Friday, May 3, 2013

Rob Williams Rocked The House!

We had over 75 people attend Always On : Raising Families in the Digital Age and Rob Williams did a great job sharing new information and allowing a rich interchange to emerge.

Friends School of Portland stresses "Inquiry, Reflection, Action" as our educational mission.  In that spirit, here's some of the feedback from the event --  resources following.

Please use comments to add more of your thinking!!!


Inquiry :  I wonder

·      What will the social media (peers) expect from my children when they reach adolescence?
·      If there are other parents interested in resisting certain technologies for our own kids and just not buying what they’re selling?  We could us a supportive culture of resistance.
·      If there could be a strong enough movement to lobby against advertising?
·      Can I choose not to participate in social media?
·      About the actual changes in brain structrure from always being on (not to mention health risks)
·      If the next step beyond google glass is the google post-natal cortical implant?
·      What is the right trade-off between “privacy” and  “sharing”

Reflection :  The 1 thing I’ll tell others

·      Google Eyewear – Beware!
·      We must all learn to disconnect – and allow others to do so as well!
·      Production vs. Consumption of media – different kinds of screen time
·      Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood
·      We have NO privacy in the digital age
·      My 14yr old has a reptilian brain
• Internet /  Privacy -- no overlap

Action :  Action Idea

·      Media Diet – Share ideas with families of students
·      Read The Machine Stops & Blackberry’s Hamlet
·      Use the library!
·      Quit Facebook!
·      Don’t make your kids compete with your phone.
·      I will get a book out on the brain and interpreting reality.
·      Remind people that while we worry about our expensive toys/tools, many people in Maine and in the world don’t have enough to eat, and send my check to org’s that serve these folks.
·      Bring the “mindfulness project” into schools to teach students the importance of not (always) being “on”
·      Retire to the bathroom every once in a while.
·      Figure out ways to have these conversations in schools / among parents / ongoing