In Screenagers, there's a scene that shows my family talking around the dinner table about Tech Talk Tuesday. My son Chase asks "when is a good time to text versus calling someone?" So, for this week talk to your family about that issue.
My co-producer's 12-year old daughter just today was talking to her about how some people misuse texting. She was upset that a friend was saying mean things via text, things that he would never say to her on the phone. She adamantly said that it was not bullying, it just was a mean-spirited conversation. She saw a distinction.
Also, my co-producer talked today with a friend who runs a small firm and mentioned a client of hers who was fired via email with no notice and no apparent cause. The client was hurt and felt this was an inappropriate way to communicate that message.
As I am writing this post, my son Chase is literally standing next to me texting and he just looked up and started talking about a girl he's interested in. I asked if he was going to ask her out via texting or in person and he said: "Of course I will do it in person because you can read their reactions more" and then he added jokingly "and then you can spend the next 3 nights trying to make sense of their response, like their tone of voice, facial expressions, body language and stuff."
Then I asked, "why not text?" And he said with a straight face "it shows confidence when you ask in person."
So here are some questions to ask your family around the dinner table:
When do you text versus call someone?
Do you make a distinction between texting and emailing? If so, when do you do which?
Do you text someone when you are angry or do you call them?
Do you text when you are tired rather than calling?
Do you text when you have something emotionally uncomfortable to say, whether it's negative or positive?
Do you have just "text-relationships" with people?
Share with us via FB or here. We really want to hear from you!
All my best,
Delaney
April 5, 2016
As well as our weekly blog, we publish videos like this one every week on the Screenagers YouTube channel
In Screenagers, there's a scene that shows my family talking around the dinner table about Tech Talk Tuesday. My son Chase asks "when is a good time to text versus calling someone?" So, for this week talk to your family about that issue.
My co-producer's 12-year old daughter just today was talking to her about how some people misuse texting. She was upset that a friend was saying mean things via text, things that he would never say to her on the phone. She adamantly said that it was not bullying, it just was a mean-spirited conversation. She saw a distinction.
Also, my co-producer talked today with a friend who runs a small firm and mentioned a client of hers who was fired via email with no notice and no apparent cause. The client was hurt and felt this was an inappropriate way to communicate that message.
As I am writing this post, my son Chase is literally standing next to me texting and he just looked up and started talking about a girl he's interested in. I asked if he was going to ask her out via texting or in person and he said: "Of course I will do it in person because you can read their reactions more" and then he added jokingly "and then you can spend the next 3 nights trying to make sense of their response, like their tone of voice, facial expressions, body language and stuff."
Then I asked, "why not text?" And he said with a straight face "it shows confidence when you ask in person."
So here are some questions to ask your family around the dinner table:
When do you text versus call someone?
Do you make a distinction between texting and emailing? If so, when do you do which?
Do you text someone when you are angry or do you call them?
Do you text when you are tired rather than calling?
Do you text when you have something emotionally uncomfortable to say, whether it's negative or positive?
Do you have just "text-relationships" with people?
Share with us via FB or here. We really want to hear from you!
All my best,
Delaney
April 5, 2016
As well as our weekly blog, we publish videos like this one every week on the Screenagers YouTube channel
A growing concern I have is how young girls, some as young as 7 or 8, are becoming fixated on beauty products. In Screenagers Elementary School Age Edition, we show clips of elementary-aged girls talking excitedly about their favorite skin and makeup items. In today's blog I look at how this beauty obsession is reaching younger ages, fueled by pervasive beauty ideals on social media.
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Ever hop on social media to escape boredom, only to feel even more drained afterward? Teens know this feeling all too well. A college student recently told me how frustrated she is by the habit: “I turn to Instagram out of boredom, and it ends up just making the day feel emptier.” This week’s blog dives into a powerful insight from Dr. Katie Davis, a leading researcher on teens and tech, who calls this pattern “boredom in, boredom out.”
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If ever there was a time to talk about the topic of TikTok with our kids and students, now is it. Yes, it happened. Saturday, the TikTok app went dark in the US, a day after the ban approved by Congress was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Then, by Sunday, it returned. In today's Tech Talk Tuesday, I am providing questions you can use to discuss this with kids and teens.
READ MORE >for more like this, DR. DELANEY RUSTON'S NEW BOOK, PARENTING IN THE SCREEN AGE, IS THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR TODAY’S PARENTS. WITH INSIGHTS ON SCREEN TIME FROM RESEARCHERS, INPUT FROM KIDS & TEENS, THIS BOOK IS PACKED WITH SOLUTIONS FOR HOW TO START AND SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE FAMILY TALKS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND IT’S IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL WELLBEING.
