Technological innovation has altered the childhood experiences many mothers and fathers and school teachers remember. Today’s youth are “digital natives.” Maturing in a world loaded with technologies, digital natives develop an instinct for tech culture and mastering new games and applications.
“Digital immigrants”—an expression that can be used to identify anyone that can recall growing up without computer systems or cell phones—often come to feel challenged by today’s current tech-savvy youngsters and struggle to stay abreast of a changing tech landscape.
But we’re still the adults here.
Parents and educators continue to be vital in directing the present generation in their technology use. Monitoring activities, coaching them in social etiquette, and having good old conversations with them about their actions online, are an important part of our job as adults, both at home and in the school room.
What today’s current parents and educators may be lacking in tech experience, they have in life experience. Applying conventional life skills, social manners, and basic safety practices to online activities is essential to assist today’s young adults in turning out to be sensible digital citizens.
[On that note, have a happy and safe Halloween!]