“Digital tools and methods are conducting the largest social experiment in history with our children, creating a digital divide that you can’t even imagine .” This article is from the WeChat official account:Tengyun(ID:tenyun700), author : Hu Yong (Professor of School of Journalism and Communication, Peking University), title picture from: Visual China
When the Internet became an indispensable tool and application in contemporary society, people began to talk about the so-called “digital divide.”
The usual understanding of this gap is that it is a way of acquiring, using or influencing information and communication technology (ICT) Economic and social inequality.
From within a country, (such as China’s digital divide), it may refer to individuals, families, social groups, or geographic regions They are usually at different socioeconomic levels or other demographic categories.
After so many years of development, part of the digital divide seems to have eased, while the other part has become more serious. For example, the inability to access the computer (or device) and the inability to access the Internet are decreasing, and even the extensive skills and knowledge required to go online are being acquired Increasing popularity; however, the willingness to participate in social construction, political processes, and the pursuit of equal economic opportunities online, if we regard it as a higher-level effort to bridge the digital divide, will be global The scope is still seriously missing.
Not only that, but the concept of “digital divide” has different meanings to different people at different times.
For example, researchers haveDiscussing the digital divide from the perspectives of urban-rural differences, digital generation gap, digital literacy and even news algorithms, shows the depth and breadth of this topic. However, few people have noticed that a new phenomenon that has recently emerged under the conditions of a developed digital society may constitute a far-reaching aspect that the “new digital divide” has to pay attention to.
Twenty years ago, when we talked about the “digital divide”, we were referring to, for example, low-income people’s access to computers and the Internet.
But according to a recent study by Common Sense Media, by the turn of the century, this gap had narrowed significantly. In the United States, 70% of households with annual household income of less than US$30,000 have computers, and 75% of households can use high-speed Internet. In addition, the number of low-income households using mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets is close to the national average.
At the same time, another digital divide is emerging, with potentially more dangerous long-term consequences.
Data from Common Sense Media also shows that low-income teenagers spend an average of 8 hours and 7 minutes a day using screens for entertainment, while high-income teenagers spend 5 hours and 42 minutes a day. Two ethnic usage studies found that white children’s screen time was significantly lower than that of African and Hispanic children.
Why should we focus on children and young people? Because researchers have discovered a lot of knowledge about brain development and personality formation, lessons in this area continue to point to real-world experience and the importance of face-to-face interpersonal interaction, especially in childhood.
Problem internet use may be related to lower empathy and social well-being.
Many researchers pointed out that narcissism is becoming more and more obvious, while empathy traits are declining. This is because time immersed in the Internet will inevitably erode face-to-face time, and children thus lose the opportunity to learn empathy by interacting with human facial expressions and voice signals.
Another worry is about the attention of young people.
The digital lifestyle, including frequent multitasking, may be damaging our next generation’s ability to stay focused. In the process of growing up, technology and media surround the young people, and the entrance to the parallel world is everywhere: on computers, mobile phones and TV. Keeping children’s eyes away from the screen will be a difficult task. They like to fight guerrilla warfare with adults.
To cope with thisWith so many screens, people have learned to switch repeatedly between different media and between media and real life. Multitasking in the media is very common among children and adults, and it affects children especially. The duration of their attention is shortening, and memory span is also problematic, and distraction or distraction has become a daily struggle.
In 2010, a survey of young people aged 8 to 18 found that their multitasking accounted for 29% of their total media usage. A survey of 263 junior high school students, high school students, and college students showed that students who are engaged in learning for less than 6 minutes will switch to distracting technologies, such as sending messages or browsing social media.
Some young people do not believe that the multitasking of the media will impair their ability to complete work. For example, while doing homework, a high percentage of teenagers watch TV, use social media and even games, but most teenagers do not feel that doing so harms their learning.
But in fact, multitasking will inevitably reduce efficiency, because users need to spend time reorienting after transitioning to other activities, and cognitive fatigue due to repeated doing so, which causes their work speed to decrease— -This may be the reason why procrastination is becoming more common among young people. In addition, multi-tasking makes it difficult to form memories that can be accurately retrieved in the learning process.
In terms of actual performance, a study of laptop users in university classrooms found that students whose teachers perform multitasking on their laptops while teaching have much worse test scores than students who did not perform multitasking. It proves that it is difficult for multitaskers to filter out irrelevant information. For them, information has become a distraction, a distraction, and a form of entertainment. It is no longer a tool of empowerment and a means of liberation.
In order to avoid children’s negativity and mental laziness, many high-income parents have begun to limit the time their children spend on digital devices. In the United States, such a situation has already appeared: public schools are still promoting devices with screens into the classroom, while private schools have begun to completely ban such devices. According to a report in Education Weekly, American schools spend US$3 billion on digital content each year, and US$8 billion on hardware and software each year. However, so far, these expenditures have done little to improve learning. which performed.
So the paradox is that parents in Silicon Valley are increasingly worried about the impact of screens on their children and are turning to a screenless lifestyle, while the children of poor and middle-class parents rely on screens for raising. This is especially bad for boys, because even a very short screen exposure time can change boys’ behavior.
The children of the poor are addicted to the screen; the children of the elite return to the luxury of wooden toys and interpersonal interaction. Chris Anderson, former editor-in-chief of Wired magazine, concluded: “The digital divide was originally related to access to technology. Now that everyone has access, the new digital divide is reflected in the restrictions on technology access.”
Parents must learn to act as children’s “media mentors”
The use of media and technology has caused tension in many families. For example, in a survey of American children between the ages of 8 and 13 and their parents, 54% of children believe that parents check their devices too often, and 32% of children feel that their parents’ attention is distracted by their mobile phones .
Another study of 803 American parents between the ages of 8 and 17 found that about one-third of all participating parents are struggling with how to restrict their children’s use of media and technology. It is not clear whether adults’ restrictions on children’s use of media and technology are becoming a new social norm, or whether parents underestimate the impact of media and technology on family life.
In this regard, adults should set a role model to prevent children from having problematic media use.
Balancing methods include improving the understanding of the relationship between the media and the self, embracing high-quality media use and selective single-tasking, arranging the time and location of the Internet reasonably, and regaining the value of interpersonal interaction and face-to-face dialogue.
If media and technology are used to build deeper relationships, develop creativity and exploration, and seek identification, they can actually be very beneficial to the physical and mental growth of young people. A healthy digital lifestyle can and should include thoughtful use of media and technology.
To achieve this, adults must not only have good media usage habits themselves, but also boldly intervene to help their children manage the media. By discussing best practices related to media with children,When and how to use the media set a series of reasonable restrictions, parents can play the role of children’s “media mentor.” Parents who are committed to minimizing the use of technology rather than letting their children immerse themselves in the media will have fewer problematic behaviors in the online world.
Parents should always recognize their role model. For example, if children see that their parents are easily distracted by electronic gadgets in their daily lives, then they will emulate and internalize such behaviors. We all need to realize that digital tools and methods are conducting the largest social experiment in history with our children.
Can we let children grow up without a screen? If your son/daughter cannot communicate with family members during dinner, what will happen to his/her future? How will he/she find a spouse? How to interview for a job?
If the parents themselves do not have a good media usage habit, they will ignore the way their children should use media.
In fact, every family in the digital age should develop a family media use plan for the entire family (both parents and children) Guidelines and health goals. Chinese parents have traditionally attached great importance to regulating their children’s offline behaviors. Now, it is time to pay the same attention to their online behaviors.
A basic principle may be: always limit the time and type of media used, and ensure that media use does not replace adequate sleep, physical exercise, and other health-critical behaviors. Other planned actions could include: discussing family “no media time” with children (such as dinner time or outing time), and Identify “media-free locations” at home, such as bedrooms and bathrooms.
At the same time, ensure that you continue to communicate with your children in terms of becoming a responsible online user and online safety, so as to avoid the risks that children may encounter in the online world.
An ideal digital home should look like this:
Family can find the appropriate balance between screen time/online time and other activities, set the boundaries of access content, guide the display of personal information, and encourage age-appropriate critical thinking and numbers Literacy, supporting open family communication and implementing consistent rules regarding media use.
From this point of view, the digital divide is not an abstract thing, it is very prominent in our private intimate field. The academic community needs to conduct more research on young people to clarify the impact of low, medium and high levels of media multitasking on developing children, and how to carry out digital parenting in an environment where people often use and check Internet devices.
It is in this sense that I call for a new understanding of the digital divide. Today’s digital divide is about quality of use, not access.
Of course, screen time does not naturally harm children, but research on child development over the past century tells us that children need to grow up in an active and healthy way.
They need to have high-quality interactions with their parents and carers. They need physical exercise and free play. The main question is whether screen time is replacing all the things we know that are good for children’s growth? If the answer is “Yes”, parents need to take action.
This article is from WeChat official account:Tengyun (ID: tenyun700) author: Hu Yong (Professor of Journalism and Communication, Peking University)