Media, Techonology, and Parenting Dilemmas

Adults sometime describe teens as "Digital Natives" because they've grown up with social media in a way that my generation (gen-x, that is) did not.  Gen-Y /The Millennials (born 1981-2000) and Generation Z (awful name, they'll rename themselves, I'm sure)  have digital technologies surrounding them and take internet access as a given.  Yet the term Digital Native is fraught, for me, because it somehow presumes that kids will be acculturated appropriately simply through immersion. In fact, digital media is tied intimately with corporate control and does not constitute a culture so much as a hyper-planned-and-highly-profitable-gated-community (oh anthropologists among us, please give me the proper term!) as well as the foundation of opportunities for the emergence of new democracy. As parents and educators, we want to reap the best possible elements of new technologies while protecting our kids from significant invasions of privacy, cyberbullying, and brain-fragmentation.   Below is a collection of interesting articles & links - no definitive anything.  I think this topic could be great fodder for parents to come together around!

General Info 

• PBS Digital Nation links for Parents and Teachers - includes streaming of their documentaries on growing up digital (we could watch together) - this site has all the links a person really needs
• Pew Research on Social Media & Teens (2010)  
• Common Sense Media on Teens and Social Media
• MacArthur Foundation research on the benefits of teens time online - links to tons of resources as well

 Curriculum & Scaffolding for Teaching Media Literacy

• DigitalLiteracy.Gov - the new federal portal for educators  (MacArthur Blog Post about it) 
• National Association for Media Literacy Education (they are hosting a conference in July in Philly) 
• Action Coalition for Media Education
• Media Education Foundation - films that are provocative / good conversation starters
• American Library Association Teen Tech Week Resources

Tools for Connecting Kids to Digital Media

• The Power of the Connected Classroom - using digital media to promote social justice education
• Parenting in the Digital Age - a Pro-Tech blog 
• NYT Technology Resources 
• Twitter Resources for Teachers 

Arguments for Reducing Kids Access / Exposure to Screens / Digital / Social Media

• Merriconeag's list of articles around brains & screens -- especially resources from Lowell Monke  (a pdf) and  18 and Under: Fixated by Screens, but Seemingly Nothing Else
•  Michelle Borba on practical tips for monitoring kids online like what POS means) 
• The Dumbest Generation  / The Shallows  books about what the internet is doing to our brains