NYTIMES: "The average young American now spends practically every waking minute — except for the time in school — using a smart phone, computer, television or other electronic device, according to a new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation... Those ages 8 to 18 spend more than seven and a half hours a day with such devices, compared with less than six and a half hours five years ago, when the study was last conducted. And that does not count the hour and a half that youths spend texting, or the half-hour they talk on their cellphones...And because so many of them are multitasking — say, surfing the Internet while listening to music — they pack on average nearly 11 hours of media content into that seven and a half hours."I am truely amazed when I step back and think about all the changes in technology in last 20 years. I say often that is has become part of kids DNA today. A professional agrees with me:
Dr. Michael Rich, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital Boston who directs the Center on Media and Child Health, said that with media use so ubiquitous, it was time to stop arguing over whether it was good or bad and accept it as part of children’s environment, “like the air they breathe, the water they drink and the food they eat.”In your experience, do the numbers in the graphic match your media consumption habits? I am just curious...
Question is : How do teachers deal with this? Is there a way for us to make this work in our favor rather than fight it or spend time lamenting it??? Inquiring minds want to know!!!
Yes, the numbers very much match my habits. If anything, my habits surpass the numbers.
ReplyDeleteHow do teachers deal with this? Well, you are off to a great start. Trying to communicate and relate to your students using the communication routes/venues they are using: The Internet. Why would you ever want to fight technology? The definition of that sentence alone just says "I don't want people to learn or expand their knowledge any further." Sure, when kids/students get online they are mostly on facebook playing games, but that still exposes them to information that may or may not help expand their knowledge base.