Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World

by Devorah Heitner

Overview

The second edition of Screenwise offers a refreshed, realistic, and optimistic perspective on how to thoughtfully guide kids in the digital age.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781032350134
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/10/2023
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	296
Sales rank:	239,235
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Devorah Heitner, PhD, wrote Screenwise for parents and educators seeking advice on how to help children thrive in a world of digital connectedness. She is a trusted authority for parents to turn to for empowering advice on raising resilient and kind kids in our always-connected world. The first edition of Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World was an Amazon bestseller and widely praised, and Dr. Heitner's writing has appeared in publications like The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN Opinion, and Fast Company, among others. Dr. Heitner is also a featured speaker at conferences and independent and public schools in the United States and abroad. She earned a PhD in media/technology and society from Northwestern University and has taught at DePaul University, Lake Forest College, and Northwestern.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Raising Digital Natives 7

Chapter 2 The Kids Are Alright 29

Chapter 3 Assessing Your Own Digital Literacy 45

Chapter 4 Becoming a Tech-Positive Parent 63

Chapter 5 Empathy Is the App 83

Chapter 6 Family Life in the Digital Age 107

Chapter 7 Friendship and Dating in the Digital Age 135

Chapter 8 School Life in the Digital Age 167

Chapter 9 Growing Up in Public 189

Conclusion Digital Citizenship for the Next Generation 215

Acknowledgments 221

Notes 225

References 231

Index 235

About the Author 245

Editorial Reviews

08/01/2016
Acknowledging the impossibility of fully sheltering children from the world of digital media, Heitner (Connecting Wisely in the Digital Age), founder and director of the consultancy Raising Digital Natives, provides guidance for parents navigating this ever-changing landscape. She covers common concerns about children of different ages, from preschool to young adult, and even looks at how the digital world influences adults. Heitner also reports that researchers have found that “the number of young people who produce as well as consume content has risen dramatically,” even among those as young as five. She suggests that parents and educators shouldn’t monitor a child’s every move but should act as guides and mentors, helping children make good decisions and fostering their creativity. Heitner reminds readers that children learn by example, advising parents to break the habit of checking cellphones constantly and to join their children in playing digital games. She pairs examples from what she has found working with families in her consulting firm with research in the field, such as into the ways kids use social media. This book provides useful advice for the parents of children of all ages and will serve well as a guide to help the different generations communicate, in person or online. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"The book is largely practical advice that focuses as much on parent-child relationships as it does on technology... She walks through numerous dangers that children can encounter — not just pornography, but privacy, data-slurping, and plagiarism — and provides common-sense suggestions for dealing with the consequences."— Wendy M Grossman, ZDNet UK Book Reviews

From the Publisher

11/01/2016
Heitner, founder and director of Raising Digital Natives (RaisingDigitalNatives.com), presents parents with tips for becoming their child's media mentor by encouraging them to be "tech literate" if not a tech whiz. The author provides helpful insight into how today's youth not only consume online information but create it, and that kid-friendly sites such as Google's safe search and the YouTube Kids app can only go so far in helping to guide digital behaviors. She further delivers firm tips for parents to model in their own tech use (clearly defined boundaries, unplugged times, etc.) and solid examples for evaluating kids' readiness to form friendships in the digital world (ability to utilize privacy settings and understand their importance, knowledge about when to take conflicts offline, etc.). In addition to the informative narrative, Heitner also includes valuable questions for parents to ask children that may yield surprising answers (e.g., "Does social media ever stress you out?"). VERDICT All in all, a solid offering for the tech-education collection. Recommended.

Library Journal