The title of this interesting work presents the author’s basic idea: to bring readers closer to understanding the digital media environment’s impact on our lives, from the early days to full maturity. It is amazing how easy this book is to read and how clearly it describes to readers how our children go through technological maturation in a digital environment. A concise and clear description of the topic is covered in only about 80 pages, while at the same time containing many messages that are understandable and known to most readers through segmented information and knowledge. By combining known technological determinants and their concepts in modern society, we recognize ourselves in our acceptance and use of modern information technology.
Through a three-tiered theme approach, the book’s discussion of digital media (including social networks) looks at the maturation of young people, starting from the early days of accessing the digital world to using technology for play, leisure, socializing, learning, and recognizing social and cultural customs and rules of behavior in the new digital environment.
Theme 1 refers to matching average technology trends with the individual child, noting that the use of generally accepted ways of using technology in relation to the individual child should be avoided.
Theme 2 refers to the relationship between technology and child development in the context of the use of technology, noting that in the process of development, the child participates in different social environments where the context of communication is an important category that affects the processes by which children connect with wider social communities and cultural ideologies.
Theme 3 refers to design as a key category in shaping a child’s interaction with technology, with a note that technology is not neutral in relation to the way and intensity of use. Davis highlights three levels of influence through features, practice, and culture, and uses these three levels throughout the text to investigate the various procedures by which technology communicates with the child and affects the child’s development.
Each topic is presented through individual chapters that show the development cycles in the use of technology. Included is an interesting review of the influence of technoference as an active social interaction in which technology directly disrupts or disturbs the mutual interaction of children and parents, teachers, and/or social groups. This is also significant due to the fact that technoference could interfere with the development of executive (and other) functions in young children.
The chapters are approached through a “three Ds” approach: developmentally appropriate practice, deeper technology use, and design consistent with the child’s developmental stage and with technologies supported by practical audio and visual aids.
The inclusion of the tinkering approach is interesting; as a constructivist approach, it enables a versatile approach to the whole child by using informal learning practices that help parents and teachers in carrying out activities aimed at the child’s development. Namely, information technology and social media platforms make it difficult for young people to navigate the digital world, and they are asked to adapt to technology instead of the other way around:
In an ideal world, the devices and platforms that tweens use would be designed right from the beginning with consideration for the shifting parent and peer dynamics that occur during this period of development. Rather than amplifying the anxieties of tweens and the protectionist impulses of parents, as so many tools and platforms currently do, these designs would aim to support positive peer interactions and trusting parent-child relationships.
Davis also confirms that the development of a technological child is a lifelong activity in which technology plays a significant role, and suggests possible directions and procedures for the development of young people’s digital experiences with the support of parents, teachers, and community. In doing so, she especially emphasizes design as an important category that improves (but can also slow down) the acceptance, understanding, and use of digital technology throughout all stages of a child’s development.
As with other things associated with the development and maturation of children, parents and teachers strive to properly balance work and living environments in relation to the child’s age so that she/he can successfully accept, understand, and use the appropriate knowledge and skills in the context of educational activities. It is the same with digital technology and media, where the technological child matures via supervision and teaching using digital technology. Parents and teachers must develop the new skills necessary for the successful incorporation of technology, but at the same time utilize supervision or control over its use so that digital technology does not interfere with or hurt the social, cultural, and psychological world of the child.
In the final part, Davis addresses the actors that influence the development of a technological child, starting with parents, teachers, policymakers, creators of technological platforms, and especially the academic and research community. Together, through interaction and synergy, these actors can create an optimal environment for our technological children. In any case, it is an interesting read for both parents and teachers, as well as for technology designers and school libraries.
More reviews about this item: Amazon, Seattle’s Child
