Digital Natives

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/10/26/teens.internet/index.html

This article talks about the generation of children that are growing up as "digital natives" and far surpassing their parents in the internet-savvy world. I actually know how the parents feel! I came home from my mission and was immediately bombarded with friends begging, pleading, and demanding me to join Facebook. I heard myriads of explanations (justification, perhaps?) about how good it is at helping people keep in touch, how much cleaner and better than MySpace it is, and how everyone is doing it. I resisted, because along with those positive reinforcements I heard stories from my father, who is a Bishop. He is worried about the youth in my ward because they spend so much time on the internet. Several of the young women have lost their focus on the weightier matters of life because of their ill-perceived necessity to be socially networked with all the right people. I agree that the number of parents who worry about online predators is out of proportion to the number of actual abductions, but there's a reason. Not only are the children at risk of being taken advantage of, they may miss some classic human developmental opportunities. People may argue that children learn self-expression online, but I think that good old rough-and-tumble play on the street, in the yard, at the park is essential. The General Authorities of the Church seem to agree with that much, at least, as The Family: A Proclamation to the World states, "Successful marriages and families are established and maintained upon principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities." Wholesome recreational activities are important for strengthened families and the development of positive social skills. I find it alarming how much time children (dare I say people in general?) waste as part of these social networks online. I think the internet is a wonderful and inspired resource, but that does not go to say that it should not have limits. I appreciated Goodstein's tips for parents in dealing with their teens and internet usage. The most important thing, as is often the case in parenting and life in general, is communication.