How Many Kids are Using Screens?

One of the youth culture realities all of us need to understand is what’s called “Age Compression.” Simply stated in layman’s terms, Age Compression means that the things today’s parents needed to navigate during their own teenage years are now things our pre-school and elementary-aged kids need to navigate. This means that pressures, problems, choices, and opportunities exist for kids who are at the most vulnerable of young ages. One area of concern is navigating life with our kids on what’s called “the Digital Frontier.” Today’s parents are called on to manage things like smartphones and social media that weren’t an issue for them at that young age. The folks at the Pew Research Center recently surveyed over three thousand parents of kids ages twelve and under. Almost seventy percent say their kids use a tablet, and sixty-one percent a smartphone. So, what’s a parent to do? Stick with us all this week as we look at the research from Pew, and parental response strategies.