Two years ago, the headline in the Washington Post about researcher Jean Twenge's work was, "Happiness levels are rising for teens, but not for people older than 30," and she was quoted as saying, "our current culture is giving teens what they need, but not mature adults what they need." I'm confused – because the headline in the latest Atlantic Monthly about Dr. Twenge's work suggests the … [Read more...] about The generation-destroying smartphone: Researchers push back
juvenoia
Media siege mentality: Antidote for parents
Over the 15-or-so years I've been covering family technology, I've noticed a kind of siege mentality that developed among parents about kids' use of digital media. Then, a few years ago, when sociology professor David Finkelhor at the University of New Hampshire gave his milestone talk, "The Internet, Youth Deviance & the Problem of Juvenoia," I heard him offer the most plausible reason I'd … [Read more...] about Media siege mentality: Antidote for parents
Net-related ‘juvenoia,’ Part 2: So why are we afraid?
Last week I wrote about why we don't need to be so afraid (of the Net where our kids are concerned); this week why we are. I've been asking myself that for more than a decade, and I have my theories, but watching David Finkelhor's talk "The Internet, Youth Deviance & the Problem of Juvenoia" was a breakthrough for me. See if it is for you.... Here's how Dr. Finkelhor, who has studied child … [Read more...] about Net-related ‘juvenoia,’ Part 2: So why are we afraid?
‘Juvenoia,’ Part 1: Why Internet fear is overrated
Referred to variously as technopanic, predator panic, cyberbullying panic, etc., a lot of fear and anxiety has developed around the intersection of youth and the Internet. Very interestingly, last fall David Finkelhor – director of the University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Research Center (CCRC) and lead author of the US's first national study on youth risk online in 2000 – used … [Read more...] about ‘Juvenoia,’ Part 1: Why Internet fear is overrated