a parent think about this subject even more.

One of my favorite research companies, the Pew Internet and American Life Project, has done some very interesting studies on technology and the family. Yesterday they released a report “Parents and Teen Internet Use” that contained some interesting information you might want to know:

• 59% of parents think the Internet is a good thing for their children (down from 67% in 2004)
• 88% of teens said that the Internet and their use of other communication devices make their lives easier (only 69% of parents agreed)
• 65% of parents check up on their teens’ Internet use (what websites they visit, what IM conversations they are having, etc.)
• 77% of parents have a rule about what their children can do online

As a parent, we’re careful to balance giving our children the freedom to explore while being sure to protect them from what we consider inappropriate content, discussions or posting online.

But I never really stopped to think about what they do online and how it could impact me as a parent. I sometimes wonder if parents know what their children post on their Facebook pages when I come across some rather racy pictures or language that probably would shock many parents. Then I came across this story, The Parent Trap, from a television station in Milwaukee, WI.

It seems that 16 year old Shannon posts frequently on her social networking site. But today’s teenagers don’t have the same sense of privacy as their elders (that’s you and me folks!). It seems Shannon not only discusses her nagging mom, but also the fact her dad does drugs and her parents are lazy alcoholics. And now dad is in trouble with his boss.

“It’s important to know what they’re doing and to be able to help them if they get into trouble. And to keep them safe and, apparent, now we have to have them keep us safe as well.” Good advice from Shannon’s mom to all of us.

Recently I was asked if I knew any good places to go to read about children and their use of technology. As a part of my job, I read a great deal about the Millennial Generation (those born between 1982 and 2001) and those coming next in the yet-to-be-named youngest generation (hint: might be called something like the “9-11 Generation”). So, I thought I’d take this month to lay out some resources you might consider checking out.

There’s a great deal of research and studies on today’s teenagers and “tweenagers” regarding how unique this generation is from previous ones - particularly on their use of technology. Probably the best and most recent resource is from The Pew Internet and American Life Project called “Teens and Technology” (http://www.pewinternet.org/report_display.asp?r=162).

Another good resource is from Harris Interactive and their monthly newsletter called “Trends and Tudes” (http://harrisinteractive.com/news/newsletters_k12.asp).

If you’re interested in learning more about your own “Millennial”, two gentleman wrote a series of books about this generation - Neil Howe and William Strauss. Probably one of their best books is called Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation (http://www.lifecourse.com/products/millennialsrising.html).

Did You Know?
7.8 - the number of hours each week children socialize with friends online (compared to 10.3 hours socializing in-person)