Jon M. Garon - Parenting for the Digital Generation: A Guide to Digital Education and the Online Environment

Parenting for the
Digital Generation

To my children, from whom I have learned all
the most important lessons about parenting.

Parenting for the
Digital Generation

The Parents Guide to Digital
Education and the Online
Environment

Jon M. Garon

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD

Lanham Boulder New York London

Published by Rowman & Littlefield

An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706

www.rowman.com

86-90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE, United Kingdom

Copyright 2022 by Jon Garon

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Garon, Jon M., author.

Title: Parenting for the digital generation : a guide to digital education and the online environment / Jon M. Garon.

Description: Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, [2022] | Includes bibliographical references and index. |

Summary: Reviews the broad landscape of legal and practical issues facing parents and adolescents when using smart phones and online technologiesProvided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021037648 (print) | LCCN 2021037649 (ebook) | ISBN 9781475861952 (cloth ; permanent paper) | ISBN 9781475861969 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Internet and children. | Computer security. | ParentingMiscellanea.

Classification: LCC HQ784.I58 G37 2022 (print) | LCC HQ784.I58 (ebook) | DDC 004.67/8083dc23/eng/20211013

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021037648

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021037649

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

At Last! The guidelines parents and teachers have been waiting for. And its all in one organized, straightforward book. Technology can be such a large, difficult expanse of terms and capabilities that change rapidly. Jon M. Garon will give both parents and teachers the information needed to confidently provide support and instruction for any childs education.Kimberly Durham, PsyD, dean of the Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice, Nova Southeastern University

As a child psychologist and a mom, I know most parents have concerns about how to parent in this quickly changing and fast-paced digital world. In this book, Garon provides families with a strong knowledge base for understanding the basics of the digital world, offers examples of the benefits of technology, discusses the concerns, and provides an understandable framework for determining how to maintain balance within the family. The easy-to-read charts that describe developmental stages in relation to media use will become a favorite resource as I support families goals of finding the strengths in the digital world that will help foster their childrens development while maintaining age-appropriate and realistic limits. This book is a must-read for all parents.Sandra Sondell, PhD, psychology consultation specialists

As a parent of a twelve-year-old, I have often had questions and fears about my childs access to digital media. Like most parents, I have turned to the internet for answers but have been frustrated by the multitude of contradictory opinions that lack credibility or research. As a psychologist and academic, I know there are more reliable and trustworthy sources. Jon M. Garons book is the resource I have been looking for. Both comprehensive and readable, Parenting for the Digital Generation is an engaging read from cover to cover and a valuable reference book for my shelf. Every parent should have a copy.Kurt A. Boniecki, PhD, associate provost for Academic Success and associate professor of psychology, University of Central Arkansas

Today, children and schools are often more adept at understanding and using technology than parents, leaving them confused and without information or skills. Garon gives parents a clear and comprehensive framework so they can get their head in the game. He teaches terminology, relevant laws and rules, dangers, and safeguards. Garon provides understandable and practical strategies for raising healthy children based on their developmental age. Ive never seen anyone else put all the pieces together.Karen Grosby, EdD, dean, Nova Southeastern University College of Psychology

As a parent, lawyer, and educator, Jon M. Garon brings unique insights to the effect of todays technology on families and the legal/social structures that both protect and threaten family cohesiveness. He combines deep legal and technical knowledge with practical insight. Here lies an understanding of the social and technological waves buffeting children today with the tools and resources needed to calm the waters.Ted Claypoole, JD, editor and coauthor of The Law of Artificial Intelligence and Smart Machines and author of Protecting Your Internet Identity and Privacy in the Age of Big Data

The world has gone digital, and there is no going back. Electronic shopping carts have replaced malls and department stores, television has moved to online streaming, education has been converted into online portals, and telephone calls have been replaced with texts, tweets, and chats. Changes already transforming the national economy and culture were accelerated dramatically because of the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing this transition on every family in America and throughout the world.

Parenting for the Digital Generation provides a practical handbook for parents, grandparents, teachers, and counselors who want to understand both the opportunities and the threats that exist for the generation of digital natives who are more familiar with a smartphone than they are with a paper book. This book provides straightforward, jargon-free information regarding the online environment and the experience in which children and young adults engage both inside and outside the classroom.

For parents, the digital environment creates many challenges, some of which are largely the same as parents faced before the Internet, but others which are entirely new. Parents have always worked to keep their children healthy, well-adjusted, and engaged in their learning and growth. In the online classroom, however, many children struggle to connect, and they underperform in the absence of the social and emotional support of a healthy learning environment. Suddenly, in addition to serving as the tutor on math, science, and history, the parents of digital students are also called upon to understand copyright law, privacy law, Title IX, and the technical requirements for learning management systems, group chats, Google Docs, and conference call services.

Outside the classroom, parents must also help their children navigate a complex and often dangerous world. Unlike previous generations, children and young adults have far more opportunities to hide their activities from the observations of their parents and other caring adults. For parents, the privacy and anonymity of the Internet complicate their difficult but vital tasks.