Tweens and Technology

This week in class we started discussing the role of technology in tween's lives and how their experiences with technology differ from our own.  I feel that today's tweens have a lot of access and interaction with technology.  Sitting in my local library's young adult area after school has let out, it seems that not one of the many teens walking, talking, and sitting in the area are without a cell phone, mp3 device, or laptop.

This is extremely different from when I was a teen.  My family had just purchased a family computer during my tween years.  These days it seems a lot of teens have access to their own personal computer, usually a family hand-me-down.  My access to the computer was limited to school work and some educational games.  We didn't have Internet access as it was too much of a luxury and not as needed back then for homework and such.  Today's teens use the computer and Internet for homework, online gaming, and social networking.  I remember running down to the drugstore to develop photos.  Today's teens can take a picture email it to everyone they know or send it directly to their printer all within minutes.  As Miller states in her article, "The ever changing world of teen trends," the days of note passing are over as today's information is instantaneously delivered through email accounts, Facebook posts and news feeds.

In a New York Times Article titled "If your kids are awake, they're probably online," Lewin argues that the results of Kaiser Family Foundation Study show that American tweens and teens are spending almost every waking moment using some sort of electronic device.  The study found that youth ages 8 to 18 are spending more than 7.5 hours a day with a smart phone, computer, television or other electronic device.  Only five years ago, the previous study had estimated that time to be 6.5 hours.  Can we expect that time to grow by another hour in another five years?  Know any teens that choose their cell phone or computer over sleep sometimes?

The numbers are shocking when we actually write them down, but I for one am not surprised.    Parents need to ensure children are aware of safety issues and practice good online behaviors.  They need to provide clear rules about when media use is okay and when it isn't.  I agree with Lewin that even though teens are consuming a large amount of media, parents still can have an effect on how that media is consumed and in what amount.