Growing up digital

When it comes to screen time, parents and carers must navigate an emotionally charged landscape of conflicting advice and information. For a long time, parenting advice around children and technology focused on policing screen time. Fortunately, this is beginning to change and some guidelines now acknowledge that a ‘one size fits all’ approach doesn’t allow for the complexity and diversity of family life. Yet this change seems to have had little impact on public discussion around children and technology, which is often still overwrought with screen time anxieties, idealistic expectations, and rigid rules. Parents and carers must navigate an emotionally charged landscape of conflicting advice and information that’s often presented as having incredibly high stakes for their child’s wellbeing. Hosted by the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child in partnership with ACMI, this episode (filmed during a public seminar) aims to consider the position of parents amid these discussions. It will bring together a panel of experts – Dr Billy Garvey, Derek McCormack and Fiona Holder – and advocates to hear their insights, asking – what is the nature of current ‘screen time’ discussion and advice? How does this advice connect to parents’ actual concerns and perspectives? What makes for good parenting advice? And how can our parents and carers be supported in ways that don’t exacerbate pressures and anxieties?

The COVID-19 lockdowns had lasting effects on families and children around the world. Families had to suddenly navigate education, entertainment, and social relationships within the confines of their home. Digital technology became essential to supporting these needs, and while it was a lifeline for many families, parents are now struggling to recontextualise digital tools for use outside of lockdowns. Tama Leaver discusses pandemic parenting with Andy Zhao for the Digital Child podcast.

As digital technology use becomes common place in the daily lives of young children, education on good digital citizenship is critical in the early years of their education. Michael Dezuanni discusses how educators and schools can use digital citizenship to empower young children and help them be safe online.

Video games have been a popular hobby for young children since electronic games became mainstream in the 1970s. Questions around how gameplay affects children’s health and wellbeing have always been a point of debate among parents, health professionals, policymakers and scholars. Decades of research have explored possible links between video games and health and wellbeing outcomes, and as gameplay continues to rise as a form of recreation for young children – some as young as 1 or 2 years of age these – robust evidence and understanding in this field has never been more critical. Sue Bennett interviews Daniel Johnson for the Digital Child podcast.

If you’re a parent or carer of young children, there’s a chance you’ve felt the occasional pang of guilt letting your children use tablets and other devices before bedtime. But how worried should we be about screen time and sleep? Does technology negatively impact children’s sleep and what can you as a parent do given the pervasiveness of technology in the modern world? Sonia White interviews Janelle MacKenzie for the Digital Child podcast.

Every now and then, a new toy comes onto the market that stirs up controversy and debate among parents. An Australian supermarket chain released a new range of wooden toys, including a vlogger play set, and it’s raised questions about how children should be growing up in a digital world.  Tama Leaver interviews Amanda Levido for the Digital Child podcast, Growing up digital.